Labour has also ramped up its calls for the government to reveal the “full extent” of the impact of RAAC on schools and says it could force a vote in parliament next week.
A return to pandemic-style home learning for school pupils impacted by the unsafe concrete crisis should only last “days, not weeks”, the government has said.
More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings – just days before the start of the new school year – over fears about the safety of facilities built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
However, the department says a move to remote education should only be considered as a “last resort” and only for a “short period”.
Schools impacted by the crisis have instead been advised by the government to find space in nearby schools, community centres or even “empty local office buildings”.
They say such spaces should be utilised for the “first few weeks” while structural supports are installed to mitigate the risk of collapse of structures built with RAAC.
Meanwhile, Labour has ramped up its calls for the government to reveal the “full extent” of the impact of RAAC, including by publicly listing the schools which have had to close or partially shut.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb has pledged to publish the list in “in due course”, while it is understood a full list will only be released by the DfE when all parents are informed and mitigations are in place.
Labour says it will call for a vote next week in the House of Commons with the aim of forcing the government to publish all official documents about their handling of the RAAC crisis.
The party’s shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, said: “Parents and the public have the right to know where public buildings affected by this dangerous concrete are, what ministers knew about the risk that this concrete posed to life and why they acted to intervene only days before the start of the school term.
“An urgent, full audit is required to reveal the extent that Conservative ministers failed to replace this dangerous concrete across the public sector estate.
“It’s time ministers were transparent about their handling of this debacle: if they still refuse to publish these documents and give parents the reassurances they deserve about the risks to their children’s safety, then we will force a vote in parliament next week.”
The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have called on the prime minister to hold an emergency Cobra meeting over the problem.
