This article is based on the DfE's guidance for schools on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). We understand that this is a developing situation and plan to update this article as and when we have more information – select 'save for later' at the top of the page to receive a notification when we do.
If you already know whether you have RAAC in your buildings and what your next steps are, and just want help to craft your communication to parents/carers, jump straight to the last section to choose from our template letters.
Please note: the DfE's assessment survey programme is only available to state-funded settings in England. However, the guidance linked above and these FAQs should be helpful to all other settings too.
What is RAAC?
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is a lightweight, ‘bubbly’ form of concrete commonly used in construction between the 1950s and mid-1990s. It’s usually found in precast roof panels, and occasionally in floors and walls.
Why is it dangerous?
RAAC is very different from traditional concrete and, because of the way in which it was made, it's much weaker.
How do I find out whether my school buildings contain RAAC?
Your school may already have identified and reported that 1 or more of your buildings contains RAAC in response to the DfE's request. If so, the DfE will already be aware and should have contacted you to advise on the next steps.
If you haven't yet assessed whether your school buildings may contain RAAC, and the DfE isn’t aware, refer to pages 10 to 14 of the DfE’s guidance on identifying RAAC for more details about what you should look for.
What should I do if I think my school buildings contain RAAC?
Your responsibilities will depend on your role:
I am a school leader
Speak to the 'responsible body' for your school. Depending on your school type, this might be:
- Your LA (community schools, voluntary-controlled schools and maintained nursery schools)
- Your trust board (academies and free schools)
- Your governing board (voluntary aided schools and foundation schools - Please note: the DfE guidance implies that LAs are the 'responsible body' for foundation schools, but we believe this is an error. We have contacted the DfE for clarification)
It's the responsibility of the 'responsible body' to make sure RAAC is identified and reported. You can help them by making sure you've carried out a thorough inspection following the latest DfE guidance on identifying RAAC. This includes checking for RAAC 'hidden' behind ceiling panels or plasterboard.
If you find anything that you suspect is RAAC, the DfE guidance recommends your school's responsible body appoints an appropriately qualified building surveyor or structural engineer with experience of RAAC. See page 15 of the identification guide (linked above) for more detail.
While you wait for confirmation, make a contingency plan in case RAAC is confirmed in your school building.
What if RAAC is confirmed?
If the surveyor or engineer suspects or confirms that RAAC is present in your school:
- Your school's responsible body should inform the DfE immediately via the capital portal
- Do not drill into, cut or disturb anything you think might be RAAC
If you have any concerns or issues with this process, you can also contact the DfE directly using the email [email protected].
What happens next?
The DfE will add your school to its survey programme for state-funded schools.
Prior to any further investigation, the DfE requires your responsible body to:
- Gather and supply relevant information about your school building(s) – see appendix B of the identification guidance
- List all spaces where additional measures will be required so that the DfE’s surveyors will be able to see the surfaces clearly – see appendix C
You will probably already have this information to hand, but get advice from a building professional if you need help.
I am a trust leader
You are responsible for identifying and reporting RAAC in your schools.
If your trust has a religious character, you should liaise with the land/site trustees responsible for your buildings and the relevant religious body (usually your diocese).
Make sure your school leaders and/or estate management teams in each school have carried out thorough inspections following the latest DfE guidance on identifying RAAC. This includes checking for RAAC 'hidden' behind ceiling panels or plasterboard.
If there's any suspicion that school buildings contain RAAC, or if there's any uncertainty, you should appoint an appropriately qualified building surveyor or structural engineer with experience of RAAC. See page 15 of the identification guide (linked above) for more detail.
While you wait for confirmation, help your schools to make a contingency plan in case RAAC is confirmed.
What if RAAC is confirmed?
If the surveyor or engineer suspects or confirms that RAAC is present in your school:
- You should inform the DfE immediately via the capital portal
- Do not drill into, cut or disturb anything you think might be RAAC
If you have any concerns or issues with this process, you can also contact the DfE directly using the email [email protected].
What happens next?
The DfE will add your school(s) to its survey programme for state-funded schools.
