School bosses told to 'get off their backsides' and complete concrete consultations
The education secretary has become embroiled in another row over her language, drawing ire from a teaching union, as ITV News Correspondent Rebecca Barry reports
School bosses who have not responded to consultations about crumbling concrete have been told to “get off their backsides” and inform the government if they are affected.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan made the call in an interview on Tuesday, a day after she was forced to apologise for a sweary outburst in frustration with the schools' crisis after an interview with ITV News.
Speaking to Jeremy Vine, Ms Keegan said she hoped all the “publicity” around reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in buildings will make the responsible bodies for schools fill out the government’s questionnaire by the end of this week.
Her comments come as more than 100 schools in England were told to fully or partially close at the start of term because of the presence of collapse-risk concrete in their buildings.
Many are now having to find temporary teaching locations, while others have had to resort to home-learning.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan asks why no one was saying she's 'done a f****** good job', in the moments after an ITV interview on the schools' Raac crisis
Ms Keegan's comment to the BBC was described as a "second display of petulance" by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said: "This is the education secretary's second display of petulance in consecutive days - albeit on this occasion without the swear words attached - and isn't very helpful.
"Schools have been expected to identify Raac even though this is a specialist field and are unlikely to have staff who are experts in this area.
"They have received minimal help from the Department for Education which will have known which schools have not returned surveys for several months and which has had ample time to reach out to them. The Education Secretary would do better to provide support, rather than blame."
Meanwhile, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders' union, blamed the crisis on "the direct result of ministerial decisions to slash capital budgets".
On Tuesday, a minister admitted that Rishi Sunak, when he was chancellor in 2021, agreed funding for the rebuilding of 50 schools a year instead of the 200 that was requested.
It followed claims by a former DfE permanent secretary, Jonathan Slater, who said that Mr Sunak took the decision to "halve the size of the programme" when he was chancellor in 2021.
Mr Sunak told broadcasters the accusation was "completely and utterly wrong".
'Rishi Sunak has cut the money needed to keep our schools safe', Labour's Jonathan Ashworth tells ITV News
Labour has piled pressure on the now prime minister to come clean about his alleged role in the funding of school rebuilding, insisting he is not prepared "to spend the money that is needed to ensure that our children, this country's children, are given the best possible education in the safest possible environment."
Jonathan Ashworth told ITV News: "This is an astonishing admission, and I think in the end it shows this is a government which after 13 years of failure is letting down pupils and parents across the country."
Since the schools' crisis has unfolded, a number of other public buildings, including theatres, have been forced to close after discovering the presence of potentially dangerous Raac.
The National Theatre has also released a statement, informing audiences that a small number of its backstage areas are constructed using the concrete, but current indications suggest "they are safe and do not currently require remedial works."
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