Asbestos in school buildings

Community’s Education Committee has written to the Department for Education’s Estates Team to highlight concerns around the prevalence of asbestos in school buildings across England.

Researchers at the Mesothelioma UK Research Centre in Sheffield have drawn attention to the problem, emphasising that many education workers work in old school buildings and ‘pre-fab’ school accommodation in which asbestos is likely to be present, heightening the risk of pupils and teachers developing diseases like mesothelioma.

The Community Education Committee’s letter to the Department for Education highlights the need for urgent and sustained attention to the issue of asbestos exposure in schools. In the letter the committee have also asked the DfE for clarity on steps being taking to ensure consistent, robust asbestos management practices are in place across all maintained schools and academies in England, and pressed the government on plans to move towards a long-term strategy of phased asbestos removal from the school estate.

Community Operations Director and National Secretary for Education and Early Years Helen Osgood said:

“Mesothelioma UK and the Mesothelioma UK Research Centre at the University of Sheffield have undertaken vital research outlining how much of the English schools estate still contains asbestos and other harmful fibres which pose significant risks to our members in the education workforce, and the pupils they support.

As the RAAC crisis in 2023 proved, school buildings in England were long starved of the investment they needed by the previous Conservative government, which infamously scrapped Labour’s new school building targets. That was a grave mistake, and contrasted sharply with the situation in Wales where the Welsh Labour government continued building modern school buildings under the 21st Century Schools programme.

“Every educator deserves to work in a safe and secure environment. We cannot just accept the fact that the education sector is a high-risk industry for malignant conditions like mesothelioma, we need to see something done about it. That means the government doing all it can to drive up standards across England and ensure that every school properly manages – and ultimately, removes – all asbestos-containing material from places of learning.

“Having a dedicated Community health and safety representative in schools also makes a huge difference. A Health and Safety rep on the ground can provide protection and reassurance and ensure that suitable action is taken. When it comes to hazards like asbestos, the presence of a Health and Safety rep can help ensure that concerns are heard, risks are addressed, and every child and staff member can learn and work in a safer, healthier environment.”