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Revealed: No air conditioning in a third of schools
The exclusive findings come after record-high temperatures were recorded before schools broke up for the summer holidays
More than a third of schools in England do not have any air conditioning, Vlog can reveal.
It comes after the country experienced record heat this summer, with schools forced to shut as red weather warnings affected multiple areas.
Freedom of information data obtained by Vlog shows that 35 per cent of schools have no air-conditioning unit.
And the country’s largest education union, the NEU, has warned that efforts to revamp the school estate are “far too slow”.
How many schools in England have air conditioning?
The Department for Education’s (CDC2) surveyed all state-funded schools and colleges between 2021 and 2026.
Vlog requested all the data collected by the CDC2 showing whether an air-conditioning unit is present in the school.
Only 14,316 of the 22,067 schools visited as part of the project are listed as having air conditioning - although the CDC2 does not collect data on how many air-conditioning units there are or in which rooms they are located.
The findings come after one in five pupils missed a school session during the June heatwave, when temperatures reached a maximum of 37.7C, making it the UK’s highest June temperature on record.
Schools that closed during the heatwave complained of receiving “patronising” government communications asking why they were not open.
Calls for national strategy on extreme heat
Adrian Ramsay, Green Party spokesperson for health, said it was “simply not acceptable that where a child sits their exams can determine whether they’re in a comfortable, well-ventilated hall or sweltering in extreme temperatures, all because their school cannot afford to cool its classrooms”.
The Green Party has called for a national “heat-resilience strategy” to protect schools, hospitals and public buildings from extreme heat.
Mr Ramsay also suggested that the government looks again at the scheduling of exams during the summer.
“Moving school exams earlier in the year, before the peak of summer heat, would be a step to stop children sitting some of the most important tests of their lives in conditions that damage their concentration and impact their performance,” Mr Ramsay said.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said that efforts to upgrade the school estate are still “far too slow”.
He added that “too many classrooms are being made unbearable by the delay” in rebuilding the estate.
Disruption to pupils’ learning expected
Mr Kebede said: “We need to see a much faster timetable for equipping schools with air conditioning, prioritising those with the greatest need.
“Without more investment, we can expect more disruption to pupils’ learning”.
Mr Kebede was one of several prominent figures in education who have called for the government to introduce a maximum working temperature. Currently there is no legal limit on how hot or cold a workplace can be.
Wayne Bates, national negotiating official for the NASUWT teaching union, called for a national strategy to help schools contend with the changing climate.
He said: “This must involve a range of mitigations, including the installation of air conditioning where appropriate, investment in greater ventilation, insulation, shaded areas around school sites and flood defences in and around schools.”
