Hannah Gains, the National Education Manager at Net Zero Buildings, discusses the importance of enhancing air quality in schools to support students, protect health, and advance net zero educational facilities
As the UK Government works towards its net-zero goals, the education sector has a significant role to play. To ensure compliance, management must consider the sustainability and environmental impact of education estates. For example, schools in England must have a Climate Action Plan in place, as mandated by the UK’s Department for Education (DfE). In its ‘Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy’, the government laid out a multi-pronged approach to ensure that the education sector tackles climate change, including schools having a Climate Action Plan and appointing a sustainability lead.
Over the last few years, momentum has been building around improving indoor and outdoor air quality on UK school sites, as children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful health effects of air pollution, because they inhale more air than adults in proportion to their body weight and their organs and immune systems are still developing. Poor air quality has also been continually linked with health issues, absenteeism and poorer academic performance.
UK children spend a quarter of their waking hours at school each year, so exposure to poor-quality air in school buildings and on-site has a significant effect. This makes schools a critical focus area for action, and places air quality firmly on the agenda for estate managers.
Addressing poor air quality in schools
Research has shown that poor air quality, characterised by high levels of pollutants, such as carbon dioxide and particulate matter, can negatively affect students’ concentration, learning progression, and overall cognitive function. Inadequate room ventilation, in addition to increasing pollutant levels, can result in uneven air distribution, creating a ‘stuffy room’ effect, or hot zones that can worsen student concentration and contribute to fatigue and inattention.
The Schools Air Quality Monitoring for Health and Education project, supported by DfE, investigated air quality data from over 1,000 schools and found that poor air quality impacts pupils’ health and affects attendance and attainment. Findings also included that UK classroom ventilation is particularly poor in winter, doubling the risk of concentrating airborne viruses and spreading disease. This is a well-documented issue, with some schools reporting that they keep windows open throughout winter, forcing children to wear extra layers to try to reduce COVID transmission, for example.
These findings highlight the need for well-designed, long-term solutions to improve air quality rather than relying on ad hoc measures. Investment in appropriate ventilation design, monitoring, and air-cleaning equipment will be essential for schools to maintain healthy indoor air quality, reduce winter illness-related absence and limit the spread of airborne pathogens.
Maintaining good indoor air quality in schools
The growing body of evidence underscores the critical importance of maintaining good indoor air quality in schools to foster a safe, healthy, productive learning environment. Education estates currently need to comply with government BB 101 guidelines, the regulatory framework for the adequate provision of ventilation in schools. However, as air quality becomes an increasingly prominent issue in the coming weeks and months, estate managers may need to explore additional measures to optimise indoor air quality. For example, implementing filtration upgrades, carbon dioxide monitors or using Heat Recovery ventilation systems to extract heat from exhaust air and improve air quality while recovering energy and heat.
Effective, sustainable site design is fundamental for schools working towards net zero and looking to the future. Design considerations should be site-specific, based on the school’s exact requirements, and spaces should support learning, wellbeing and inclusivity. Through thoughtful planning, estate managers can create healthier, lower-carbon environments. For example, minimising children’s exposure to pollution by ensuring classroom windows don’t open onto areas with heavy traffic. Schools can also create flexible outdoor spaces that classrooms have direct access to, encouraging movement, play and outdoor learning. Simple interventions like planting trees and improving cycle and scooter parking also reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.
Finally, schools must ensure that their on-site emissions are as low as possible, as research has found that a significant level of indoor air pollution in urban areas is due to outdoor pollution penetrating buildings. For example, schools should ensure that renewable energy technologies are integrated where possible, such as solar heating systems, photovoltaic (PV) panels, mechanical heating, ventilation, and cooling, ground-source heat pumps, LED lighting, and rainwater harvesting.
The scale of the net-zero challenge for schools
In 2026, estate managers will face the challenge of delivering much-needed upgrades to school sites while remaining aligned with net-zero and clean-air targets. There will be a significant increase in construction activity across UK schools, as programmes to remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), expand capacity and deliver essential repairs have been announced recently.
Pollution around school sites is primarily driven by exhaust emissions from road vehicles. Minimising additional on-site traffic is therefore one of the most effective ways to reduce air pollution during construction. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) address this issue, as techniques ensure fewer vehicle movements to and on site. As a design-focused building method that utilises low- and zero-carbon technologies, modular construction offers a solution to limit the detrimental impact that new buildings and facilities have on the environment and local communities.
Modular buildings generate up to 45% fewer emissions than conventional practices, and because 90% of construction takes place off-site, disruption to student life and the school environment can be significantly reduced. Specifically, off-site construction reduces congestion at the school and in local towns and cities.
The scale of the net-zero challenge for schools demands decisive action, particularly in improving air quality. New buildings, improvements, and refurbishment projects should not be delayed; they must be delivered differently, using sustainable, effective, well-thought-out design, low-carbon construction methods, and proven green technologies. By improving existing buildings and future developments, schools can meet net-zero goals, respond to the growing focus on air quality and create healthier, improved learning environments for generations to come.
