Thirty-nine schools have temporarily or permanently closed since December 2019 because their buildings were unsafe.
The admission from government, made in answer to a Parliamentary written question from Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munria Wilson, is the latest evidence of the crumbling condition of England’s school estate.
Last week, it emerged that the Department for Education had admitted it does not know which schools are at risk of collapse, despite escalating the risk level of school buildings collapsing to “very likely”.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said since December 2019, the DfE had been “made aware of 39 schools that have closed on a temporary or permanent basis, because one or more school buildings have been deemed unsafe”.
