White paint, trees or air con? What parents and teachers can do to cool UK’s overheating schools

This summer, repeated heatwaves drove classroom temperatures to unbearable levels, leaving pupils and teachers scrambling to cope and forcing thousands of schools to close. School WhatsApp groups have lit up as parents, teachers and governors try to work out what can be done.Experts agree that in the medium term governments and local authorities must act to ensure all schools are equipped to withstand the new realities of a climate destabilised by the continued burning of fossil fuels.But in the meantime, what steps can parents and teachers take to keep pupils safe as the UK’s summers heat up?What should parents and schools do first?The first step for parents is to raise the problem constructively with the school rather than assuming nothing is being done. Headteachers are already juggling many issues and are under huge financial pressures, so approaching the conversation collaboratively is essential. If there are a few parents with the same concerns, forming a small group linked to the existing parent-teacher association can help demonstrate that this is a wider problem rather than an isolated concern.Schools should speak with their local authority, foundation or academy trust, as they may already have sustainability or climate resilience teams who can provide support. Polly Turton, of Shade the UK, a community interest company that specialises in helping adapt buildings and public spaces to a warming climate, says: “Extreme heat is increasingly becoming a public health, safeguarding and educational issue rather than simply a facilities issue, so it deserves to be treated as part of wider school resilience planning.”What is the next step?Turton says it is essential that before spending money on any physical intervention, it is crucial to understand why the building is overheating. “There is a real risk that schools rush into installing air conditioning, or invest in shading, blinds or other measures that aren’t appropriate for that particular building … Without proper assessment, systems can be oversized, poorly located or fail to address the root cause, ultimately wasting precious school budgets.”Local authorities, trade unions and a range of third-sector organisations and consultants can advise schools and help them make evidence-based decisions before they commit significant funding.Indoor or outdoor measures first?There is no simple rule – the right approach depends on what is causing the overheating. Outdoor measures are often an excellent starting point because preventing heat from entering a building is usually more effective than removing it afterwards. Tree planting, external shading and reducing heat-absorbing surfaces can all help – and create better outdoor spaces for learning and play.But in schools, overheating is not always caused by direct sunlight (unlike in homes where it nearly always is). Thirty children returning from an excitable break playing football can generate a significant amount of heat, and factors such as poor ventilation, restricted window opening or nearby heat sources such as boiler rooms can all contribute.Shade the UK says that is why schools should not rush into major investments without first understanding the cause.Are grants available?Funding remains one of the biggest challenges. Some schools may be able to get help through local authority programmes, foundation or academy trust investment or wider capital improvement grants. Increasingly, school cooling measures are being incorporated into wider refurbishment projects, where measures such as external shading, insulation, improved ventilation, better windows and doors and planting can deliver multiple benefits simultaneously – from cooling to improved security and reduced bills.Shade the UK says it is also promoting the use of section 106 agreements, which force developers in England and Wales to fund projects in the local area. Turton says: “We believe there is a strong case for local authorities to use developer contributions to help nearby schools adapt to rising temperatures.”She adds that professional organisations and consultants could also help schools identify appropriate funding opportunities and prepare the technical evidence needed to support applications.Should parents fundraise?Fundraising can help, particularly for relatively modest interventions such as planting trees and climbing plants, putting up temporary shade structures, painting playgrounds or walls white or buying classroom fans. But relying on the ability of parents to raise funds embeds existing inequalities – leaving schools in the poorest areas, which are already hardest hit, at a further disadvantage.Turton says any fundraising should ideally happen once the school community understands what will make the greatest difference. “The priority should always be identifying the right solutions and looking for opportunities for co-benefits between solutions before finding the funding to deliver them.”