Thought for the Week 03/09/2023
A government in Control??
At the time of writing – Sunday 3rd September – 104 schools have been told to close – all with, at most, three days’ notice before the start on the new term – with an unknown number still to come.
In England, there are over 150 schools already identified as having a problem with RAAC (Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete)
There is a total, in England, of 24,000 units, defined as schools.
– there can be no excuses for the lack of notice – in fact, it is now emerging that some schools – no numbers yet – were told on Thursday 31st to close the next day .
This is extreme ‘knee -jerk management.
There can be no excuses and it’s not enough for them to say -‘We acted as soon as we knew the risk’ –
in fact, it’s an outright lie.
The problem was known about, over fifty years ago when RAAC was first used and the life span of the material, which was thirty years – was reflected in the manufacturer’s/constructor’s guarantees. It was, of course – the cheaper option.
So, it was well known that it would have to be replaced well before the millennium. .
The first school roof to collapse was in 2019.
I have no children still in school and am very thankful that I am not a teacher. I am often reminded by a couple of friends who are school teachers – how lucky I was to end up in further Education with adult students . Some of the pressures on-school teachers and administrators, are near intolerable and the current generations of pupils have already survived the disruption of the pandemic – we hope without out permanent damage – and, of course, working parents with school age children now stuck at home.
This is all they needed!
but my personal worry is –
There are an unknown – or un-released, number of hospitals which were built with the same RAAC.
There are already hospitals, it is reported – attempting to house their heavier patients on lower floors to minimise the risk. of collapse’
Even worse – most public buildings built in the 1950s and 60s – were also built with RAAC – That includes all national and local government buildings and Civil Service office blocks, Register Offices etc. etc, i.e. hundreds of them.
Sorry – if you were unaware of this – but – we should all hope and encourage – the government of the day, to learn from this fiasco – and maybe consider – a bit of a plan of action rather than the ‘panicked rabbit in the headlights.’ approach.
Final comment – from a government Minister -Gillian Keegan, Education Secretary – broadcast live, on an ITV morning show -when she thought she was off mike – just this morning – 4th September
“Does anyone ever say ’you know what you’ve done a f***ing good job because everyone else has sat on their arses and done nothing? No signs of that, no.”
Couldn’t agree more.