Most state schools in England contain asbestos. That is not a campaign slogan — it is the central finding of the Department for Education's Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP), the largest data collection ever carried out on the school estate, and it has since been reinforced by the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and by the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) own school inspection programme. This page brings the key numbers together in one place: how many schools are affected, what inspectors have found, how many school staff die each year, and — importantly — which of the widely quoted figures are official statistics and which are union or campaign estimates.
Key facts and figures
- 80.9% of participating state schools in England reported asbestos in their buildings (DfE AMAP report, 2019).
- 83% of state schools in England still contain asbestos, according to BOHS in February 2026.
- 97% of system-built schools, such as CLASP-frame buildings, were identified as containing asbestos.
- Around 15 school staff die each year in Great Britain from asbestos-related disease caused by past exposure.
- 421 schools were inspected by HSE in 2022/23 — 7% of them required enforcement action.
- Fewer than 2% of school maintenance staff had appropriate asbestos training (DfE research, 2019).
- More than 450 school teaching professionals have died of mesothelioma since 1980 (NEU, citing HSE data).
- 2,146 mesothelioma deaths were recorded across Great Britain in 2024, all occupations combined.
Figures are the latest available as of July 2026, and this page is updated when new data is released — HSE publishes its mesothelioma statistics each July and its full asbestos-related disease suite each November.
How many UK schools contain asbestos?
80.9% of participating state schools in England reported asbestos on their estate — 15,796 of the 19,522 schools that took part in the Department for Education's Asbestos Management Assurance Process, which collected data between March 2018 and February 2019. With an 88.4% response rate, the DfE noted that the true proportion could be as high as 83.5% once non-responding schools are allowed for. The AMAP report, published in July 2019, remains the closest thing the UK has to a census of asbestos in its schools.
The picture has not materially improved since. In February 2026, the British Occupational Hygiene Society stated that 83% of state schools in England still contain asbestos, in a release sharply critical of how the school estate is overseen.
The proportion is so high because of timing. Britain's biggest school-building programmes ran from the late 1940s to the 1970s — precisely the decades when asbestos use in construction was at its peak. Any school built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos in its ceiling tiles, column casings, partition walls, floor tiles, boiler rooms and pipe lagging; our guide to asbestos-containing materials in UK buildings covers the materials in detail. One caveat on coverage: AMAP surveyed state-funded schools in England only, and no equivalent national data collection has been published for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland — so the England figures are the standard reference for the UK debate.
| Measure | Figure | Data period |
|---|---|---|
| State schools in England reporting asbestos (DfE AMAP) | 80.9% (15,796 of 19,522) | March 2018 – February 2019 |
| State schools in England still containing asbestos (BOHS) | 83% | February 2026 |
| System-built (CLASP-type) schools containing asbestos | 97% | AMAP, 2019 |
| School staff deaths per year from asbestos-related disease (GB) | Around 15 | Cited February 2026 |
| Schools inspected by HSE | 421 | 2022/23 |
| Inspected schools requiring enforcement action | 7% | 2022/23 |
| School maintenance staff with appropriate asbestos training | Fewer than 2% | DfE research, 2019 |
| Mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain, all occupations | 2,146 | 2024 |
Why are CLASP school buildings the highest risk?
97% of system-built schools were identified as containing asbestos in the AMAP data collection (2018–19), and around 3,000 CLASP-type schools sit in the highest-risk category of the estate, a point BOHS repeated in its February 2026 release.
CLASP — the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme — was a prefabricated, light steel-frame building system used by local authorities from the 1950s to the 1980s to put up schools quickly and cheaply. Fire protection in these lightweight frames relied heavily on asbestos insulating board (AIB): panels around structural columns, ceiling tiles, and linings close to the occupied classroom space. Because the material sits within the everyday fabric of the building rather than tucked away in a plant room, routine wear and tear — a door slammed against a column casing, a display pinned to an AIB panel — can disturb it more easily than in conventional construction.
How many teachers and school staff die from asbestos?
Around 15 school staff die each year in Great Britain from asbestos-related disease caused by exposure decades earlier — a figure from official GB statistics cited by BOHS in February 2026. Asbestos-related disease has a latency of 15 to 60 years between exposure and symptoms, so today's deaths largely reflect conditions in the school estate from the 1960s through to the 1990s.
The National Education Union, drawing on HSE occupational mortality data, records that more than 450 school teaching professionals have died of mesothelioma since 1980, over 300 of them since 2000. Even those counts understate the toll, because the official occupational mortality series excludes deaths over the age of 74 — and mesothelioma is most often diagnosed late in life.
Teaching unions put the full figure much higher. An estimate cited by the NEU suggests around 1,400 teachers and school support staff in Great Britain have already died of mesothelioma. To be clear, that is a union-cited estimate rather than an official statistic — it extrapolates beyond the age-capped official data — but it is the number most often quoted in parliamentary and press coverage of the issue.
How many former pupils are affected?
There are no official statistics on deaths of former pupils, because death certificates record occupation, not where someone's childhood exposure happened. Every figure in circulation for pupils is therefore a modelled estimate produced by unions and campaign groups, and should be quoted as such.
The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC), the umbrella body for education unions on this issue, estimated in its 2021 report that between 3,890 and 9,000 people in the UK died of mesothelioma between 1980 and 2017 as a result of asbestos exposure at school when they were pupils. A separate projection cited by the NEU goes further, suggesting around 25,200 former pupils exposed before the mid-1990s will eventually die of mesothelioma. Both are campaign estimates, not government figures — but they rest on a point that is not in dispute: children exposed to asbestos have longer left to live than adults, and therefore more time for a long-latency disease to develop.
