CIVIC chiefs have moved to ease safety fears over cladding used in schools.

Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council say they have yet to find a cause for concern over cladding used in their educational buildings as checks continue.

The government has asked councils and local authorities to check schools and hospitals after the fire at London’s Grenfell Tower that saw 79 feared dead earlier this month.

So far, all tests of buildings using a similar type of cladding have failed fire safety tests.

Southampton City Council said that all of its high-rise blocks don’t use a similar type of cladding, and therefore pose no similar risks.

The authority have also said that of the schools tested so far, none have been identified as using Aluminium Composite Materials (ACM), that could pose a serious fire risk.

The council says it has been given a deadline of June 30 to test the relevant buildings.

A council spokesperson said: “We are currently undertaking a detailed review of all school properties in the city which have any form of cladding installed. If this review identifies the possibility of ACM cladding having been used these will be subject to testing based on the guidance issued by government. We have not identified any schools with ACM cladding to date.”

The county council said that it has not used any ACM for cladding on any of its schools.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “We actively audit our estate on a prioritised basis with our partners at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, and have completed two government-directed reviews in the past week with a third due for completion in the coming days.

“The reviews to date have not shown any areas of concern. Even with the history of careful management of fire safety in Hampshire, we are taking the prudent step of reviewing our procedures and practices in the light of any emerging intelligence around the cause of the fire at Grenfell.

“Schools practice and record full evacuations and typically evacuate in less than four minutes.”