Teach-Primary-Issue-19.4

Anne McConway Nobody expects us to clean our own water in schools, so why are we being asked to make sure our air is breathable? Please think of the children (and teachers) VO I C E S I know, no one wants to talk about Covid anymore. But five years after the pandemic began, absence rates due to illness, for staff and pupils, are 40 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels ( tinyurl.com/tp-absence2025 ) . According to the 2024 GP Patient Survey ( tinyurl.com/tp-GPsurvey ) , an estimated 3.1 million adults in the UK have Long Covid, with another 6.3 million suspecting they have it. We know that Long Covid disproportionately affects education staff, due to increased exposure ( tinyurl.com/tp-CovidEdSector ) . Many have been afflicted, some losing their career as well as their health. Contrary to popular belief, Long Covid affects children, too. The latest ONS data show that over 111,000 children have Long Covid ( tinyurl. com/tp-CovidEdSector ), a figure that doubled between March 2023 and March 2024. So, whose responsibility is it to take action? Well, that’s the problem. Ask the Department for Education (and I have), and they’ll tell you it’s up to individual schools to ensure that indoor air quality meets the expected standards. Ask schools (and I have), and their response is usually: what air quality standards? The result? Indoor air quality in UK schools is terrible; airborne diseases are allowed to spread unchecked, and illness is rife. Predictably, the government’s push for ‘presenteeism’, urging those who are sick to attend school and share their germs, has done nothing to boost attendance. Nor has ramping up fines and threatening parents with criminal records for unauthorised pupil absence. It’s time to go back to the drawing board and start focusing on prevention . According to the Department for Education’s own data, illness is the leading cause of staff and pupil absence ( tinyurl.com/tp-AbsenceIllness ) . Many of the most common infectious diseases are airborne: Covid, influenza, RSV, whooping cough, measles, mumps, chickenpox, and even TB. Aerosol science tells us that good ventilation and HEPA air filters can remove viral particles from the air we breathe (Katz et al, 2025 tinyurl.com/ tp-AirFilters ), so why aren’t we using this information to reduce transmission of these harmful diseases? Existing government guidance is also clear: schools should be using CO 2 monitors, improving ventilation, and taking action when CO 2 levels are too high ( tinyurl.com/tp-GovtAirGuide ) . But how many school staff even know this guidance exists? The pandemic should have been a wake-up call for infection prevention and control. While other countries have invested heavily in improving indoor air quality, our government’s approach has been to convince us that we can “live with Covid” by ignoring it. This is not a good long-term plan. As a class teacher, I had no idea that I had any control over the number of viral particles floating in the air. I resigned myself to what I thought were ‘inevitable’ bouts of illness. Had I known then what I know now, I would have demanded better indoor air quality. Schools are often unfairly expected to solve society’s problems. But in this case, school staff may well be saving themselves if they choose to take action to improve indoor air quality. We don’t expect teachers to clean the water they drink at school or to remove the asbestos from buildings. Yet, for now, we can only hope that school staff recognise how they are being failed and the solutions at their disposal. Parents, in turn, must rely on staff to push for this much needed change, so their children can breathe cleaner, safer air in their classrooms. The cost of inaction extends far beyond finances. In opposition, Bridget Philipson was a strong advocate for better air quality in schools. Now that she has the power to act, she must follow through on her own recommendations by funding HEPA air filters and CO 2 monitors for every educational setting. No amount of hand washing or ‘deep cleaning’ will prevent staff and pupils from inhaling airborne viral particles. Protecting school staff and children should not be optional. Let’s demand that we (and our pupils!) have access to clean air now. Because if we don’t, who will? TP Anne McConway is an early education lecturer and clean air campaigner. @annemarie1. bsky.social www.teachwire.net | 13