Clean air in the classroom
 
With the knowledge that Covid-19 mainly transmits via airborne particles, the pandemic has brought the issue of indoor air quality into sharper focus.
 
Improving ventilation is one of the safety measures that schools have been asked to do, and now the Department for Education is in the process of supplying schools with CO2 monitors to identify where ventilation needs to be improved. While this move has been received well, unions are calling for funding to actually invest in solutions to improve ventilation and clean the air.  
 
The issue of air quality – indoor and out – is nothing new. There are numerous harmful pollutants and infectious diseases that are carried through the air, and using effective ventilation and air purification can help combat them to create a healthy and more pleasant school environment.
 
This issue of Education Business looks at the topic of indoor air quality, asking our Panel of Experts on page 22 what they recommend schools do to keep spaces well ventilated with air clean.
 
With COP26 ongoing at the time of writing, the issue of sustainability is tackled by Alex Green from the Let’s Go Zero campaign, which brings together UK schools aiming to become zero carbon by 2030. Find out more about the initiative, as well as practical ways to go green, on page 33.

Angela Pisanu, editor