We need to tackle asbestos in schools urgently

Our team have been out and about during the school summer break tackling the critical problem of asbestos in schools.

It is more than a year since the National Audit Office report, titled Condition of School Buildings, was released and sadly, not much has changed.

Published on 28^th June 2023, the report focuses on school buildings in the UK and examines whether the Department for Education is achieving its objectives to ensure school estates contain the safe and well-maintained school buildings that it regards as essential for a high-quality education. 

Shocking statistics

Unfortunately, the statistics revealed that more than a third of school buildings – 38% – are believed to be past their estimated initial design life which could be extended with adequate maintenance. 

So, 700,000 pupils are learning in a school that a responsible authority believes requires major rebuilding or refurbishment.

The audit reviews more than 21,000 schools in England – 64,000 individual buildings.

Of those, there are 3,600 system-built blocks which are prefabricated and bolted together on site.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many local authority buildings were constructed this way because it was quick, easy and cost effective.

Unfortunately, these buildings were also constructed with asbestos and are now starting to deteriorate significantly.

This creates a ticking time bomb that is possibly exposing people, day in, day out. 

Funding problems

A total of 15% of eligible schools made no applications for maintenance or repair funding between 2016/17 and 2022/23. 

It could be that schools don’t know that the funding is available or that the route to get said funding is not always clear, due to some being independent, some run by the local authority, and some being academy trusts.

The report concludes that there is also a significant gap between the funding available and what the DfE assesses. 

Funding is often used for urgent repairs rather than planned maintenance, which the Department for Education itself acknowledges risks not offering good long-term value for money. There’s no proactive maintenance being carried out or longevity plan. Stick a plaster on it, carry on. 

Costs are going up, budgets are being strangled and restrained and nothing’s going to get cheaper. 

In life, everything goes up year after year.  So, the cost of tackling the asbestos in schools problem now is going to be cheaper than what it will be to sort it out in 10 years from now, or 40 years from now.

Huge safety risk

Many school buildings contain asbestos, which presents a safety risk if not managed carefully and increases the cost of maintenance and repair work.

Everybody focuses on is the shiny new office, or classroom and all the work that goes into creating the plans, doing design features,  and making it look beautiful. 

Everybody forgets they’ve got to get rid of asbestos first or we might come across asbestos in a project. After a survey, lo and behold, the budget is blown dealing with the asbestos.

School budgets are usually set in stone. If it comes in at an extra 50K, the works has to be postponed until next year or they need to go back for extra funding.

The fact that many school buildings contain asbestos and are beyond their estimated initial lifespan suggests that there is a pressing need for careful management and potential removal of asbestos. This is especially important given that these buildings are used by children who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of asbestos exposure.

Act now

Sadly, our schools in England are old, decrepit, falling apart beyond their life cycle, and, most worryingly, contain asbestos.

We’ve already talked about asbestos not being managed correctly, and budgets being restrained. Plus, children are more susceptible to asbestos fibres because their lungs are developing. 

We need to do something now.

Many headteachers and their teams are campaigning for something to be done about their degrading, poor condition schools. 

But headteachers run schools and teach, they shouldn’t have to deal with building works, maintenance and asbestos. We can help.

During the school holidays is the best time to tackle asbestos in schools. If you are concerned about your school building and need an assessment or action, contact us today to book in for October half term – or before if it is urgent.

Remember, asbestos first, not last.

Acorn is a professional asbestos consultancy helping organisations deal with asbestos compliance using asbestos surveys, asbestos air testing, and asbestos removal management. 

Please call one of the team, or use the online form to obtain your free quotation. If you would like further information or advice on asbestos and asbestos training, contact the team on 0844 818 0895 or Contact Us.