Aircon in primary school

[littegi08]

Hi, my daughter came back home saying how hot it was in the classroom. The teacher did not allow fans and turned the lights off. As a result my daughter was hot and was unable to read because it was so dark. Does your school have aircon and do you believe it is a necessity? Thanks

... Of course it can be right....

No of course what a pointless waste of money for about 10 days a year.

What was your dd wearing? Time to switch to cotton dresses, short socks and sandals, and make sure she drinks plenty of water.

She'll be fine.

Why were the light off

To keep the classroom cooler.

The suggestion that they won’t allow it in schools for supposed health reasons is demonstrably not right, because schools the world over have indeed been built or retrofitted with it.

It won’t be the schools themselves if it becomes mandatory. It’d have to be funded centrally.

In the schools I've worked in, the computer rooms had AC and in one secondary school, the library did too. But none of the other rooms did.

I do think it would be a good idea to have in some places where the rooms literally turn into greenhouses. But it's very unlikely to happen tbh.

I never turn off the lights though as also find it too dark. But I do tend to pull the blinds down part way with windows open below to keep the heat out and any breeze!

Do they have the old style incandescent and strip lights that throw out heat, the LED ones don't really make much difference

I don't know. Like I said, it's not something I personally like to do. But I know other teachers do it and they told me that's why.

My daughters classroom does, I think its a fairly newish building though.

I'm sure your daughter will recover just fine, it really isn't hot enough that someone should need air-conditioning.

Our school does although it’s a private school.

My kids high school (Surrey area, totally normal state comprehensive) has had air con fitted in pretty much all the classrooms over the past few years. It’s brilliant. It’s a 1970s style high school with big square banks of solid windows all the way along all the sides of the building, and used to get boiling hot in many classrooms for much more than the “10 days of the year” some people are mentioning here.

This is going to become an increasingly serious issue in years to come as climate change gets worse (heatwaves well over 40C lasting weeks every year). Schools, like the rest of our infrastructure, were designed and built for a UK climate that no longer exists. Air-conditioning will be needed alongside passive cooling (eg external shutters), exams in summer may have to be thought as will overly strict uniform rules mandating black polyester blazers etc.

The independent Climate Change Committee just this week laid out the risks in full and it's a sobering and terrifying read: A Well-Adapted UK - Climate Change Committee https://share.google/oXsK31BZjsDVQhm9w

What's wrong with opening the windows, for crying out loud?

It has been 25 degrees here today, or 77 in old money fahrenheit. We don't live in a country with temperatures of 45 degrees in the shade for months at a time. Schools struggle with their finances as it is, and air conditioning eats electricity.

The UK is turning into a country of bloody wimps.

I know a primary school that has air con in the classrooms. It was cheaper than replacing the old boilers and also keeps the classrooms warm in winter. Brilliant on hot days.

Central funding 😂😂😂

I remember hot days baking in classrooms as a young child, putting my leg on the metal table leg to cool down.

Seriously though, we get a few days heat at a time, people really do need to get a grip.

My daughter’s state school have a/c for the upstairs classrooms (years 4, 5 and 6). They don’t use it much but do when it gets really hot. She is year 4 now so will ask her if it was on today. My elder one had to keep a jumper at school in a heatwave as classroom was so cool!

I wish I had aircon. Last summer when it was hot in the summer term, my classroom got to 38 degrees. It’s like a greenhouse and the heat was unbearable. No one actually cares so nothing is done about it. I bought 4 fans for the room with my own wages as none are supplied by school.

No, and when it gets really hot the kids learn basically nothing, it's a waste of time them being at school.

My secondary school was made of glass! It got absolutely roasting in the summer! We were sent home when it got to 25 degrees inside. When it was very hot for a few days we started at 8am and finished at lunchtime. It was knocked down and rebuilt out of sensible materials about 20 years ago.

My DCs private school only has AC in the computer rooms.

it’s the UK. We don’t do aircon!

Over the past few years DS’ state primary is gradually installing air con in the classrooms that get the hottest. I should imagine their use is quite rationed to the hottest days though.

My kids went to private school no air con but they were allowed to take their blazers off