What is RAAC and why is the ‘Aero’ concrete forcing schools to close?

Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield is among those affected by RAAC issues (Picture: PA)

The start of the new school year has been plunged into chaos for many parents and students, amid the news that some schools in England must immediately shut buildings made with a type of lightweight concrete prone to collapse.

Around 100 of the country’s 20,000 schools are thought to be affected by the move, which relates to a type of concrete known as RAAC.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan sought to allay parents’ concerns, saying: ‘We are working to minimise this a much as possible. The priority for me is your children’s safety and that’s why we are taking these precautionary measures.’

Keegan says engineers have been combing school sites looking for RAAC and over the summer, ‘a couple of cases have given us cause for concern’.

She added: ‘We need to take the cautious approach.’

As many are left to wonder if they will be able to return to school, or switch to alternatives such as temporary remote learning, just what is RAAC and how is it used?

How is RAAC concrete made?

RAAC – which stands for Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete – is a type of lightweight, ‘bubbly’ concrete made from cement, lime, water and an aeration agent, which was used in buildings constructed between the 1950s and the 1990s.

More often than not, it is found in roofs – commonly flat roofs but was also used in walls and floors.

It’s regarded as a cheaper alternative to standard reinforced concrete but is less durable – and has a limited lifespan of around 30 years for this reason, meaning it’s more prone to collapse the older it gets.

RAAC has a ‘bubbly’ appearance and is lighter than standard concrete (Picture: metro.co.uk) Schools across England have been affected right before the start of the new term (Picture: metro.co.uk)

The Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS) said in a statement: ‘Although called ‘concrete’, RAAC is very different from traditional concrete and, because of the way in which it was made, much weaker.’

The Health and Safety Executive has warned that RAAC could ‘collapse with little or no notice’ given it has passed its lifespan.

As well as schools, RAAC has been used in a lot of other public buildings across the country – such as police stations, courts and hospitals.

Which schools are already affected by RAAC?

More than 150 schools and colleges are actually impacted in total already – that’s because around 50 were already suffering from disruption this year and a further 104 have been added to the list.

The schools we know that are affected include:

Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy in Leicester will be shut until at least September 5 (Picture: SWNS)

At the two schools in Bradford, both interim and long-term alteration works are being carried out to ensure children can be accommodated on the two sites, according to the city council.

The council said interim alterations to safe areas will be finished by Sunday and temporary classrooms on both school sites have been ordered and should arrive within the next 8-10 weeks at Crossflatts and 14-16 weeks at Eldwick.

More: Trending How will I know if my child’s school has RAAC?

Parents will be informed directly by schools and educational centres if they will be shutting or will be partially closed – with the level of disruption in the affected schools likely to vary.

Some may only need a partial closure to carry out repairs, resulting in the closure of some classrooms while the school remains open.

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Other schools may need to find ’emergency’ or ‘temporary’ accommodation in the case of more widespread repairs – such as moving to another part of the school or erecting temporary buildings – or relocated to alternative accommodation in a small number of cases.

However, schools have been told that closing completely and switching to pandemic-style remote learning should only be considered as a last resort.

The Department for Education said: ‘It should only be used where all options to continue face-to-face education – either on your site, at an alternative, or in temporary accommodation – have been exhausted.’

It added that the work should be ‘high quality, meaningful, ambitious and cover an appropriate range of subjects’.

MORE : How will I know if my child’s school is shutting because of dangerous concrete?

MORE : Trust that runs school forced to close over crumbling concrete speaks out as government refuses to reveal full list

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