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In 2023, 62 Essex schools in Essex were found to have Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (known as RAAC). In many cases the concrete was crumbling and posed a safety risk, which led to some schools closing or needing temporary buildings.

A total of 54 schools are awaiting rebuilds, including Saint Andrew's Junior School in Hatfield Peverel.

91热爆 reporter Matt Knight has been taking a look around with headteacher Becky Black.

Picture credit: Matt Knight/91热爆.

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The Department for Education says:

* There are 518 schools in the School Rebuilding Programme. This includes 100 projects to start delivery across England next year.
* Schools are prioritised within the SRP programme according to the urgency of need at the school and all responsible bodies have been provided with indicative timelines.

On Essex specifically:

* Towns such as Brentwood, Barking and Harlow were either formed or received a huge amount of infrastructure being built in the years after World War Two as a result of the Essex and East London areas being bombed so heavily. It was in these years, between the 1950s and mid-1990s, that RAAC was so commonly used as a building material.

* As a result, the mass construction of buildings in these areas at that point in time is the reason why so many schools in Essex have been impacted by the presence of RAAC in buildings.

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