Schools 'need funding to cope with heatwaves'

A headteacher has urged the government to "futureproof" schools and colleges to enable them to cope with hot weather.

With the country experiencing its third heatwave since May and summer temperatures of more than 30°C increasing in frequency, some schools have had to close because they were too hot for children to be safely taught in.

David Scales, principal of Astrea Academy Woodfields in Doncaster, said he had chosen to remain open with adjustments to uniform rules, but has called for funding to enable buildings to be retrofitted.

He added: "There needs to be a plan so additional funding can be found for things like air conditioning in the worst affected school estates."

School buildings dating back to the 1960s and 70s usually lack air condition and are poorly ventilated with large windows that do not open widely.

They were constructed to retain heat during cold winters, and are not suitable for hotter summers.

In settings where teachers felt classrooms were too hot, complete or half-day closures were implemented despite guidance on the Department of Education website advising schools to stay open.

Scales said that students at his secondary school in the Balby area of Doncaster were also living in "very warm" accommodation, including small high-rise flats.

"We also need this country to keep moving, we need the economy to grow. So we want parents to be able to go out and work. There were lots of different reasons there, that they were safer here, parents could work and their education that sort of drove the decision."

The BBC spoke to Year 7 pupils who said they were pleased the school had stayed open, but that they found learning difficult.

They added that staff had allowed them to remove ties and blazers, and to stay in the shade during breaks.

An ice cream van visit had also been arranged as a treat.

Scales said he was concerned about the future if the UK faces more prolonged spells of warm weather.

Astrea Academy, formerly Balby Carr Comprehensive, was built in 1968, with later additions.

"The top floor of a building built in 2006 is our hottest, and it reached temperatures of about 35 degrees over the last heatwave.

"Headteachers can make decisions at a local level which make things a little bit more comfortable, and where the budget efficiencies can be found we can make temperatures a little bit more bearable.

"But we are going to have to think as a country where we find additional funding so that we can fund things like air conditioning."

His views were echoed by John Grant, a senior lecturer specialising in sustainable construction at Sheffield Hallam University.

He said: "We need an emergency plan, almost similar to if we were going to war.

"We're now threatened by the climate changing and we can come up with a response because the solutions are developed, we've invented them, we don't need to invent anything. We just need to commit on what we need to change in the future."

The Department for Education (DfE) said that while there is no maximum limit for temperature in UK workplaces, including schools, it is "carefully considering" proposals to change the guidelines by the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

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