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At least 39 state schools in England have been forced to close either partially or entirely in the last three years because one or more buildings have been deemed unsafe, the government has confirmed.
In three cases, concerns about building safety were so extensive that the entire school site had to be closed down permanently, with pupils moved off-site to alternative accommodation.
Five schools had one or more unsafe buildings closed down on a permanent basis, while ministers confirmed that of 31 schools affected temporarily, 23 schools suffered the disruption of full-site closures and eight had partial closures.
The government said the closures since December 2019 were due to a range of reasons, including structural concerns and general condition issues, such as roofing and boiler failures. “Where schools have closed, pupils have been relocated to existing spaces available on the school site or into alternative accommodation until a long-term solution is in place.”
The details, revealed in a written answer to the Liberal Democrats, will fuel mounting concern about the crumbling condition of the school estate in England, highlighted by seven education unions that wrote to the government last week, and the Royal Institute of British Architects, which had also demanded urgent action.
The Department for Education acknowledged in its annual report in December “there is a risk of collapse of one or more blocks in some schools which are at, or approaching, the end of their designed life expectancy, and structural integrity is impaired”. Officials also raised the risk level of buildings collapsing from “critical” to “critical – very likely”.
Nick Gibb, minister of state for schools, said in his written answer that authorities were not obliged to report building-related school closures to the department, raising the possibility of further closures on other school sites across the country.
Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson said: “Every school that shuts is another concrete sign of years of Conservative neglect of our schools and other public services.
“These shocking statistics show how crumbling schools have now become commonplace. The government has been ignoring warnings from its own officials that some school buildings are unsafe, let alone fit for purpose.
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“Successive Conservative prime ministers have cut capital spending on education and stood by whilst thousands of children’s learning has been disrupted.”
Gibb said the government has allocated more than £13bn since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8bn committed this financial year. He also said the department’s school rebuilding programme will transform 500 schools over the next decade, prioritising schools in poor condition or with potential safety issues.
