Why Good Air Quality in Education is Important

Education has been one of the most affected areas during the pandemic with a staggering 1.53 billion learners out of school and 184 country-wide school closures. We saw pupils go back to education in September 2020 and how the COVID-19 cases increased rapidly with further lockdowns being introduced. There were a number of factors as to why the COVID cases increased in schools, one of them being bad air quality.

Bad Air Quality Leads to A Poor Learning Environment

Poor air quality in schools can lead to students missing class due to respiratory infections, allergies, and adverse reactions from exposure to some chemicals used in classrooms.

Students may have Asthma, and for these students, learning in bad air could lead to serious illness especially if these students were to catch COVID-19. Not just the students are at increased risk due to poor air quality, but the teachers and support staff are too. They are in the same indoor environment with the same health and well-being issues.

Teachers and tutors are also faced with the added task of trying to teach in an environment where students find it harder to learn. It has been shown that poor-quality air can lead to lower productivity and lower scores in cognitive tests when compared to environments with better air quality.

Problems Schools Face with Poor Air Quality

One of the main causes of poor air quality is poor ventilation in some schools. If ventilation is inadequate the levels of harmful airborne particles and carbon dioxide levels are higher. Another problem is the ageing buildings, many schools have been running for decades with very little improvement over the years.

This can lead to schools having extra problems with leaks and water damage causing excessive mold and bacteria growth. This then leads to poor indoor air quality in the school. In a study of 100 classrooms, there was a 2.9% and 2.7% increase in Maths and English scores respectively when there was an increase in ventilation rates. Better ventilation systems will help usually improve children’s learning abilities.

Experts say the evidence for airborne transmission is “overwhelming” and the sooner global health authorities admit this, the sooner more effective measures to better protect the children in classrooms can be implemented. Only recently have 12–15-year old’s been offered the COVID vaccination, which means safer indoor environments are required for those who haven’t had the vaccination or have not been offered it.

How To Fix Air Quality in Schools

One thing Schools can do is to find the problems and rectify them. So, find any leaks or areas of erosion where pollution can build up and fix it with a long-term solution, so the same problem doesn’t keep happening.

Schools need to make sure HVAC systems are getting serviced regularly and teaching staff need to open windows for fresh air whenever possible. On a warm day in the summer, this is the simple solution, but other challenges occur during the winter months. Improving the ventilation, by keeping airflow moving through the building, means schools can prevent harmful air from being breathed into pupil’s lungs.

How Cork Hygiene Can Help

Cork Hygiene have a new product range about to go live on our website. Our Air Purifiers can have an immediate positive effect on air quality. These devices are helpful for students and staff that suffer from common allergies, or asthma, as well as improving general air quality for everybody.

As well as air quality the general cleanliness of schools needs to improve. We also stock a large range of sanitiser wipes which schools should make available during the ongoing pandemic. Ideally, these should be provided in every classroom for children and staff to use on a daily basis.

Another product that can be vital to schools is soap. Pupils and teachers need to wash their hands more for at least 20 seconds to stop germs from spreading. Our soap dispensers can be used in washrooms to make sure no one forgets!

We give free advice on all aspects of product use and suitability, as well as offering staff training for customers in the correct and safe use of products supplied.

Visit our health and safety information section for data sheets and risk assessments.