Mum feels 'cheated' over concrete crisis school closure

Mumtaz Hussain's son is one of the pupils who is not allowed back to school amid the concrete crisis

A mother says she feels cheated after finding out her son's school contains the concrete that is prone to collapse.

As many schools reopen for the autumn term, more than 150 schools in England have been identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

"It's a man-made disaster waiting to happen," said Mumtaz Hussain whose 15-year-old son attends Aston Manor Academy in Birmingham - one of the sites having to shut while safety measures are put in place.

The school has apologised and says it is fully complying with guidance from the government.

Ms Hussain, who represents Aston ward on Birmingham City Council as a Liberal Democrat, told BBC Radio WM: "I feel cheated that we have a school like this and the building is not up to standard - why are other schools in posh areas not like this, why do we in Aston have to suffer?

"To know that my son is going to come to school with walls like this does worry me."

Aston Manor Academy serves the city's Aston, Nechells and Handsworth areas and has nearly 1,000 pupils.

Children have been told the start of their academic year is being delayed and no students are expected on site until 11 September at the earliest.

The beginning of the academic year for Aston Manor students has been put back to 11 September at the earliest

RAAC is a lightweight material that was used mostly in flat roofing, but also in floors and walls, between the 1950s and 1990s.

It is aerated, or "bubbly", and as such is less durable and has a lifespan of about 30 years.

Over the summer, an RAAC beam that had previously been considered low risk collapsed at a school, leading to sites that had the substance being labelled potentially dangerous.

The education secretary Gillian Keegan said about 50 schools across England had already undergone mitigation work - and at least another 104 schools were confirmed to contain the material.

Julian Knight, the independent MP for Solihull, has called on the government to do more to keep parents and guardians informed about the safety of their children's schools.

He said: "At present this whole thing appears to be frankly, a complete shambles.

"We need to make sure that our children are safe in their schools and [the government] is failing in that respect and it's unacceptable on every level.

"We need to ensure that there is separate money available in order to alleviate this issue, this should not come from school budgets or budgets for repair work."

Liberal Democrats councillor Ayoub Khan says “it's almost like we're living in a third world country".

Liberal Democrats councillor Ayoub Khan, who also represents Aston, said: "We are one of the most deprived wards in the city in all factors.

"A single day in education in terms of loss of education is enormous, here it may be weeks."

He added: "It's almost like we're living in a third world country - you wouldn't expect that in Britain in 2023 we're having to put in temporary measures for facilities that are meant to be state-of-the-art."

In a letter to parents, Aston Manor said staff and students were "unable to use any of the identified areas until safety measures have been put in place".

Work to install alternative accommodation was under way to reduce the impact on students' education, the school added.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We have been clear since Thursday about the number of schools immediately impacted by RAAC... The education secretary will inform Parliament next week of the plan to keep parents and the public updated on the issue.

"We are incredibly grateful to school and college leaders for their work with us at pace to make sure that where children are affected, disruption is kept to a minimum, and in the even rarer cases where remote learning is required, it is for a matter of days not weeks."