Aim of this resource
- • To promote the importance of good ventilation in schools and colleges.
- To help education trade union representatives work together to improve ventilation across settings to the benefit of all staff and pupils.
Introduction
Ventilation is the process of replacing stale air with fresh air. Effective ventilation reduces CO₂ which impacts concentration, and removes stale air which may contain viruses, bacteria and allergens. Improved ventilation has been shown to improve academic performance and reduce sickness absence. Achieving good ventilation is all about understanding ventilation systems in the workplace (mechanical, natural or both) and checking how well they are performing in removing stale air and bringing in fresh air. Our five-step guide below sets out how employers and union reps can work together so that this can be achieved, including practical measures to monitor and improve ventilation. See also the TUC blog Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.