Councillor Amy Tisi, Cabinet member for children’s services, education and Windsor, said: “We understand this is a worrying time for schools, parents and pupils. At this stage, we are not aware of any RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) in any state schools in the Royal Borough, with the one exception of St Francis Catholic Primary School in Ascot. RAAC was identified in part of the school in July 2023, and the affected areas were closed.
“In liaison with the Department for Education and the council, the academy trust responsible for St Francis has arranged alternative classroom accommodation on-site to allow the school to re-open to all pupils at the start of the new academic year and has been in touch directly with parents around those arrangements.
“The Royal Borough continues to work closely with the Department of Education on its programme of RAAC identification in schools, and schools will keep parents updated with any developments.”
The Royal Borough is the Responsible Body for community and voluntary controlled schools. We commissioned a RAAC survey of our school buildings in 2022, and no RAAC was found.
The Responsible Bodies for academies (their academy trust) and voluntary aided schools (the Diocesan authorities) are responsible for their own buildings and for carrying out checks in relation to RAAC. We are not currently aware of any positive RAAC identification at any school in the borough other than St Francis Catholic Primary School, but continue to monitor the situation.
National guidance for parents on RAAC is available on the government website.