Prior to any further investigation, you are required to:
- Gather and supply relevant information about your school building(s) – see appendix B of the identification guidance
- List all spaces where additional measures will be required so that the DfE’s surveyors will be able to see the surfaces clearly – see appendix C
Seek advice from a building professional if you need help supplying this information.
Will my school, or part of my school, need to close?
It depends on how much of your school building(s) contains RAAC.
If the DfE gets in touch to confirm the presence of RAAC in your school building, it will work with you to establish:
- The amount of RAAC in your building(s)
- The likely size and scale of works to mitigate it
- The support you think you might need during this period
You’ll need to vacate and restrict access to spaces with RAAC, and make sure that they’re out of use. If the RAAC is in a small enough area, you might be able to do this with minimal disruption.
If you can’t, your caseworker will advise you on your next steps, which may involve activating your contingency plan for full or partial school closure.
If the scale of work needed is large, the DfE will allocate an additional project delivery manager to support your school.
If it does, where should school take place instead?
If, after closing off the areas containing RAAC, you’re left with insufficient space to run your school as normal, you’ll need to draw up emergency and longer-term plans to accommodate face-to-face education.
Short-term solutions
For the first few weeks, you may need to use:
- Space in a nearby, local school, college or nursery that you can use for a period of time
- Semi-rigid temporary structures that can be quickly brought to your school
- Space in a community centre or empty local office building
Your DfE caseworker will discuss these options with you.
If the disruption to your school is longer-term
After the first few weeks of emergency accommodation, if it’s possible, you should use structural supports to make areas with RAAC safe. The DfE will discuss this with you.
If this isn’t possible, procure temporary accommodation for your school site. If you don’t have space for this on-site, discuss this with your caseworker.
What if pupils may struggle to get to an alternative location?
Identify any pupils who may have difficulty getting to an alternative setting, and consider how you can support them.
Work with your LA to make sure suitable arrangements are in place for pupils who are usually eligible for free travel to your school, but who may now be educated elsewhere.
Some pupils who weren’t previously eligible for free travel may become eligible if they need to temporarily attend a new location. This is more likely to be possible for pupils who need to attend an alternative setting for a prolonged period of time, rather than those who only need to attend for a short while.
See more about this in the home-to-school travel guidance.
What if there isn’t space for all pupils to continue learning face-to-face?
You should prioritise:
- Vulnerable children
- The children of critical workers
- Pupils due to take examinations and other formal assessments
See more about these groups in this guidance.
Offer remote learning as a last resort
You should only ever consider using this:
- For a short period of time
- Where all other options to continue face-to-face education – either on your site or at an alternative location – have been exhausted
- Where the alternative would therefore be no education provision
If you do need to provide remote learning, use our guide to help you brush up on this.
How will this impact safeguarding?
Continue to follow your normal safeguarding procedures, including any new risk assessments that you may need to carry out in response to RAAC having been identified in your school.
If pupils need to learn elsewhere due to RAAC in your school building(s), consider how you’ll keep in touch with them to make sure that they are safe and well.
If you need to consider remote education, consider phoning vulnerable pupils or putting other arrangements in place to keep in touch with them.
What if my DSL can’t be available on-site?
In this case, a senior leader should take responsibility for co-ordinating safeguarding on-site.
This might include:
- Updating and managing access to child protection files
- Liaising with the offsite DSL (or deputy)
- Liaising with children’s social workers where they require access to children in need, and/or to carry out statutory assessments at the school
In addition to this, consider either:
- Making sure the DSL (or deputy) are contactable via phone or video call, e.g. if they’re working from another school
- Sharing trained DSLs (or deputies) from other schools, who should also be contactable via phone or video
Make sure all school staff and volunteers:
- Have access to a DSL or deputy
- Know who that person is
- Know how to contact them
Who is responsible for my pupils if they have to learn from another institution?
Before, or as soon as reasonably practicable after the pupil arrives at another institution (e.g. a nearby school), your DSL should provide the DSL of that institution with any relevant welfare and child protection information for that pupil.
