OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Peter Shreeve, Assistant District Secretary, Isle of Wight National Education Union. Ed
As schools start back after the weekend, another YELLOW heat-health alert was issued on Sunday for the South East.
Forewarned is forearmed. But only if we prepare, ensuring we are not caught off guard and can mitigate risk when excessive heat strikes our schools, hospitals, ambulance service …. The list goes on.
Lessons from the pandemic
The Covid experience reminds us of the massive impact of any inaction. For schools one mitigation was a room‑by‑room ventilation plan and HEPA filters to purify the classroom. Government ticked a box. The odd CO₂ monitor helped identify poorly ventilated rooms. They knew what to do, but filters failed to appear.
The latest House of Commons briefing (June 2026) suggests total government Covid costs are up to £410 billion. How much of this expense was inaction or poor planning?
What government guidance recommends
We know England is becoming hotter. Government knows what is needed. Common-sense guidance ticks a box – drink more water, wear looser clothing, move to a cooler classroom. If only the solution was this simple.
Earlier this year, the Climate Change Committee reported to government, recommending we ‘Invest in cooling – including air conditioning, heat pumps and green shading – across key public services.’ As well as a commitment to a national maximum temperature for workplaces. The National Education Union believes that because of the nature of the way in which education staff work, and the presence of children, a maximum indoor working temperature of 26°C is appropriate.
The committee states ‘The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of acting now.’ National government knows what’s needed to keep our schools and other public services open and safe.
A possible solution
Is there anything we can do to help?
Re-thinking the existing two-week October half-term, first introduced in 2019/20 might be one option.
