Asad Awais
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Supplied

Henry was supposed to start studying for his GCSEs this week – instead he’ll be away from school.

“I don't know when I'm going back or when I'm going to start lessons."

He tells BBC Newsbeat he’s “quite happy” to have more time at home, but the importance of GCSEs means he wants to “get on with it”.

“And get the work done, and see my mates.”

The 14-year-old from Lancashire also says he’s not looking forward to the possibility of online learning again, having experienced it once during the Covid pandemic.

“It's not ideal... it's just something that you're going to have to take on the chin and get on with.”

As long as the disruption doesn’t last more than a few weeks, Henry will be happy.

“There’s all this uncertainty, nobody knows what’s happening.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan says she wasn't referring to any one person in particular when she complained about other people having "sat on their [expletive] and done nothing" in the wake of the discovery of unsafe RAAC in schools.

It was an off the cuff remark made after the interviewer had pressed her quite hard, she said.

"It is frustrating because we're doing everything now to take a leading position, to be on the front foot and to put all the support in place that responsible bodies and schools need," she said.

She added, referring to surveys that were sent to schools to identify unsafe RAAC: "It's also frustrating that we've got some questionnaires that still are not there, we've been chasing and chasing them, we've written again today to say you need to get your questionnaires in by the end of the week," she added.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has apologised for her language after her earlier interview.

This clip contains language some people may find offensive.

The material at the centre of all of this, RAAC - Reinforced Autoclaved Aeriated Concrete - is a lightweight material that was used in roofs, floors and walls between the 1950s and 1990s.

It is a cheaper alternative to standard building material and is made up of an aerated structure.

When used in the construction of buildings, it is most commonly found on flat roofs, but can also be present in pitched roofs, floors or walls.

RAAC is now thought to have a limited lifespan, which is why there is a scramble to reinforce or rebuild structures that contain it.

Image source, .

Keir Starmer says the government's handling of the RAAC situation "is descending into a farce".

Watch what the Labour leader had to say below.

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Joshua Wedgewood, a 15-year-old student due to begin Year 11 at St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham has got in touch with us, his school is among those temporarily closed due to RAAC.

This week he begins the year with online lessons - a familiar but unwelcome concept for him having done plenty of it during the pandemic.

"I prefer being in school, it's better to be with people instead of being isolated," he said.

He says his cohort has missed "almost two years" of face-to-face school. "I've missed out on all those years and now it's a repeat," he said.

"My school has taken the right approach, but it sucks the government waited so long to do something about the companies behind RAAC."

RAAC - which stands for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete - is a cheaper and lightweight form of concrete. It is more dangerous than standard concrete for several reasons:

• It's aerated structure means moisture can seep in and weaken the material, making it more susceptible to collapse
• This also means that the steel reinforcements within the panel are not well-protected against rusting
• The steel supports also may not extend far enough to hold the weight of the slab, making it more fragile
• RAAC is commonly used in ceilings, floors and walls

Image source, .

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Court buildings built in the 1990s will undergo urgent tests after RAAC was found in one.

Harrow Crown Court closed indefinitely last month because the unstable concrete was found during improvement works. Yet the court's closure came months after the government said it had identified and fixed court buildings containing the material.

The government now says that Harrow Crown Court had not been included in that survey because it was opened in 1991. The survey only examined court buildings opened earlier because those were deemed at risk.

The closure of Harrow could therefore fuel concerns that other 1990s builds may be dangerous.

The government declined to comment on the record but a source at the Ministry of Justice said they were complying with all statutory measures.

Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said the development "immediately calls into question every other instance across government when ministers have assured us that the necessary surveys have been conducted, or are nearing completion".

• You can read the full story from Henry here

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

The PM's official spokesperson has said no definitive number could be given on the number of schools affected by potentially dangerous RAAC concrete, but confirmed hundreds could be impacted.

"We expect the numbers to be hundreds not thousands."

"Whilst we are waiting on some schools to return their surveys and confirm their specific situations, we can't be more definitive," he added.

"The vast majority we believe, more than 95%, won't be affected."

The spokesperson stressed the DfE would make available funding for additional costs incurred by schools, such as transport to alternative sites, but refused to say if all outstanding costs would be covered - saying the government was keeping in touch with school leaders.

"Without specific examples I can't be definitive. We don't want this to impact school budgets crucially."

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

Downing Street has defended Rishi Sunak's decisions over school refurbishment and rebuilding when he was chancellor, amid criticism that the level of funding was inadequate.

The prime minister's official spokesperson said Sunak "set out a significant funded programme of school rebuilding when he became chancellor - and he maintained that in 2021, at the same time he invested £5bn to help children catch up from lost learning caused by Covid".

The spokesperson added: "What we have seen over a number of years is our understanding of the challenges posed by RAAC evolve.

“As the expert advice has changed, the government changed its approach and indeed that is what you saw in advance of the September term starting."

No 10 Downing Street has said comments by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, where she voiced her frustrations about the RAAC response, were "wrong".