This could include:
- Why that pupil is vulnerable
- Any arrangements in place to support them
- The pupil’s education, health and care (EHC) plan, child in need plan or child protection plan
- Who the child's social worker is
- For looked-after children: their personal education plan and who the responsible virtual school head is
Similarly, your SENCO should provide the other institution's SENCO with any oversight of the pupil’s special educational needs (SEN) provision. If this isn’t possible, your senior leadership team (SLT) should take responsibility.
For looked-after children, any change in school should be led and managed by the virtual head with responsibility for that child.
Pupils with SEND
If disruption to your school caused by RAAC makes it challenging to deliver your normal SEND provision, work with your LA to make sure you can still meet your statutory duties for pupils with EHC plans.
Where specialist provision (SEN units, resourced provision, special schools and alternative provision) is affected, inform whoever is in charge of commissioning those placements as soon as possible.
See more about this on pages 13, 14 and 16 of the arrangements guidance.
How should we record attendance?
Continue to do this in line with the DfE’s attendance guidance.
If you need to prioritise attendance by telling some pupils not to attend, use the Y code for these pupils. This won’t count towards their absence record.
Where will the funding come from?
Funding for surveys
Where you're able to commission a survey more quickly than waiting for the DfE's surveyors, and by suitably qualified structural engineers, you should send your request to [email protected].
The DfE's advisers will review your proposal and, unless they identify unforeseen issues, will fund your survey rather than sending DfE surveyors into your school.
Funding for mitigation works
The DfE will fund all capital-funded mitigation works. This includes propping and temporary units on your school site. Your caseworker will provide you with the relevant form to fill in.
Funding for additional revenue
If you need support with additional revenue costs – for example, transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office – you should discuss this with your caseworker and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in the first instance to agree any further support you need. The DfE expects that all reasonable requests will be approved.
You should also contact your commercial insurer.
How will this impact admissions?
It’s likely that pupils will be able to remain on their existing school’s roll, even if they’re learning from an alternative site.
If a parent/carer wants to permanently move their child to a different school, they should make an in-year application through existing admissions processes.
See more about this on page 12 of the arrangements guidance.
How will I get school meals to pupils who can’t attend school?
You should continue to provide:
- Meal options for all pupils who are in school
- Free meals to
- All infant pupils
- Pupils who are eligible for them
If a child who qualifies for free school meals is receiving remote education, continue to provide this support – for example, by providing a lunch parcel or vouchers. Speak to your catering team or provider about the best way to do this.
If you have children learning from alternative locations, work with the DfE (and the receiving school, if applicable) to identify the best way to provide these pupils with school meals. We're seeking further clarification on this and will update this article if we find out more.
Will Ofsted still inspect my school?
If your school is on the list of education settings affected by RAAC, Ofsted probably won't inspect your school this term. Ofsted has removed these schools from its schedule for this term.
However, in cases where Ofsted has concerns about a school, it may send inspectors regardless of the school's situation with RAAC.
Ofsted has updated its deferrals guidance to make it clear that RAAC disruption will be taken into account when considering a deferral for a school not on the list above, but still affected by the disruption (e.g. your school has taken on pupils from a school on the list).
See Ofsted's statement for schools affected by RAAC for more details.
What if pupils are due to take exams and assessments?
Your contingency plan should cover possible disruptions to exams and assessments, including alternative venues for these.
See the emergency planning guidance for more details.
What if I can’t run my breakfast or after-school clubs?
Consider whether you can make alternative arrangements to deliver the provision safely – for example by:
- Using an alternative space on your school site
- Sharing facilities with a nearby school
- Making use of local venues
When drawing up temporary accommodation plans with your caseworker, consider how best to continue the provision of wraparound childcare.
What should I tell pupils, parents and carers?
Download and adapt our template letters to send to parents and carers about any planned disruption to your school, or to reassure them that your school is safe to open.
Pick the most appropriate version, and adapt it based on your school’s specific context.
You'll find letters for informing parents and carers that:
- Your school building doesn't contain RAAC and is safe to open
- Part of your school building(s) contains RAAC and will need to be closed, but that your school is still safe to open to all pupils
- A large amount of your school building(s) contains RAAC and that:
- Your school can only safely open to some pupils, or
- You've been asked to close the school