Get off our backsides? We sent back our safety surveys weeks ago, say schools

THE row over crumbling concrete grew today as schools claimed they filled in safety surveys "months ago", after the Education Secretary told headteachers to "get off their backsides" and send back the forms.

- Rachael Burford and Jitendra Joshi

Gillian Keegan, who also faced criticism for claiming that "everyone else has sat on their arse" while she tried to fix the scandal, has accused five per cent of schools or responsible bodies of not responding to the survey asking if they had dangerous RAAC concrete in their buildings.

Earlier this week, Baroness Barran sent out hundreds of "telling off" letters to teachers. They said: "While the Department for Education (DfE) will give you our best advice and support should RAAC be identified, I would remind you that you are the body responsible for the maintenance and safety of your school buildings. Given the new advice that we issued last week, it is imperative that you return the questionnaire by September 8.!"

But school leaders today hit back and said they are concerned the Government is not keeping proper records and may have "lost" the responses they sent back "months ago". One London headteacher said: "We responded months ago and still received a telling off letter. What is the DfE doing? Have they lost our forms? They're the ones that need to get organised."