Schools: Ventilation

(asked on 18th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many CO2 monitors have been provided to publicly-funded education settings, as recommended in the Government’s Schools Covid-19 Operational Guidance, as of 18 January 2022.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 26th January 2022

The department has provided CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers, including early years, schools, and further education (FE) colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding.

Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, FE colleges, and the majority of early years providers have now received a CO2 monitor, with over 353,000 delivered. Special schools and alternative provision were prioritised to receive their monitors first, given their higher-than-average numbers of vulnerable pupils. Final deliveries are due to made during February.

Applications for air cleaning units from all providers were assessed based on need, using the eligibility criteria we have set out in guidance. Please note that applications are now closed.

In total, 1,265 settings that applied for Department for Education funded air cleaning units were eligible for air cleaning units. This mirrors published summary findings from the department’s survey of the use of CO2 monitors, which show that only 3% of providers using CO2 monitors reported sustained high carbon dioxide readings that could not otherwise be addressed. These findings are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co2-monitor-survey-and-applications-for-air-cleaning-units.

The total number of air cleaning units that providers have applied for was just over 8,000. Up to an additional 1,000 units have now been ordered, bringing the total number of units available up to 9,000, allowing all eligible applications to be fulfilled. Those providers who applied but will not receive units did not meet the eligibility criteria set out in our guidance.

The eligibility criteria included:

  • Sustained high CO2 readings: where there has been sustained, high CO2 readings (1500ppm or higher) for at least one week while the room is occupied, despite taking all measures possible to improve ventilation with the current provisions, such as opening windows, and

  • Suitable space: air cleaning units were allocated for teaching spaces only (or childcare spaces in early years providers), and we have not provided units for non-teaching rooms such as staff rooms, halls, corridors, and dining rooms.
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