Creating Value In Schools
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Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent, leading to school closures and lost learning. But even before the temperature hits 30+ degrees, learning is impeded. What can schools do to try and cool classrooms? We suggest three areas for action:
Have a process or protocol in place for when a heatwave is forecast. Communicate clearly to pupils, staff and parents when this is being put into action. For example:
Actions around the site can make a difference too. For example:
This requires more planning and investment of resources, but anything you can do to create shade and bring in greenery helps cool the estate. For example, large planters with drought-tolerant trees or shrubs. Shady structures, such as a pergola, where pupils congregate at playtime.
A more ambitious project could be greening the outside of a building with a living wall. For a case study of this in action, check out the Let’s Go Zero webinar, How cool is your school? The final part of the recording focuses on a primary school in built-up London, who have cooled things down with a living wall as well as olive trees to create more shade.
Image from Let's Go Zero 'How cool is your school' webinar, showing Cleveland Road Primary School's living wall.
Did you know that shading the outside of a building is much more effective than shading inside?
External blinds or shutters, awnings, even rigging up a sail – these are all ways to reduce temperatures inside. Brise soleil – which is from the French for broken sun – is where slats are affixed to a building’s exterior to diffuse the sun’s rays before they hit the glass. For an example, check out this school case study.
Or this image from the Milwaukee art museum gives a more dramatic example of brise soleil in action.
If you're in a listed building, you are constrained as to what adaptations you can implement. For example, you may not be able to affix structures to the exterior, and even solar reflective film on windows may not be an option.
Funding is another constraint: these bigger, structural changes require investment. But find out what grants are available in your area and investigate what’s possible. Start with our top tips in Five steps to effective school fundraising.
The evidence is clear: extreme heat events are becoming more frequent. So investing to protect future pupil learning, as well as preventing school closures, is well worth it.
