Repeated heatwaves during the summer caused classroom temperatures to rise significantly across the UK, prompting numerous school closures and prompting parents, teachers, and governors to seek solutions. While long-term action by governments and local authorities is necessary to adapt schools to climate change, interim measures can help schools manage heat in the near term.
Experts recommend that parents begin by approaching schools constructively with cooling concerns, potentially organizing with other parents through parent-teacher associations to demonstrate wider support for addressing the issue. Schools should engage with their local authority, foundation, or academy trust, which may have sustainability or climate resilience teams available to provide guidance. Specialists emphasize that extreme heat has become a public health and educational concern deserving attention as part of broader school resilience planning.
Before implementing cooling measures, schools should conduct proper assessment to understand the specific causes of overheating in their buildings. Rushing into solutions such as air conditioning or installing shading without diagnosis risks wasting budget on oversized, poorly located, or ineffective systems. Various local authorities, trade unions, consultants, and third-sector organizations can help schools make evidence-based decisions.
Outdoor interventions such as tree planting, external shading, and reducing heat-absorbing surfaces often prove effective starting points by preventing heat entry rather than removing it afterward. However, indoor factors including poor ventilation, restricted window opening, heat from occupants, or nearby heat sources may also contribute to overheating, making individualized solutions essential. Funding remains a significant challenge, though some schools may access support through local authority programs, academy trust investment, capital grants, or developer contributions. While parent fundraising can support modest interventions like tree planting or white paint application, relying on fundraising perpetuates inequalities in schools already disadvantaged by limited resources. Experts recommend identifying appropriate solutions and co-benefits before securing funding to implement them.
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