Children who attend special schools and looked-after children are among those included in the warning from Dame Rachel de Souza after the Department for Education advised 104 schools across the UK to fully or partially close because they are fitted with a concrete that could suddenly collapse.
Guidance was issued to schools fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) on Thursday (31 August) just days before pupils were due to return to classrooms for the autumn term.
RAAC is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but is now assessed to be at risk of collapse.
It is believed to be fitted in 156 schools, however, 52 have taken protective steps to prevent collapse already this year.
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