It has been implied none of the schools currently ordered to be shut by the government are in Cheshire East.

It looks like no pupils in Macclesfield will be told that they won't be returning to school next week, unlike 156 other schools across the UK.

The UK government has told schools with crumbling RAAC concrete that they must not reopen, and complete urgent repair works before kids can return for the new academic year.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cheshire East Council has carried out checks on its maintained schools and said there is no evidence they contain the concrete type which has led to fears of buildings suddenly collapsing.

The council says it is also working with all academy schools in the borough to review their buildings.

RAAC, known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, is a type of concrete which is prone to collapse.

It is feared pupils in some parts of the country may not be able to return to their schools next week when the new term starts.

Today a spokesperson for Cheshire East Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We have undertaken a detailed review of all our maintained schools, which involved more than 40 specialist site visits, and found no evidence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

"We have also supported all our academy schools to review their buildings and they are working directly with the Department for Education to provide this information."

RAAC is a lightweight, 'bubbly' form of concrete that is usually found in roofs and occasionally in walls and floors and has been found to have a life expectancy of little more than 30 years.

This has sparked fears that public buildings containing RAAC which were constructed between the 1950s and 1990s and have not been checked by structural engineers, could be at risk of collapse.

Crewe's Leighton Hospital, which was built in the 1970s, was revealed a couple of years ago to have 34,000 RAAC planks. Stabilising and remedial works to wards and departments costing more than £55m have already been carried out with a further £29m allocated for 2023-24.

Earlier this year it was announced Leighton has been included in the government's New Hospital Programme and the existing hospital will be replaced with a state-of-the-art building.

No other public buildings are currently known to contain the substance.