West Berkshire Council checks all schools for ‘crumbly’ concrete and gives them a clean bill of health, following warnings of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete last week

Schools across West Berkshire will be opening as usual with none of the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) crumbly concrete having been identified locally.

The council has inspected all its schools and given them a structural clean bill of health.

This type of concrete, used between the 1950s and 1990s, has been found to be less durable, and more susceptible to structural failure when it’s exposed to moisture.

It has a lifespan of around 30 years, and the Department for Education (DfE) last week updated its guidance to require any school building using this material to be vacated until they can be made safe.

The council says it will be undertaking some further, more intrusive, work at a number of schools in the district, although this is being done as a precautionary measure.

Councillor Heather Codling (Lib Dem, Chieveley and Cold Ash), executive member for children, education and young people’s services, said: “I’m sure that, like me, many people will have been concerned by the news reports but I’d like to reassure them that our schools are safe.

"We have been following the national guidance, inspected the relevant schools and not found anything to worry about.

"Out of an abundance of caution there is a little more work to do at some of them but there is nothing to suggest there is any cause for concern.

“The start of the school year can be a busy and sometimes stressful time for parents and I hope that the reassurance we can offer in this regard makes that transition back to school a little bit easier.”