Climate change could see 12 days of learning lost each year

As schools faced high temperatures last week, new research for the Department for Education (DfE) set out the risks to pupils’ learning from the effects of climate change. Without action, pupils could lose up to 12 days of learning a year, the DfE says.

The research was a collaboration between the Met Office and University College London (UCL) , and models at estate level how the predicted rise in temperatures could impact education. On average some schools may already be experiencing one or two days a year when indoor temperatures reach 35°C, making learning very difficult. It has been predicted that global surface temperatures could rise to approximately 4°C above pre-industrial levels by the turn of the century, if no global climate action is taken. If no adaptation measures are implemented for educational settings in advance of this, the analysis predicts that learning could not reasonably take place in some teaching spaces across the education estate on up to 8 days a year due to these extreme heat events.

Even when temperatures are less extreme, persistent increases in temperature can affect the ability to learn. The research sets out the estimated equivalent number of learning days that could be lost by pupils in some schools due to more subtle increases in temperature, resulting in a decreased ability to learn over the course of a typical academic year: ‘In the longer term, without the implementation of any adaptation measures, students could potentially lose up to 12 days of learning per year on average, as result of generally warmer temperatures and not just from extreme heat’. the DfE says.

The risks to learning do not just come from the direct risk of increased temperatures, but also from other climate impacts. For example, the analysis finds that many schools, especially secondary settings, are at risk from surface water and river and sea flooding, affecting buildings, playgrounds and access routes. 60 per cent of secondary school sites are at high risk of flooding from surface water, as well as nearly two in five secondary school buildings. Primary settings are somewhat less at risk, with around one third on sites that are at high risk of flooding, with 20 per cent at high risk of seeing buildings flood. There could also be an increased risk of water supply shortages in schools, although this is likely to remain uncommon.

The DfE says that in response to climate risks it is actively implementing a range of initiatives. These include embedding adaptation into capital programmes, with all new school buildings delivered through the school rebuilding programme designed to be climate resilient. They are also investing in flood resilience through the schools water strategy, and testing scalable solutions through the Bradford resilient schools pathfinder projects to support the case for future funding. However, one source of funding for schools to reduce their emissions – the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme – has been cut. Following the recent spending review it was announced that, while currently awarded projects in the scheme remain fully funded, there will be no new money.

The DfE recommends that, in order to understand their specific situation and implement bespoke adaptations, schools and trusts should put in place a climate action plan and nominate a sustainability lead.

Further information about sustainability support for education can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/bdpu4p85