The Government does not have sufficient information to manage “critical” risks to the safety of pupils and staff arising from a deterioration in the condition of school buildings, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned. A report by the public spending watchdog identified that about 700,000 children in England attend schools requiring major repairs following years of underfunding, with poor conditions directly affecting pupil attainment and teacher retention. NAO head Gareth Davies said that, despite assessing the possibility of building collapse or failure causing death or injury as “critical and very likely” in 2021, “the Department for Education has not been able to reduce this risk”. PA, Globelynx