UK schools breached recommended working temperature during recent heatwave
July 24: Temperature sensors placed in schools across England showed that the majority experienced uncomfortably hot conditions during a recent heatwave.
Children and teachers are working in uncomfortably hot conditions due to increasingly warm summer temperatures driven by climate change, according to an exclusive investigation by Round Our Way.
The story was featured extensively across national news sites such as The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Express, The Northern Echo, The Herald and many more.
Round Our Way worked with teachers in seven schools across England to place temperature sensors to automatically record the temperature every hour over a period of four weeks. The analysis of the data collected by the sensors shows that six of the schools breached 26°C.
While there is no legal maximum temperature for schools, offices or other workplaces the National Education Union (NEU) advises a maximum indoor working temperature of 26°C for schools. They state: “...it is generally accepted that people work best at a temperature between 16°C and 24°C.”
The analysis shows the average temperatures for each area as well as the maximum temperature indoors inside the classrooms and the equivalent outdoor temperature at that time. The highest peak classroom temperature was in Cambridgeshire at 29.6°C, followed by West Sussex at 28.3°C and Suffolk at 28.2°C while the highest average temperature was in Suffolk at 24.1°C.
The analysis shows the average temperatures for each area as well as the maximum temperature indoors inside the classrooms and the equivalent outdoor temperature at that time. The highest peak classroom temperature was in Cambridgeshire at 29.6°C, followed by West Sussex at 28.3°C and Suffolk at 28.2°C while the highest average temperature was in Suffolk at 24.1°C.
The Daily Telegraph
The UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) issued a yellow heat-health alert for eight regions in England from 24 June until 27 June and the Round Our Way analysis shows that during this period of intense heat classrooms became unbearably warm with temperatures hitting well-above the advised maximum temperature for school settings.
According to the Department for Health and Social Care, children cannot control their body temperature as efficiently as adults during hot weather because they do not sweat as much and so can be at risk of ill-health from heat, which can range from mild heat stress to heatstroke.
Emma, a secondary school teacher in said:
“There have been extreme incidents related to hot weather. On top of “eyes fluttering trying to stay awake, falling asleep, lots of sweating, it’s less conducive to learning.”
Emma said three pupils recently “lost consciousness in the week beginning and actually fainted. Two were sent home and were off for 24 hours”.
Air conditioning and fans are limited with teachers sometimes buying fans to cool things down. But even that does not always work out well.
“I have two fans, they cost me about £15 each,” said Emma. “But while I did have a bigger 20 inch one - I spent about £50 on it - a pupil broke it soon after I bought it so I’m not doing that again. Fans blow sweat and hot air and germs back at us”.
Simon, a teacher in the Lake District, explained how the heat in a hot classroom makes him feel “heavy headed”.
He noted how a thermometer placed in a southwest facing classroom in direct sunlight would “give a reading of 35-40 degrees.”
He said: “This happens in the afternoon due to the aspect of the building. In these circumstances, blinds would need to be closed but this stifles ventilation. A vicious circle”.
Image: Temperature sensor in Simon’s classroom
“Students lose concentration, become lethargic and occasionally complain of feeling sick with headaches. There have been some fainting incidents. This may have been compounded by being in warm rooms with little air circulation. For obvious safety reasons, the windows only open about ten centimetres at the bottom”.
He said that once in 2023 “the room was so warm that I let the children go early as the heat was so oppressive. We can regularly have up to 34 kids in one room. My own thermometer was off the scale. Climate change has a ripple effect on us all. I saw this coming years ago. But like any professional we have to get on with it,” he added.
Roger Harding, Director of Round Our Way, a not-for-profit supporting people impacted by climate change in the UK, said:
“This data reveals the worryingly hot temperatures our children are starting to face in the classroom thanks to climate change. Hard pressed teachers have told us about children this summer who have fainted or even vomitted due to the high heat, and there are many more who simply struggle to concentrate. This has been a mild summer by recent standards, so It is scary to picture how bad this will get when temperatures well above 30°C return.
“Schools, like many of our buildings, aren’t set up and funded to deal with the higher temperatures we are seeing thanks to climate change. The weather used to just be small talk but we now need our political leaders to ensure the country is better prepared for more extreme weather and tackle the fossil fuel pollution that is causing it in the first place.”
