Commenting on reports that the government will today contact over a hundred affected schools to ask them to close parts of their buildings due to a risk of collapse, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“NAHT has repeatedly raised concerns about these buildings for a long time now, so while this news is shocking, sadly it is not hugely surprising. What we are seeing here are the very real consequences of a decade of swingeing cuts to spending on school buildings.

“The government is right to put the safety of pupils and staff first – if the safety of buildings cannot be guaranteed, there is no choice but to close them so urgent building work can take place.

“But there is no escaping the fact that the timing of this couldn’t be worse, with children due to return from the summer holidays next week. This will put school leaders under tremendous pressure as they have to scramble to organise alternative accommodation. As always, they will put the safety of children and staff first and make the necessary arrangements, but they will need urgent support to do so, and emergency funding must be made available where it is needed.

“This must now serve as the wake-up call for the government to start a proper programme of repairs and re-building right across the school estate – the minimum parents should be able to expect is for children to be taught in buildings that are safe and fit for purpose.”