As a red warning for a heatwave is issued for parts of the UK, school communities are raising concerns about the welfare of children and staff – with reports of teachers and pupils passing out and exam halls reaching temperatures of 33C in recent years.
In France, more than 800 schools have shut due to the heat, but it is rare for British schools to close for that reason.
“Pupils and teachers have passed out in sweltering heat as UK faces red heatwave warning with no legal temperature limit in schools.”
Bedfordshire mum Victoria Everitt says her daughter Amelia has a condition meaning she cannot regulate her body temperature. “She was going unresponsive in the classroom last summer,” Everitt said.
Even children without such conditions can struggle. Michael Conley, head teacher of St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, said: “We’ve had children become excessively warm, where they’ve become sick or ill, dysregulated or out of control. They do fall asleep.”
Teacher Lucio Poli recalls two particularly hot spells at Ely St John’s Community Primary School in Cambridgeshire. “In the mid-2000s, I remember passing out, and I saw children pass out, too. About three or four of them went down like a stone,” he said. “I was wearing formal clothing – that taught me not to overdress in hot weather.”
Poli said his school had a “reasonable head teacher” who allowed flexibility with clothing during heatwaves. When temperatures reached 40C in 2022, teachers raised concerns, but “the message from county [council] was there’s no limit on maximum temperature. The priority was to keep the schools open.”
Cambridgeshire County Council said the Department for Education provided schools with heatwave advice, and the council sent guidance including a heat checklist in 2022. “In extreme weather conditions, [schools] would be expected to undertake a risk assessment,” a spokesperson said. “Very few schools closed completely.”
The Department for Education says there is no maximum temperature limit in UK workplaces, including schools, but it is “carefully considering” proposals to change that by the Climate Change Committee.
The CCC’s latest report states: “High indoor temperatures can disrupt learning in schools by causing discomfort, reducing concentration, and increasing health risks for students and staff.”
The Trades Union Congress has campaigned for a legal maximum working temperature, while the National Education Union says a maximum indoor working temperature of 26C is appropriate.
As the heatwave takes hold, no legal limit exists to protect pupils and teachers – and schools remain open.