Flood schools remain 'unusable'

But the government says it is "far too early" to assess the damage from the current floods in the west of England.

Another £4m has been promised to help schools recover from the floods - in addition to £10m announced last week.

A further 120 schools in the North and Midlands remain "flood damaged" - out of 300 which were forced to close.

Schools and local authorities in flood-hit areas are battling to re-open in time for the new school year - and the government says that pupils could be taught in temporary accommodation "well into the September term".

Temporary buildings

The figures from the Department for Schools, Children and Families show the damage inflicted by the floods in Yorkshire, the Humber area and in the midlands.

In response to these first floods, the schools department announced £10m funding to provide temporary accommodation, extra surveyors and summer activities for children flooded out of their homes.

Hull was worst hit by the deluge with only eight out of 99 schools unaffected.

The extent of damage caused to schools by the current floods in the west of England has still to be calculated - although an initial £4m relief has been promised.

"It is far too early to have a comprehensive assessment but it is clear that areas flooded since last Friday and still under water are dealing with a number of damaged schools and children's services," said the Schools Secretary Ed Balls.

"My priority is to ensure that every child can be back at school in September despite the floods of the past few weeks and that no child or young person sees their education suffer."

For those whose exams were affected, Mr Balls has written to exam boards and Ofsted, asking both to take the floods into account when assessing pupils and schools.

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Department for Children, Schools and Families
Hull City Council
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