Hundreds of school buildings shut in England over concrete safety fears

Hundreds of school buildings in England have been forced to close, over fears they were built with RAAC - a type of concrete now known to be prone to collapse.

Disruption is expected for pupils, while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said it is “utterly wrong’ to blame him for failing to act sooner to fix the problem – after a former senior civil servant said the government halved the budget for school repairs in England in 2021.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has apologised after swearing in "off-the-cuff remarks" after a TV interview, before later saying "nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff".