Following last week’s call for firm Government action to be taken to improve ventilation in schools to reduce further Covid disruption, the Department for Education have confirmed of funding for CO2 monitors in state-funded education settings.
Peter Shreeve, Assistant District Secretary of the National Education Union, said,
“Funding for good ventilation is really welcome and follows examples set by administrations in New York City, Scotland and Ireland.
“The NEU and others have been raising ventilation as an issue for some time. Gavin Williamson’s statement of the initial investment of £25m in CO2 monitors indicates schools are ‘expected to receive at least partial allocations during the autumn term’.”
Shreeve: Too many Government pledges fail to fully deliver
Shreeve went on to say,
“This equipment should have been made available to all schools before the September return. We hope this equipment can be purchased and delivered as quickly as possible.
“We have seen far too many Government pledges and announcements failing to fully deliver. A repeat of the failures of the laptop roll-out cannot be allowed to happen.”
Shreeve: Benefits of good ventilation are very clear
Shreeve finished by saying,
“The educational benefits of good ventilation are very clear. Not only will this make it more likely that young people can continue with on-site learning, but good ventilation will also aid concentration.
“This prioritisation of fresh air will start to make a difference. It is vital, though, that Government also commits to supporting schools to address any ventilation problems identified by these monitors, when they eventually arrive. But the unanswered question remains: why did it take so long to introduce this obvious precaution?”
Image: howardlake under CC BY 2.0
