School bosses in Kent have reassured parents it is business as usual after it was revealed seven across the county have potentially unsafe concrete – but forcing two to close.

The affected sites in Hythe and Tunbridge Wells means pupils will not be able attend class tomorrow while five others face disruption as children returned today with remedial work to make them safe not yet complete and temporary classrooms installed.

Last week, the Department for Education (DfE) revealed 156 schools in England are confirmed to have buildings constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

But hundreds more schools in England could be affected by the crumbling material after the Prime Minister insisted 95% are unaffected.

This leaves open the possibility more than 1,000 could still be impacted by concerns over RAAC.

But Downing Street says the total number was expected to be in the hundreds rather than the thousands and the vast majority of schools would not be affected.

Palmarsh Primary, Hythe and St James Church of England Primary, Tunbridge Wells will be closed on Tuesday, a KCC spokesman confirmed tonight.

They added: “KCC has been working with the DfE, responsible bodies and schools throughout the summer term and holidays to ensure that schools in Kent which have RAAC have appropriate mitigations in place.

“These mitigations fully comply with the requirements of the Institute of Structural Engineers.

“It is disappointing that this afternoon KCC and some affected schools have received letters from the Department for Education (DfE) in which they explain that following some recent cases they have taken the precautionary step of advising responsible bodies to vacate RAAC-affected buildings immediately, even in cases where the confirmed RAAC would have previously been deemed ‘non-critical’, unless appropriate mitigations are in place.

“It is unclear whether the DfE’s advice is based on new information which will require further mitigation in Kent schools, in excess of that currently required by the Institute of structural engineers.

“While this is clarified with the DfE we have taken a safety first approach and advised schools to take RAAC-affected areas out of use immediately.

“As a consequence, Palmarsh Primary will be closed tomorrow [Tuesday] and some pupils at St James Church of England Primary, in Tunbridge Wells, will not be able to attend school tomorrow.

“The two schools will be notifying parents this evening.

‘We do not believe that any areas of these schools are in imminent danger, but until the DfE clarifies its letter, we will not take any chances...’

“We do not believe that any areas of these schools are in imminent danger, but until the DfE clarifies its letter, we will not take any chances.

“We will try to provide an update and further information tomorrow.”

Meanwhile others identified with RAAC and needing remedial works are Sunnybank Primary, Sittingbourne; Godinton Primary, Ashford; St Bartholomew’s Catholic Primary School, Swanley; Birchington Church of England Primary and King Ethelbert Secondary School, also in Birchington, Thanet.

All seven of the affected schools – including St James’ and Pawelcomed pupils back today and have revealed what measures they have taken to prevent disruption.

King Ethelbert head teacher Tom Sellen says he wrote to parents on Friday to reassure them pupils will be in school for the first day of term having their usual timetable in all year groups.

“The safety and welfare of our students has always been our priority and will continue to be so,” he said.

“We will also continue to deliver high-quality education to all the students who attend our wonderful school.”

Since RAAC was discovered at the school, four temporary classrooms have been installed, which include science laboratories so practical lessons can continue.

It has also secured a second and third phase of temporary classrooms, which it says will be delivered to the site in “the very near future”.

A statement issued by the school today says it, along with the Coast Academics Trust, is working with the Department for Education to look at a “more permanent solution”, which will include some new buildings.

The trust’s chief executive, Kate Greig, said: “We are already working with the DfE to make sure the temporary accommodation is indeed temporary and our students are soon in new classrooms which they absolutely deserve to be.

“Sir Roger Gale, our local MP, has been massively helpful and supportive to King Ethelbert and with his help, we are confident we will have new buildings in place shortly.”

Meanwhile, part of Godinton Primary School’s hall and some surrounding rooms and corridors have been out of action since mid-June due to RAAC.

They are set to be no-go zones until mitigation work is completed.

Head teacher Jill Talbot says the work is scheduled to start next week and has been arranged through Kent County Council.

“No classrooms are affected and the children’s learning is unaffected,” she said.

“A marquee has been in place on the school field since June and is currently acting as the school hall for lunches and assemblies.

“Since 2019, about 60% of the RAAC in the school has already been removed and an extensive roof replacement has already been completed.

“We have worked pro-actively with surveyors to risk assess and to determine the work required to keep everyone safe.

“The safety of our school community has always been of paramount concern and parents have been fully informed at all stages since 2019.

“This is not a new story for us and this information is in the public domain.”

KCC says it believes the affected primary schools have made appropriate arrangements for the Kent Test on Thursday and alternative centres are not required.

And it confirmed no other schools have been identified and do not need to close.

Mr Sunak says new information “came to light relatively recently” and the government acted on it “as swiftly as possible” when it received it.

The Prime Minister added: “I know the timing is frustrating, but I want to give people a sense of the scale of what we are grappling with here: there are around 22,000 schools in England and the important thing to know is that we expect that 95% of those schools won’t be impacted by this.”

If, as Mr Sunak says, 5% of schools are impacted, that would mean 1,100 are affected.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I think the Prime Minister was providing reassurance to parents, pupils and schools that the vast majority – we believe more than 95% won’t be affected.”

He says education secretary Gillian Keegan had set out “we expect the numbers to be in the hundreds, not thousands” but “while we are still waiting on schools to return their surveys and confirm their specific situations we can’t be more definitive”.

RAAC is a type of concrete that is prone to collapse unless safety measures are in place.

Cllr Rory Love (Con), cabinet member at KCC for education and skills, told on Saturday how all school sites for which KCC is responsible, and which had a high and medium risk of containing RAAC, have now been inspected.

He said: “There is understandably some increased anxiety over the use of this material following recent press reports.

“There are no Kent schools of which we have been made aware by the Department for Education (DfE) that appear on the DfE's latest list of schools needing to be closed to children owing to the presence of RAAC.

“Where RAAC is present and work is underway, alternative arrangements have been made within the schools, and the schools remain open to children.

“Over the course of the summer, the DfE indicated that further information had come to light regarding the performance of the RAAC material which meant it had taken the difficult decision to go further than the previous guidance that was issued by the Institution of Structural Engineers earlier this year.

“As a result, the DfE notified any responsible body where RAAC has been confirmed as being present to close the affected areas with immediate effect until mitigation works have been undertaken.

“Kent does have seven schools where RAAC has been positively confirmed to date.

“In six schools, the affected areas were taken out of use before the summer in accordance with the direction of the DfE.

“I am pleased to confirm that works have progressed well on these schools over the summer period.

“It is understood that the seventh school was already working with the DfE and has put arrangements in place that will enable the school to operate using temporary accommodation and alternative parts of the school.

“Therefore, all schools that were identified as containing RAAC will be opening for face-to-face teaching at the start of the new academic year; a key priority for this council.”

KentOnline reported earlier this year that five sites in the county were affected by the issue – with some having to move lessons into marquees.

This website also previously revealed how concerns over RAAC originated at a school in Gravesend in 2018.

The fears over the dangers of particular buildings collapsing has also influenced decisions on which hospitals across the country have received funding.