The importance of Ventilation in Schools

Ventilation in schools is known to increase educational standards, reduce absenteeism and classroom disruption, and slow the transmission of infectious diseases and viruses.

The groundbreaking 2015 study by the University of Salford (upon which much of NZ’s Ministry of Education guidelines are based) highlighted the critical areas in classroom design and drew a line between them and learning outcomes for the students in those classrooms. In particular, the study highlighted the importance of what they termed as ‘naturalness’.

The crux of the study was that the physical characteristics of the primary schools accounted for 16% of the variation in the overall progress of students in a year. To highlight the significance of 16%, which may not sound much on its own, it’s a disparity of 1.3 sublevels per year for the student. In any typical year, a student advances by 2 sub-levels. So the impact of that 16% is significant for each and every student in the classroom.

The majority of the impact comes from the previously mentioned ‘naturalness’, which is responsible for 49% of the effect of the physical characteristics of the school and its effect on the students. This 49% is split between light (21%), temperature (12%) and air quality (16%). It’s plausible to suggest air quality is impacted and linked to both temperature and light (or their control) and is therefore of fundamental importance.

Whilst the impact of air quality on education outcomes may come as a surprise, the knowledge that air quality in schools has become increasingly problematic in recent years is widely known and understood. Energy efficiency measures and the addition of carpeting in many schools play significant factors in this. As do the class numbers themselves. With an average of around 28 students per class in NZ, all with high metabolic and breathing rates requiring high volumes of air, the demands in air changes per hour are significant. Indeed, studies (Bako-Biro et al (2012) have shown higher ventilation rates result in improved speed and accuracy in computer based tests on students. Where ventilation is absent, the opposite is true (i.e. impaired performance).

Placing learning outcomes to one side for a moment, another reason for good ventilation in schools is because all those children bring into the classroom a smorgasbord of viruses that generally like to spread quicker than rumours on the school playground. The link between indoor air quality and human health is well known, with poor indoor air quality having a long term effect on respiratory and heart disease. The more pressing issue in schools is the potential for spreading viruses that have an immediate effect on health and are easily transmitted, such as another pandemic like Covid.

Following the global pandemic, the world renowned John Hopkins University released a paper called ‘School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce Covid-19 Spread’. This paper leveraged the experience of 32 experts in many fields, including those in air quality, education and engineering. To quote the report; ‘the broad conclusion…is that the benefits of investing in healthy air in schools has the potential to outlast the Covid-19 pandemic. Improved ventilation may give children and school staff healthier indoor air quality for decades in the future, providing a healthier environment for non pandemic times and potentially reducing risks in future infectious disease outbreaks”.

Where a significant number of occupants are present and elevating CO2 levels through respiration, and infectious agents are present but good air exchange is not, the conclusion is obvious. To this end, future proofing New Zealand schools against possible future outbreaks and the predicted upward trend in infectious disease outbreaks, would make sense. Even in the context of a world not threatened by any infectious diseases, engineered ventilation in schools would be a prudent approach and benefit overall health and educational standards.

To draw the information together and conclude, improvements in air quality in schools through improved ventilation will:

Slow the transmission of infectious disease
Reduce the spread of less lethal viruses
Aid the long term health of students (and teachers)
Reduce absenteeism (through improved health)
Increase educational standards.
Support student learning through improved speed and attention to detail.
Reduce classroom disruption (through improved student focus).

It’s a compelling argument, supported by science and research. If you want to more fully understand the benefits and what can be done for your school, then please get in touch. We can assist with helping build a business case to support adaptations to existing educational premises or in the design of new educational buildings.