A BRADFORD academy trust has confirmed RAAC has been discovered in two of its schools. 

Christ Church Primary Academy in Windhill and Baildon C of E Primary School - both run by the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT) are affected. 

The Trust said it has taken "immediate action" to close down affected areas. 

Some pupils from Baildon C of E will now have to travel almost 10 miles to be taught at an activity centre in Ilkley for at least this week and the next, while two year groups from the same school will experience learning in a church hall over the same time period.

Around 150 schools were told by the Department for Education (DfE) to limit access and partially or fully close buildings due to that particular concrete being present, at the end of last week. 

Action has also had to be taken at two Bradford Council-run schools - Crossflatts Primary School and Eldwick Primary School. 

RAAC - meaning reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete - is a type of construction material widely used in buildings from the 1950s to the 1990s.

In recent years there have been growing concerns that the material is now beyond its limit.

Christ Church Primary was due to reopen to all years following the summer holidays today, after a training day on Monday.

But the school is shut to Years 1 to 6 today, with only nursery and reception classes able to attend. 

A letter, from headteacher Philippa Foster, said: "As you know, the safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff is our top priority.

"To help fast-track our inspections and identify any RAAC quickly, BDAT has funded structural surveys for our buildings.

"Following an inspection today, the results indicate that we do have RAAC in parts of our school building.

"We will receive further details about the exact location and extent of RAAC in the coming weeks but as a precautionary and safety measure, we will be closing some parts of the school in the interim."

The classrooms used by nursery and reception classes are unaffected by the survey's findings and "there is no risk in these areas of the building", according to the letter.

The school said it is working to house Years 5 and 6 in the school hall, which has been deemed as safe, and Mrs Foster added pupils in those classes should return on Wednesday, entering via the car park and hall door.

Years 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be remote learning from tomorrow afternoon, on ClassDojo, until at least next Monday, while the school works on finding accommodation for those classes.

The letter said: "We are now working closely with the DfE, BDAT and the wider Bradford community to assess the best possible option for our pupils to ensure they continue to receive an excellent education whilst this issue is addressed.

"In the meantime, we will also be working very closely with the DfE, our surveyors and our contractors to ensure any necessary measures are taken so our building is safe for pupils and staff to return to as quickly as possible.

"Whilst we are unable to confirm a timeframe for this just yet, we will update you on this as soon as we can.

"We apologise that we cannot yet confirm the full contingency plan - as we hope you can appreciate this has all happened very quickly, as you may have seen from national news coverage of other schools.

"We wanted you to be the first to know the current situation and to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to rectify this as quickly as possible."

The Trust also confirmed Baildon C of E Primary school is affected for the remainder of this week and next week.

Three of the setting's year groups are being taught at a different location.

Year 2 children have been told to go to Nell Bank, in Denton Road, Ilkley, while pupils in Year 5 and 6 will study at St John's Church Hall, in Hallcliffe, Baildon.

Meanwhile, those in Year 1 are being taught in the school hall at Baildon C of E Primary.

The remaining year groups - nursery, reception, Year 3 and Year 4 - are unaffected and are able to access their classrooms as normal.

A spokesperson for BDAT said: “We take the safety of our pupils and staff incredibly seriously and chose to fund inspections at each of our schools to ensure we could rapidly identify any RAAC in our buildings.

“After confirming the presence of RAAC in two schools, we have taken immediate action to close down the affected areas for the safety of our school community.

"In line with Government advice, we are now working with our surveyors and contractors to take any necessary steps to ensure our buildings are safe for our pupils and staff to return to as quickly as possible.

“In the meantime, we are committed to continuing our high-quality teaching and learning without interruption and are sourcing effective alternative solutions that will support face-to-face learning wherever possible.

"We will continue to keep our families and staff updated as we are able to confirm arrangements.”

Does your child go to one of the affected schools? Get in touch with us at: brad.deas@nqyne.co.uk