State schools to get CO2 monitors to check airflow and fight Covid

Every state school will be provided with carbon dioxide monitors in an effort to improve ventilation in classrooms and reduce the chances of Covid outbreaks after pupils return in the autumn.

The Department for Education has announced that £25 million will be provided to purchase approximately 300,000 devices, enough for roughly one per every two classrooms.

They will help teachers and schools monitor whether there is poor airflow in classrooms and signal when there is a risk of virus particles being present in greater concentrations.

The Association of School and College Leaders, the headteachers' union, welcomed the move but said unions had repeatedly called for the monitors and they should have been ready for the beginning of the academic year.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary, said the monitors should help reduce the need for windows to be open during the winter, with the Government's current focus on natural ventilation seen as impractical by education leaders when temperatures plummet.

The majority of monitors will be made available over the autumn term, although special schools will be prioritised to receive their full allocation in September due to the higher number of vulnerable pupils.

However, the Government has so far failed to commit to a firm deadline for all monitors being purchased and distributed, saying only that all schools and colleges are expected to receive at least partial allocations during the autumn term.

Schools will be issued with new guidance on their use and what they should do if the monitors identify poor ventilation.

Meanwhile, the DfE is also conducting a £1.75 million pilot, involving 30 schools, to identify cost-effective air purifiers which could be used at sites that currently have poor ventilation. Education leaders have been assured that the pilot will be followed by a substantial funding allocation to help schools purchase the ventilation equipment.

Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, said on Friday: "Providing all schools with CO2 monitors will help them make sure they have the right balance of measures in place, minimising any potential disruption to education and allowing them to focus on world-class lessons and catch up for the children who need it."