SEVERAL schools in Swindon have been re-tested for RAAC following the government's revelation that many in the country are at risk of collapse. 

At the beginning of the month, Swindon Borough Council said that there was 'no indication' that reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete had been used in any of the Swindon schools that it is responsible for. 

But the local authority did say it was carrying out further inspections 'as a precaution'.

It has now revealed that 11 out of the 15 schools it manages have been successfully tested and RAAC was not uncovered in any of them. 

The full list of schools tested and confirmed to be clear from RAAC is below.

School Name

Beechcroft Infant School

Bishopstone CE Primary School

Chiseldon Primary School

Colebrook Junior School

Crowdys Hill School

Eldene Primary School

Even Swindon Primary School

Lainesmead Primary School

Oaktree Primary School

Wanborough Primary School

Westrop Primary School

 

Of the four remaining council-run settings not tested, East Wichel Community Primary and Haydonleigh Primary Schools were both built outside of the construction dates advised in the government’s criteria.

Covingham Park Primary and Lawn Primary have both previously had RAAC inspections carried out and were also clear. 

Councillor Adorabelle Shaikh, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for education, said: “I want to reassure all parents, carers and teachers that the Council is taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of pupils and staff in our local authority-maintained schools for which we are responsible.

“The Council was issued with guidance from the DfE back in 2019 on the use of RAAC in schools and, since then, our Property team has used condition surveys to carry out an assessment of all our maintained schools. Every school was deemed to be perfectly safe, according to the DfE guidance.

“As the DfE’s risk profile for RAAC has recently changed, we carried out additional surveys in 11 of our 15 maintained schools last week. I’m pleased to report that all of these precautionary inspections identified no concerns."

Ms Shaikh says the council is also working with the academy-owned schools to ensure they are doing what they can to confirm the safety of their buildings 

“The vast majority of schools within Swindon are academies and responsible for their own buildings. We have contacted all these schools to re-emphasise the DfE guidance on RAAC and to complete the associated building survey. The Regional Director’s Division has also confirmed that no schools in Swindon have so far been identified.

“If issues are found in any of the Borough’s academy schools we will support them as much as we can. Parents should speak to their individual schools if they have any concerns.”