School buildings
Following years of capital funding cuts by the Conservative government, we are facing an unfolding crisis in school buildings safety.
The consequences of the previous government’s persistent under-investment in schools became clear in August 2023, when the Department for Education ordered the closure of over a hundred schools, colleges and nurseries in England just days before the start of the autumn term.
This was due to these buildings being constructed of a type of concrete that is prone to collapse, known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – which was eventually identified in 234 schools in England. While these sites have now reopened with mitigation plans in place, with the government pledging funding for the necessary building work, RAAC is just the tip of the iceberg.
Read more about RAAC in schools
The National Audit Office (NAO) reported in June 2023 that following years of under-investment, an astonishing 700,000 pupils are learning in a school that needs major rebuilding or refurbishment. In addition to RAAC, the report cited system-built school buildings and asbestos as structural issues causing potential safety risks.
A recent investigation by BBC Panorama exposed further issues, from leaking roofs and freezing classrooms to flooding and potentially explosive sewerage gas.
Even before the RAAC crisis hit the headlines, UNISON had been lobbying the government for many months to take action on school building safety and to publish information about at-risk properties. While we are relieved that the Government eventually took action on RAAC, it is clear that this is only one element in the larger problem of a crumbling school estate. UNISON is now calling on the Labour government to urgently address the issue that they have inherited of much-needed repairs and rebuilding. Proper government investment in school buildings is needed to ensure that school staff and pupils can work and learn in a safe environment.
What can I do?
It is clear that the current crisis is a result of years of government underfunding in education. UNISON continues to campaign for an increase in funding for schools, and you can help by emailing your local MP to raise awareness and bring this topic to the forefront of the Government’s agenda.
We have developed a set of questions for members to ask your school leadership to seek assurances about the safety of your workplace:
1. Are there any building or safety issues that we need to know about?
2. Do we have and Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in any of our school buildings and have we told the Department for Education (DfE)?
3. If there is RAAC in our school buildings, can you tell me where this is, how this is being safely managed and how I should report any concerns?
4. Did our school respond to the DfE asbestos survey and do we have any in our buildings?
5. If there is asbestos in our school buildings, can you tell me where this is, how this is being safely managed, what plans you have to remove it, and how I should report any concerns?
If you have any concerns about responses to these questions, please contact your local UNISON Health and Safety representative or branch.
If you don’t have a local Health and Safety representative, you could be just the person to take on the role. Find out more below.
Become a Health and Safety rep
What are UNISON doing?
We have produced a health and safety checklist for branches to send to local schools.
We also continue our campaign for an immediate increase in funding to deal with the unfolding crisis in building safety.
Ventilation
Inside the classroom, both staff and pupils face further risks from airborne viruses and other conditions linked to poor air quality. The importance of proper ventilation was highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic and remains a key health and safety concern.
UNISON welcomes London mayor Sadiq Khan’s programme to install air filters in two hundred London schools to combat air pollution in the capital, and we are calling for air filters to be installed in all classrooms across the UK.
There has been a media spotlight on school absence levels in recent months with data showing a concerning level of pupil absence. While there are many factors contributing to increased pupil absence, authorised illness remains the number one reason that children are missing school. Early in 2024 the Department for Education launched a campaign of stronger measures to tackle persistent absence, but UNISON believes that there needs to be a stronger emphasis on improving pupil health; and this starts with improving air quality in classrooms.
The benefits of air filtration have been demonstrated by a recent government funded study which placed air cleaning technologies in 30 schools in Bradford. The study saw a significant decrease in sickness absence rates in those schools with HEPA air filters in place. With the recent spotlight on school absence levels, there is a clear justification for making air filtration in schools a priority.
Of course, clean air doesn’t only benefit pupils. All school staff will share the advantages brought by reduced exposure to airborne viruses and pollutants. This in turn will lead to less sickness absence among staff, with a knock-on effect on huge issues for UNISON members in schools such as lesson cover, stress and workload.