School closures: Children felt 'nervous and confused' after RAAC found in their school

Children at one school in Leicester have been telling Newsround they have felt "worried", "nervous" and "confused" after parts of their school was closed due to RAAC found in the ceiling.

After hearing about RAAC at her school, one of the children said she had felt "scared" because she thought "the classroom ceiling would collapse", but says her teachers have since reassured her that pupils will be kept safe.

RAAC is a type of concrete and stands for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, it's not as strong as standard concrete and there are concerns that buildings made using RAAC could now be unsafe.

Most schools do not have buildings with RAAC in them and won't be affected, but for more than 100 schools in England, over 30 in Scotland and two in Wales that do, they have been forced to close buildings until they are made safe.

Teachers at Parks Primary School in Leicester were first made aware of RAAC in some rooms in May. It meant children having to be off school for five days while work was carried out to see how serious the problem was.

"They come in and do a survey where they look to see if you've got RAAC, because not all schools will have RAAC," said the school's headteacher, Cas Evans.

"They take off all of the ceiling tiles so they can actually see the quality of the RAAC."

Following the inspection, the school's gym, kitchen and dining room all had to close and while classrooms downstairs are still in use - as they have ceilings made from another material - classrooms upstairs on the building's first floor have RAAC and have been closed.

It's meant that children in years 4, 5 and 6, that have lessons in those rooms, have been moved to a children's centre and a council building close to the main school. Going to lessons in those buildings means a five minute walk for pupils across two car parks to get there.

One boy who had his classes moved at the school said the situation had made him "nervous" because he felt like "school might not be the same".

However, other children described the change of classrooms as "an adventure" that's made them feel "safer".

The children also aren't allowed to use school toilets anymore, so have to use portable toilets on the school playground instead.

'We found out in May and it's September now'

Children are having to use portable toilets on the school's playground

The UK government, which makes decisions for schools in England has faced criticism for telling schools to close buildings this close to the start of a new term.

One girl said it feels "strange that over 100 schools are having the same problem," while her classmate added that she was surprised RAAC is in the news now, when their school knew about the problem in May.

"We found out in May and it's September now, so I think they should've put it in earlier in the news."

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan has faced criticism over her handling of the situation

The government has been inspecting the conditions in school buildings since 2017, but Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said that three incidents over the summer had led her to take action to close school buildings - just days before the new school year was due to begin.

The government also says money will be made available for schools needing to fix their buildings.

'Don't worry'

Work was carried out in May to look at the quality of RAAC at the school and a decision was made to close several rooms

For children who now find themselves in a similar situation, facing lessons in temporary classrooms, the message from the pupils at Parks Primary School is "don't worry".

"When it's on the news, I feel like I know quite a bit because it's happened to my school," said one boy.

"It won't be exactly the same - you'll probably be able to see your friends.

"Don't worry about your learning, you'll still be able to learn," he added.