Estimated 700,000 pupils in unsafe school buildings, National Audit Office says
The deteriorating school estate is damaging pupil attainment and teacher retention, the National Audit Office saysAn estimated 700,000 children are being taught in unsafe or ageing school buildings in England that need major repairs, according to a report.
But the NAO, the UK's independent public spending watchdog, said the deteriorating condition of school buildings was damaging pupil attainment and teacher retention.Mother-of-two Carla Ashman "could've been killed" when a piece of fascia board hit her in the face "It was a really long board but it also had really large nails sticking out of it, so the thought of what could've happened - it was a real near miss for the children," Ms Ashman says.Image caption,
And it highlighted continuing concerns for school buildings that still contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete - a lightweight form of concrete prone to collapse, used widely between the 1950s and mid-1990s. Rachel Jones, head teacher at Kingsley St John's Primary School, in Cheshire, says her school building is suffering from "completely stretched" budgets.
Responding to both reports, the National Education Union's joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said the government was spending "nothing like enough" on school buildings.
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