It has now been a year since the RAAC crisis hit headlines, when schools across the country were forced to close due to crumbling buildings. Despite the media attention this drew, political disruptions over the past year mean that there is still much work to be done by the new government to improve the dire state of school infrastructure.
RAAC is just one of many issues faced by schools already battling with financial constraints – other problems include damp, asbestos, mould, and poorly-insulated and ventilated classrooms. The Department for Education (DfE) reported last year that 700,000 students are learning in environments that require major rebuilding or refurbishment. Schools are desperate to retrofit, but report facing a lack of funding and government support to date.
Teachers cannot be expected to work in unsafe environments. With a retention crisis and significant pressures ranging from COVID-19 catch up to record-high absences, they already have enough issues to contend with. Neither can students be expected to learn in unsuitable classrooms, which are impacting their mental and physical health. Research shows that excessive classroom temperatures impinge on students’ ability to concentrate, with a 1°C increase in temperatures linked to a 2% decline in learning. This is particularly detrimental for disadvantaged pupils, who suffer up to three times the impact of excessive temperatures than others.
One of the government’s top five missions is to break down barriers to opportunity. This has to start at education, as the building block for a fairer, more equal society. This cannot be achieved if there is a postcode lottery for young people learning in safe environments.
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School infrastructure must be made not only safer, but also more energy efficient and climate resilient – in line with another government mission of becoming a clean energy superpower. We must consider the risks posed to infrastructure by climate change, as the impacts are already being felt by schools. Just recently, we saw the closure of schools due to severe flooding. Decarbonising the education sector will be crucial to achieving the UK’s 2050 net-zero target. In order to meet our 2035 target of reducing emissions by 78%, the DfE estimates that £2 billion per year must be dedicated to retrofitting the school estate.
There is an unmissable opportunity to combine efforts to retrofit schools for safety with efforts to meet the UK’s decarbonisation goals. A net-zero retrofit programme initiated by the government would bring countless benefits to students and teachers – making buildings safer, helping schools to reduce their carbon emissions, increasing attainment rates, and reducing energy bills.
Research from Teach the Future and Let’s Go Zero demonstrates that the costs of retrofitting for RAAC and retrofitting for net zero are not additive. Retrofitting for both at the same time is the most cost-effective way to overcome the issues currently plaguing school buildings.
At Labour conference, the energy secretary took important steps to improve the energy efficiency of social homes and the rented sector. This progress must now be replicated across the school estate, or else students and teachers face more winters of freezing classrooms and sky-high bills, with summers spent sweltering in temporary classrooms not built for learning.
This is unfortunately yet another problem the new government has inherited, but Labour now has the opportunity to be a champion for schools and rectify it. Young people have shown an admirable desire to address climate change and care for the environment, and the education system should encourage this passion. Alongside significantly improving conditions for teachers and students, a net-zero retrofit programme would set a positive example for younger generations and inspire them to continue taking action on the climate crisis.
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