News analysis with BESA


CO2 monitors for schools is just a start


The news that schools in England will receive up to 300,000 carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors to help them monitor air quality and ventilation effectiveness is welcome, but is only the first step


T


he Department for Education said it would spend £25m on portable monitors that could be used to identify areas where airflow


is inadequate to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This follows a call from six education trade unions to take urgent action over ventilation in schools, which was supported by BESA. The National Education Union (NEU), NASUWT, the


Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), GMB, Unison and Unite joined forces to push for a more strategic approach to school ventilation. They welcomed the announcement but pointed


out that any ventilation problems flagged up by the monitors must be addressed, which would require investment. Many schools have already reported they do not have the cash to pay for additional mechanical ventilation and currently the DfE advice is simply to open windows. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:


“Providing all schools with CO2 monitors will help them make sure they have the right balance of measures in place, minimising any potential disruption to education and allowing them to focus on world class lessons and catch up for the children who need it.” However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the


Association of School and College Leaders, said it was a case of “better late than never”, but much more action would be needed to reduce the risk posed by poor indoor air quality (IAQ) as pupils return to their classrooms for the autumn term.


Transmission


“Government guidance to schools and colleges on reducing the risk of coronavirus transmission highlights the importance of keeping spaces well ventilated but doesn’t go much further than recommending that windows should be opened to improve natural ventilation. “This is challenging in the depths of a British winter and does not make for an environment which is conducive to learning. Our understanding is that CO2 monitors will indicate when spaces need ventilating thereby reducing the need to keep


windows open all the time,” said Barton. As well as the monitors, the unions have urged the


Government to pay for improved filtration. They also pointed out that many school windows were painted shut and could not be opened.


BESA has produced two pieces of guidance this


year to help building managers set up indoor air quality (IAQ) strategies and identify the main threats to health and well-being from airborne pollutants. Using mechanical ventilation systems and targeted filtration is recognised as the most effective way to reduce the risk of disease transmission, but no specific government funding has been allocated to help schools address this issue. The chief executive of a primary school trust


told a recent BESA webinar that lack of funding prevented schools from addressing the problem. Garry Ratcliffe said that despite greater awareness of the risk of transmitting airborne infections during the pandemic, mechanical ventilation remained a low priority for most headteachers. Ratcliffe, who is chief executive of Kent-based


Galaxy Trust, said current Department for Education (DfE) guidance was inadequate. “Would it be acceptable advice to tell people in a workplace to open their windows and wear warmer clothes?” he asked. He also said he was concerned that opening windows could be “doing more harm than good” because many schools were close to busy roads, so the children were being exposed to high levels of traffic pollution and noise. He said his three schools had already spent over


£325,000 on Covid mitigation measures but had only been able to reclaim £57,000 from the Government. Each has an annual capital budget of just £7,000, which is primarily to ensure buildings remain safe and to fix leaking roofs and heating. “If we wanted to free up money to spend on a new


ventilation system, we would have to make cuts elsewhere. However, we are judged on the quality of the education we provide…not on the quality of the air.” The BESA guides highlight the fact that opening


windows does not provide controlled ventilation. It is not an effective in managing the direction of airflows to provide the air change rates needed to dilute airborne contaminants and viruses in every part of a room.


Investment


“The ventilation industry has a wide range of solutions – many of which can be tailored to schools,” said the Association’s head of technical Graeme Fox. “They are relatively low cost, but they are not free. The Government does need to put some level of investment into this and not just to deal with the immediate Covid issue, but to improve indoor conditions for the long-term health and well-being of pupils and staff.” He said BESA members had been flagging up the problems caused by air pollution inside school buildings for many years. “There is a powerful body of evidence linking


poor IAQ to rising numbers of children suffering from asthma and other respiratory conditions that have serious long-term implications. BESA applauds the stance taken by the education unions and our industry is standing ready with the solutions they demand,” added Fox. Meanwhile, a report commissioned by the


Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has also highlighted the crucial role played by ventilation in reducing the risk of COVID-19 and other infections in all types of buildings, but BESA believes it is missing some crucial practicalities. The report, which was produced by the National


Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) – a group of 43 professional engineering organisations led by the Royal Academy of Engineering – revealed flaws in the design, management, and operation of buildings. It advised Sir Patrick that, unless these flaws were


addressed, they could disrupt the management of this and future pandemics, impose high financial and health costs on society, and constrain the UK’s ability to address other challenges including climate change. However, BESA said the problem was that many


buildings were designed in a way that made it very difficult and sometimes cost prohibitive to fit the


BESA’s guidance calls for a mixed approach to


ventilation using both mechanical and ‘natural’ systems that can minimise costs for schools, but greatly improve airflows and give teaching staff more control over their indoor environments.


12 September 2021


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