For balance, HSE's long-standing position is that asbestos which is in good condition, undisturbed and properly managed presents a very low risk. The argument between campaigners and the regulator is about how realistic that assumption is in an ageing school estate — which is exactly what the inspection data below speaks to.
What have HSE school inspections found?
421 schools were inspected under HSE's asbestos-in-schools inspection programme in 2022/23. Of those, 7% required enforcement action over their asbestos management, and around a third fell short of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 in some material respect. A further wave of inspections has run since 2023/24, according to BOHS.
The failures were not usually about asbestos being present — that is expected in pre-2000 buildings — but about how it was managed: registers that were incomplete or out of date, management plans that existed on paper but were not followed, and staff or contractors who had not been told where the asbestos was before starting work. Under Regulation 4 of CAR 2012, every school's duty holder must identify asbestos, assess its condition, keep a written plan and communicate the information to anyone liable to disturb it — the full requirements are set out in our guides to the duty to manage asbestos and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
How many school staff are trained to deal with asbestos?
Fewer than 2% of school maintenance workers had appropriate asbestos training, according to DfE-commissioned research from 2019 cited by BOHS in February 2026 — and only 40% of caretakers and facilities managers had read the official guidance on managing asbestos in schools.
That gap matters more in schools than almost anywhere else, because caretakers and site staff are the people who drill into walls, fix ceiling tiles, chase cables and patch up damage — the everyday jobs most likely to disturb asbestos-containing materials. Regulation 10 of CAR 2012 requires asbestos awareness training for any worker who could foreseeably disturb asbestos in the course of their work, a duty that applies to school site staff and to the contractors schools bring in. Our guide to who needs asbestos awareness training explains where the legal line sits.
How do schools fit into the wider UK asbestos picture?
2,146 people died of mesothelioma in Great Britain in 2024, according to HSE figures updated on 30 June 2026, and asbestos-related disease as a whole is estimated to kill around 5,000 people a year. Schools are one part of a much larger legacy: in April 2022, the Commons Work and Pensions Committee recommended that the Government set a 40-year deadline for removing asbestos from all non-domestic buildings, explicitly prioritising schools, and noted that over 300,000 business premises are still thought to contain asbestos.
For the national headline figures — deaths by disease, workforce exposure and the enforcement record — see our UK asbestos statistics page. For prevalence in housing and the wider building stock, see asbestos in UK homes and buildings.
Frequently asked questions
What is the AMAP report on asbestos in schools?
The Asbestos Management Assurance Process was a Department for Education data collection covering state-funded schools in England, gathered between March 2018 and February 2019 and reported in July 2019. It found that 80.9% of the 19,522 participating schools had asbestos on their estate, from an 88.4% response rate. The collection closed in November 2021 and has not been repeated, which is why the 2019 report remains the baseline figure.
What are CLASP school buildings?
CLASP stands for Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme — a prefabricated light steel-frame system used to build schools quickly between the 1950s and 1980s. Asbestos insulating board was used extensively for fire protection in these buildings, and 97% of system-built schools were identified as containing asbestos in the AMAP data, with around 3,000 rated in the highest-risk category.
How many teachers have died from asbestos in the UK?
Official occupational mortality data cited by the NEU records more than 450 mesothelioma deaths among school teaching professionals since 1980, over 300 of them since 2000 — figures that exclude deaths over age 74. A broader union-cited estimate puts the total at around 1,400 teachers and support staff; that figure is an estimate, not an official statistic.
Is my child at risk from asbestos in school?
HSE's position is that asbestos in good condition, left undisturbed and properly managed, presents a very low risk to pupils and staff. The concern raised by unions and BOHS is about how well that management works in practice in an ageing estate — HSE's 2022/23 inspections found around a third of the 421 schools visited fell short of the regulations in some material respect. If you have concerns, the school must hold an asbestos register and management plan you can ask about.
Should asbestos be removed from all schools?
Campaigners and the Work and Pensions Committee have called for phased removal — the Committee's April 2022 report recommended a 40-year deadline for all non-domestic buildings, with schools prioritised. Current law does not require removal: asbestos in good condition is normally managed in place, and removal is triggered when material is damaged, deteriorating or in the way of refurbishment.
For workers and duty holders whose jobs bring them into pre-2000 buildings — including school premises staff and the contractors who work alongside them — our CPD-certified Asbestos Awareness Course covers the training required under Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Work in or on school buildings? Make sure your team can recognise asbestos before they disturb it.
Explore the Asbestos Awareness Course →Related guides
- Asbestos Statistics UK: Deaths, Exposure & Key Facts
- Asbestos in UK Homes & Buildings: Statistics and Facts
- The duty to manage asbestos: registers, plans, and what Regulation 4 requires
- The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 explained
- Who needs asbestos awareness training in the UK?
- Asbestos-containing materials in UK buildings: a reference guide
Sources & references
- Department for Education — Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) report, asbestos data collections
- British Occupational Hygiene Society — Asbestos in schools: England oversight failure (press release, February 2026)
- Health and Safety Executive — Management of asbestos in school buildings (inspection programme report)
- Health and Safety Executive — Mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain
- Health and Safety Executive — Asbestos-related disease statistics, Great Britain
- National Education Union — What is the real risk from asbestos in schools?
- House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee — The HSE's approach to asbestos management (Sixth Report, April 2022)
- Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) — reports and evidence on asbestos in education buildings
Mark writes about workplace health & safety, asbestos awareness and accredited online training for Asbestos Awareness Course, part of Online CPD Academy.