Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of RAAC-related disruption on exam preparations for students in years 11 and 13.

Thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders, all schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils. The department is supporting schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum.

The government is funding the removal of RAAC present in school and colleges either through grants, or through the School Rebuilding Programme. A list of education settings with confirmed RAAC and the funding route to permanently remove RAAC was published on 8 February 2024, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. Every school or college with confirmed RAAC has been assigned dedicated support from caseworkers and project delivery teams are also on hand to support with implementing mitigation plans.

Every case is unique and the impact on schools and colleges can be highly varied, including for students in years 11 and 13. Departmental officials work with schools and colleges to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. In some cases, there is no impact on teaching space, or it is limited to small areas. For others, mitigation plans can include using other spaces on the school site or locally until building works are carried out or temporary buildings are installed.

Alongside Ofqual, the department has worked with examination awarding organisations to facilitate discussions with affected schools. Awarding organisations have agreed to be as flexible as possible within the constraints of their regulations and processes, for example by agreeing longer extensions for coursework and non-examination assessments where needed so that pupils have as much time as possible to complete these tasks.