Scarborough school delays start of term over concrete issue

Scalby School will remain closed to allow safety measures to be put in place

A school in Scarborough will not reopen to pupils on Tuesday due to a type of potentially dangerous concrete.

Scalby School said it had identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) earlier this year and had put safety measures in place.

Head teacher Chris Robinson said changes to government guidance on Thursday meant it would have to delay reopening until 11 September.

The school has about 1,000 pupils aged between 11 and 16.

RAAC is a lightweight "bubbly" form of concrete used widely between the 1950s and mid-1990s - usually in the form of panels on flat roofs, as well as occasionally in pitched roofs, floors and walls.

A total of 156 schools in England have been confirmed as containing it since 2022.

Of those, 52 were deemed a critical risk, and safety measures have already put in place, while a further 104 schools with RAAC were deemed non-critical.

Mr Robertson said previous guidelines had seen the school develop contingency plans, however he said he was contacted on Thursday by the Department for Education (DfE) with new guidance.

It includes closing buildings and rooms with RAAC unless they have safety measures in place - which could include propping up ceilings.

"We believe significant parts of the school site are affected by the change in guidance," he said in a letter to parents.

He warned it would have a "significant" impact on the education provision it could offer in the short term and would mean closing parts of the school.

'Safety of paramount importance'

Mr Robertson said delaying the start of term would give the school time to "reorganise the school curriculum, work with contractors to start work to reopen parts of the building and ensure that the school is fully risk assessed".

He said initial conversations with contractors and the DfE meant reopening would "likely be a mix of face-to-face and online home learning".

The head said the safety of staff and pupils was of "paramount importance".

"This decision has been taken out of an abundance of caution to ensure pupil safety, and we will be doing all we can to ensure that the impact on students is kept to a minimum," he added.

Scalby School is run by the Coast and Vale Learning Trust, but North Yorkshire Council said it was working with them and was monitoring the situation.

Director of children and young people's service Stuart Carlton said its priority was the safety of children and staff.

He said Scalby was the only one in the county it was aware of which had been constructed using RAAC.

City of York Council confirmed it was unaware of any of its schools being affected by RAAC.