Keegan had been interviewed by ITV News and after it ended, she was filmed saying: "Does anyone ever say 'you know what, you've done a [expletive] good job because everyone else has sat on their [expletive] and done nothing?' No signs of that, no?"

According to ITV News, Keegan's remarks were aimed at local authorities.

Asked to respond, a No 10 source told BBC News: "These comments were wrong."

Dr John Roberts, former president of the Institution of Structural Engineers, spoke to The World at One on Radio 4 in the last hour.

"I didn't think it [RAAC] was ever the material I would be happy to use as a structural material, it doesn't resemble ordinary concrete. I don't believe it should have been sold as effectively a pre-cast manufactured concrete product. It was inherently, in my view, a risky material to be using," he said.

Dr Roberts believed it was miss-sold.

"This was not being designed by consulting structural engineers. It was being purchased from catalogues that were being promoted by the manufacturers, you didn't get any real information about it."

Roberts said RAAC should never have been used in any permanent buildings, including schools.

Work to investigate the use of RAAC in public sector buildings in Scotland will "take some time", according to Scotland's first minister.

Humza Yousaf said there was no immediate risk to staff or pupils and that sites will continue to be monitored.

The Scottish government has confirmed that 35 schools have been identified with RAAC.

Schools in Scotland returned from the summer holidays in August.

A Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Liberal Democrats has revealed that buildings belonging to 10 Scottish universities and colleges contain the lightweight concrete.

According to a report published in February 2023, more than 250 NHS Scotland buildings contained the material.

Image source, PA Media

Our political editor Chris Mason calls the situation "a mess without obvious end from the government's perspective", given Jonathan Slater's interview earlier and Rishi Sunak's answer to that. As well as the scale of the problem still being unknown.

"What has happened here over the summer was the Department of Education changed its view about what an acceptable risk was," Mason tells The World at One on Radio 4.

"Having done that they have completely reframed the nature of a conversation about this type of concrete," he adds.

Mason was speaking to some government officials about the time Slater was referring to in his interview.

"They argue that there were conversations about the concrete, but the bigger conversation was per pupil funding and teachers' pay."

According to the officials in Cardiff that Mason spoke to, the Welsh government was only told last night, just before 19:00 BST, what the new perception of risk around RAAC was.

Ellie Price
Reporting from St Thomas More Catholic comprehensive school, Eltham

The school gates were always going to be closed here today, as it’s an inset day.

The newbie Year 7s start tomorrow and everyone else comes back on Wednesday.

But the head teacher here wrote to parents on Friday, saying despite previous advice that the concrete in their school hall was safe... the guidance has changed.

So when all the kids return here they’ll find they can’t go into certain buildings. They’ll have a marquee instead of a canteen, and a temporary alternative to the toilet blocks - as those are also closed.

It’s not gone down well with students. One teenager told me she was dreading coming back and having to use the “porta-potties”.

Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, has accused the government of having "no plan" in response to the RAAC crisis.

Currently there is one school in his constituency directly affected by the presence of RAAC - St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham - and Jones says he has been "inundated" with messages from concerned parents "facing this very worrying situation".

"Many of these children have already been affected by the Covid pandemic - and it's potentially disastrous for their education if it is going to be disrupted in this way," he told the PA news agency.

"The irony about St Leonard's is, it was one of the schools included in the Building Schools For The Future programme which was cancelled by this government.

"Now, 13 years later, we are still waiting for a new school building, and these problems have clearly arisen.

"The government have got to take full responsibility."

Two schools on Anglesey have closed because of concerns over RAAC, the Welsh government has said

Pupils were meant to be returning to Ysgol David Hughes and Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi tomorrow.

Work is continuing to assess the scale of the issue across Wales, with the results expected in two weeks.

The prime minister says the government acted as "swiftly as possible" when RAAC concrete issues were found in England's schools.

Rishi Sunak admitted the “timing is frustrating” but the bulk of the remaining schools with problems would be investigated.

More than 100 schools have been shut fully or partially due to risky reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Image source, PA Media

It's been a busy day so far.

In the last few hours, we've heard from across the political spectrum and from parents grappling with a disrupted start to the academic year. Here's a quick catch-up:

• Rishi Sunak defended his school budget after a former DfE civil servant accused the government of delivering a fraction of the funding required to address RAAC in schools
• Labour called on the government to publish the list of schools affected by closures, and the Lib Dems accused the government of ignoring school safety
• Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the list of schools would be published later this week, we are keeping our own list here.
• Keegan defended the education budget, and assured schools there is funding to remove RAAC
• Some head teachers told us of the uncertainty they face over the coming weeks, but some parents say it's clear schools are doing their best

Stick with us as we bring you the latest throughout the afternoon

As we've been reporting, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked this morning whether he was to blame for not spending enough money on rebuilding schools in light of the problems with RAAC concrete.

Earlier a former senior civil servant accused Sunak of halving the planned budget for rebuilding schools when he was chancellor in 2021 - so that instead of 100 schools getting on the list, it would be 50 a year.

Sunak said in his first spending review he announced a new 10-year school rebuilding programme for 500 schools, and this was completely in line with what was done in the previous decade.