One in five schools still contain asbestos, research shows

More than 80 per cent of schools have reported that asbestos is present in their building, research shows.

Pupils in around one in five schools in England are being put at risk of asbestos exposure, research by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) suggests.

More than 5,500 schools participated in the asbestos research, which found that 4,646 had stated that asbestos was present in their school.

The results also show that 19 per cent of schools have not been safely managing asbestos risks and the Department of Education had to intervene in over 100 schools because the asbestos situation was serious.

The EFA has since issued new guidance on how to manage the risks of asbestos. This includes reminding teachers not to put drawing pins into walls because it can release asbestos fibres.

If materials containing asbestos are damaged, fibres can be released into the air and if they are breathed in by staff and children it could put them at risk of getting a serious disease such as lung cancer.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, commented: “It is deeply concerning that 20 per cent of those schools responding to the data collection were not fully compliant with regulations.

“Given this was a voluntary process with only 25% of schools responding, it is reasonable to assume that schools who know they are not compliant would be less likely to respond, therefore the true number who are failing to comply could be substantially higher, with hundreds of schools putting pupils and teachers at risk by failing to manage asbestos effectively.

Keates added: “Asbestos is lethal. The only safe asbestos is removed asbestos. The DfE must bring forward proposals for the phased removal of all asbestos in schools without delay.”