Raac issues leave families seeking school moves

Aylesford School has remained closed to two year groups since the start of the academic year

More than 100 families have asked a council to move children from two Warwickshire schools affected by unsafe building materials.

Aylesford School in Warwick remains closed to two year groups because of the presence of asbestos, with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) suspected.

Myton School in Warwick, where Raac has been found, was able to accommodate all pupils for the first time this academic year on Tuesday.

Dozens of Aylesford parents gathered on Wednesday at a public meeting hosted by Warwick and Leamington's Labour MP Matt Western.

Aylesford parents expressed their frustration at the meeting in Warwick on Wednesday

Mr Western said, since the start of term, he had written to the secretary of state seven times about Aylesford School.

In a letter shared on his Facebook page dated 13 October, he described 50% of its buildings being out of use, with a loss of 30 classrooms.

Children in years 8 and 9 have been learning at home since the start of the year, with year 10s returning at the start of October on a rotational basis.

Meanwhile, Myton School, which has 30 rooms out of circulation, was able to welcome back one absent year group on Tuesday, after temporary classrooms were delivered.

Parent Peter Nicholl said his son was coping but found online learning frustrating

Warwickshire council confirmed 63 requests had been received since 6 July to move children from Aylesford School, which caters to both primary to secondary age groups.

A further 52 requests came from parents at Myton School.

The council was unable confirm how many of the requests were accommodated.

According to the last government figures, released on 14 September, 174 schools in England were confirmed to have Raac.

The government said the majority of settings where the material was found have opened and pupils continued to learn as normal.

About 80 people attended the meeting at the Nelson Club in Warwick, which started at 18:00 BST.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Western said he had heard from "very frustrated, very concerned parents".

He confirmed he had received a response to his letters which said a minister for education would visit Aylesford and he planned to ask if parents could attend the meeting.

He added he would relay attendees' concerns to the government.

Parent Peter Nicholl said his year 8 son found online learning difficult and frustrating.

"The educational provision from subject to subject is extremely variable and that is having an effect on his motivation," he said.

Mr Nicholl said his son was due back "in some form" after half-term.

"What I am missing at the moment is the real urgency to get those kids back in to school and get those problems resolved," he added.

Representatives from both the Department for Education (DfE) and Aylesford School were invited, but did not attend.

Baroness Barran, a Minister in the DfE, visited Myton School last week to meet with staff.