ACM cladding found in Hackney schools is safe, says Mayor Glanville

Grenfell Tower fire. Photograph: Grenfell Action Group

More than half of Hackney schools with cladding contain a similar material to that used on Grenfell Tower, the Citizen can reveal – as the council continues to block the release of fire safety ratings for Hackney schools.

Eight out of 13 schools with cladding reviewed by an independent body were found to contain contain aluminium composite material (ACM), a version of which is believed to have helped June’s Grenfell Tower fire spread.

Mayor Philip Glanville said that the ACM in these schools is “not considered a risk” to fire safety.

The cladding details come from a Local Education Partnership (LEP) report ordered by the council. It was released to the Citizen via an Freedom of Information request, after Hackney Council confirmed it had “no plans to publish” the LEP report.

The schools with ACM cladding are Thomas Fairchild School, Our Lady’s Convent High School, Cardinal Pole Catholic School, Clapton Girls’ Academy, Haggerston School, Ickburgh School, The Garden School and Mossbourne Riverside Academy.

“…it was not our intention to mislead anyone”: Mayor Philip Glanville

Mayor Glanville, a former cabinet member for housing, said: “ACM covers a range of materials, not just that found at Grenfell.

“These buildings are all low-rise, use small amounts of ACM – i.e. they are not fully clad – and, importantly, people do not sleep in them, therefore ACM is not considered a risk.”

He added: “All of our schools are fire safe, with multiple fire safety features.

“As our response to reviewing fire safety since the Grenfell fire has shown, this is our absolute priority and if we thought there was any danger we would not allow children and staff to remain in those buildings.”

Meanwhile, the Citizen has appealed the council’s rejection of an FoI request for the Red-Amber-Green (RAG) fire safety ratings for all Hackney schools.

It comes after the council apologised for falsely claiming the the RAG ratings had been sent to the Department for Education (DfE).

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “We apologise for initially giving the Hackney Citizen inaccurate information.

“It wasn’t our intention and can clarify that the Council did not send the DfE the RAG rating as it wasn’t required.”

He added: “The confusion arose as we did share information from the same spreadsheet as the RAG rating.”