High temperatures in summer 2022 made working, teaching and learning in schools particularly challenging. In the past, the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 set out legal thresholds for minimum temperatures in schools. These were as follows:
• 18ºC in areas of normal levels of physical activity (eg in the classroom)
• 21ºC in areas of lower than normal activity (eg a school’s sickbay)
• 15ºC in areas of higher than normal activity (eg a school’s gym).
While these regulated temperature thresholds were discontinued in 2012, many schools still refer to them because they were the last meaningful guide to temperature control.
Currently, there are no set and (therefore) enforceable minimum or maximum temperatures set for workplaces, including schools. Health and safety regulations simply stipulate that working temperatures must be ‘reasonable’ and must ‘not be excessive’.
The World Health Organisation, however, recommends 24ºC as a maximum for comfortable working. All this said, under health and safety legislation, all employers have a duty of health and safety to monitor working conditions and take proportionate action to remedy danger and deficiencies in the workplace (including excessive heat conditions).
The impact of excessively-high classroom temperatures
When temperatures soar without a great deal of notice, as is often the case across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the impact can be equally sudden and typically affects staff and pupils alike:
• Pupils can quickly become lethargic and lose focus
• They are likely to lose their concentration and cognitive capacity
• Their health may be compromised, especially if they are vulnerable to heat
• Young children don’t and won’t know how to keep cool, so they can overheat quickly
• Staff, especially teaching staff, may tire at a faster rate because they are ‘performing’
• Certain staff are especially vulnerable to high temperatures (eg pregnant women).
The role of school leaders
At times of excessively-high temperatures, it’s important for school leaders to act and, equally important, to be seen to act:
• Parents and carers will expect school leaders to take appropriate action
• Pupils will benefit from the steps you take and will continue to make progress
• Staff will appreciate your support and the steps you take
• You’ll be discharging your duty of care and your health and safety duty.
The steps you take only need to be reasonable, proportionate and cost-effective. It is also important and prudent to record what choices you make and develop a supporting action plan – this will be helpful to use for communication and, at the same time, as a defence if the school or its leaders face any challenge.
What can school leaders do in the circumstances?
Structure
• Establish a health and safety task force that’s chaired by your school business leader
• Commission the task force to carry out a risk assessment across the school
• Assign weather forecasting and mitigation plans to the task force
• Invite pupils to contribute to the task force.
Practice and prevention
• Consider adjusting the school day (with the consent of parents of course)
• Close blinds and curtains to prevent sunlight from entering the classrooms
• Consider appropriate adjustments to the school menu (eg minimise hot food)
• Shift desks so that they are away from direct sunlight
• Move lessons to cooler areas of the school
• Ensure there is adequate ventilation of pure or fresh air in the classrooms
• Install sun-deflecting materials or blinds to classroom windows
• Moderate pupils’ physical activity and move PE lessons to cooler times of the day
• Encourage children to stay in shaded areas at break times.
Quick wins
• Ensure children have adequate access to water at all times (including throughout lessons)
• Arrange to hire air conditioning units (fans are ok, but they are not as effective)
• Keep a stock of sun-protection aids (eg after-sun lotion)
• Relax the school’s uniform policy (eg lighter and/or shorter trousers for boys)
• Raise awareness with parents, so they provide their children with adequate sun protection
• Provide ice lollies at break times – guaranteed to win support!
NAHT recommends that schools also take note of the helpful guidance produced by the Department of Education – looking after children and those in early years settings during heatwaves and the Health and Safety Executive’s workplace temperature guidance about keeping children and workplaces safe during periods of high temperature.
If a member of your team has a particular health issue impacted by heat such as heart conditions or respiratory conditions, this should be risk assessed and particular care taken for these individuals (for example, can they be moved to the coolest rooms, can you provide fans, and in some instances, can you agree they should work from home).
While all of the above holds true, you should risk assess excessive temperatures in the normal way, listing your mitigations or particular exceptions. It could be the case, that following this risk assessment, you deem it unsafe to keep the school open – an uncommon outcome but not inconceivable. If this is your conclusion, NAHT recommends speaking to your employer and Chair of Governors, making them aware of your assessment and your proposed plan of action.
ACAS has also issued tips for employers to manage the hot weather at work
Workplace temperatures should be reasonable – The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advice is that the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings must be reasonable, including home working. The HSE offers advice on how to carry out a thermal comfort risk assessment, which should be carried out by employers, including when staff are working from home.
Keeping cool at work – Switch on any fans or air conditioners to keep workplaces comfortable and use blinds or curtains to block out sunlight. Staff working outside should wear appropriate clothes and use sunscreen to protect themselves from sunburn.
Stay hydrated – Employers must provide staff with cold drinking water in the workplace.
Dress code – Employers are not under any obligation to relax their uniform or dress code requirements during hot weather, but where possible, it may be advisable for employers to relax the rules to maximise everyone’s comfort.
Getting into work – If public transport is affected by the hot weather, this could also affect staff attendance and their ability to get into work on time. Staff should check timetables in advance and speak to their employer once they are aware of any travel problems to discuss alternative arrangements, such as working from home or agree a different start time.
Vulnerable workers – Some workers may be more affected by the hot weather such as the elderly, pregnant women or those on medication. Employers may wish to provide more frequent rest breaks and ensure ventilation is adequate by providing fans or portable air-cooling units.
The TUC is also calling on employers to make sure workers are protected from the sun and the heat
Outdoor work
Employers must work with union health and safety reps to introduce measures to protect their staff who work outdoors when the temperatures rise, including:
• Avoiding outside tasks between 11am–3pm when temperatures, and risks, are at their highest
• Provide sunscreen and lightweight protective clothing, including hats
• Allow staff to take plenty of breaks and provide a supply of cold drinking water
• Provide canopies or covering over open areas and shaded areas for breaks.
Driving
The heat can be dangerous for workers whose jobs involve driving, as any driver suffering from fatigue is a risk to themselves and other people. Vehicles used for long journeys should be temporarily taken out of use if they cannot sustain a reasonable temperature, e.g. they do not have air conditioning [eg school mini-bus and school coach trips].
Indoor work
Indoor workplaces could also become dangerously hot – TUC advice is that nobody should be working indoors where temperatures exceed 30°C.
Maximum temperatures
Employers must ensure working temperatures are “reasonable”. The TUC believes employers must take action when indoor temperatures exceed 24°C, with 30°C being an absolute maximum.
Personal Protective Equipment [PPE]
PPE is defined as “all equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects him against one or more risks to his health or safety, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective.” Sunburn is a known risk to health. Sunscreen creates a barrier between the worker and the risk, and as such should be considered personal protective equipment. Employers should provide sunscreen with a factor of at least 30, made available free of charge to all workers whose work involves outdoor activities. Refusal by a worker to wear PPE because they are allergic to provided protection is valid. Refusal by the employer to supply it to the wider workforce is not.
About NAHT
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