“It’s been kind of in free fall really,” said Ms. Burness, 47, of how the week has played out.
“And how much longer will it be?”By Thursday morning, Ms. Burness and her husband, who both run their own businesses, were juggling parenting duties and their jobs, unable to find specialist child care at short notice.
On Friday, the school said classes would resume the following week, but added that some rooms would be inaccessible and adjustments would have to be made.
Britain’s Conservative government has faced acute criticism since the announcement last week that more than 100 schools would have to close buildings because of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC, a bubbly, lightweight material known to pose a risk of sudden collapse.
The crisis intensified after it became clear that senior government officials had ignored repeated warnings about the material, with a former Department for Education official accusing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of refusing to rebuild more schools while he was chancellor of the Exchequer, despite being told of a “critical risk to life.” (Mr. Sunak said it was “completely and utterly wrong” to hold him responsible for the funding shortfall.)
Persons:
“, ”, Burness, Rishi Sunak, Sunak
Organizations:
Conservative, Department for Education