Will schools close as temperatures hit 38C in the June heatwave?

A new wave of scorching heat next week is expected to cause serious inconvenience to millions of schoolchildren crammed into crowded classrooms.

Temperatures as high as 38°C on Tuesday and Wednesday could lead to the Met Office issuing Amber Extreme Heat Warnings from Monday to Thursday.

Schools across countries are working on measures to prevent heat exhaustion and fainting cases, which have been reported during heat waves in recent years.

Independent It takes a look at the problems facing schools in the UK and whether they will close as temperatures reach their highest level in a year.

Why are schools such a concern during a heatwave?

Concerns about how hot classrooms could get during the increasingly scorching summer months have been voiced by unions, teachers and schools.

As just one example, teacher Lucio Poli, who works at Ely St John’s Community Primary School in Cambridgeshire, said the 1990s school building was poorly built to cope, with windows facing west and black tiles making it difficult to keep heat out.

Every year there are reports of children overheating, getting sick, getting tired and even fainting.

This can directly impact their learning capacity. Children with special educational needs, girls in menstrual or luteal phase, and children with other conditions may have a particularly difficult time coping with intense heatwaves.

Daniel, assistant head teacher at an inner-city state secondary school in London, said it was a struggle not only to cope with the heat themselves but also for teachers tasked with looking after dozens of students “all with their heads on the desk”. I.

“On the hottest days, teachers can barely teach, let alone students learn,” he said. “My employees say it’s really hard for us to work properly.”

What can schools do to keep students cool?

Some schools are already urging parents to take precautions, including some parts of Wales where temperatures will reach 35 degrees.

Whitchurch High School told WalesOnline “is putting some sensible accommodations in place to help students stay safe and comfortable.”

Students were advised to bring a refillable water bottle, drink water regularly throughout the day, wear a hat or cap when outside, and apply sunscreen before heading to school.

A school in Wiltshire is allowing pupils to wear a full-size PE kit or school uniform, including gray shorts or skirts, without a tie or jumper, from Monday this week.

Sheldon School in Chippenham, Wiltshire, said it was relaxing its uniform policy due to intense temperatures. Students were also advised to bring water bottles and sunscreen with them and to spend breaks in shaded places.

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, replaced black asphalt playing fields with artificial turf, renewed the roof and installed air conditioning in half the school.

Will schools close this year during the heatwave?

There has been no announcement yet of widespread school closures due to the current heat, but unions and other organizations are campaigning for this to be made more widespread.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and the Trades Union Congress say there should be a maximum temperature limit for schools; The proposals are “carefully considered” by the Department for Education (DfE), it says.

The DfE’s website says it does not currently recommend that schools close in hot weather because “attending school is the best way for pupils to learn and reach their potential”.

A teacher said Cambridgeshire County Council told schools there was “no limit on maximum temperature” after temperatures reached 40°C in 2022. BBC.

A spokesman for the council said schools were “expected to undertake risk assessments” and that “very few schools have closed completely” during the 2022 heatwave.

But following a record-breaking heatwave in May, some unions have called on the government to set a limit on how hot schools can get before they are closed. In early June, Education Minister Bridget Phillipson ruled out such measures.

NEU teaching union general secretary Daniel Kebede said: Tes: “A maximum operating temperature for schools will protect learning and the important exam period and encourage investment in making schools heat-resistant, with mitigations such as air conditioning to keep staff and children safe and comfortable.”

When pressed at the beginning of June, the education minister said: Mirror: “We will always look closely at what schools need and I recognize that some of the temperature fluctuations we have seen, and particularly some of the hot weather in recent years, can make life really difficult for teachers and staff and can also have an impact on children’s learning.”