SCHOOL AIR QUALITY FACTS AND RESOURCES
WHAT IS AIR QUALITY?
Air quality can refer to the air that we might breathe either outdoors or indoors, and is related to how much pollution is present: poor air quality is when pollutant levels might be high, and good air quality is when pollutant levels might be low.
WHAT IS AIR POLLUTION?
Air pollution is the combination of certain gases and particulate matter (tiny airborne particles, solid or liquid, that are mixed into the air around us) that make it less healthy to breathe. These air pollutants mostly come from human activities such as car and lorry exhausts, factory smoke, and even from the furniture in our buildings and paint on our walls; however, some, such as desert dust (which can travel from the Sahara!) and mould spores, come from natural sources.
WHY DOES SCHOOL AIR QUALITY MATTER?
Good air quality helps prevent some childhood illnesses and conditions like asthma, supports children's healthy development by enabling them to be active in their learning and playing, and has been linked with improving cognitive function, attention and learning – that's why good air quality at school is so important.
RELEVANT POLLUTANTS AND METRICS INSIDE SCHOOLS
There can be many different pollutants in our air and you are probably most used to hearing about pollution outdoors. The levels of particulate matter, or 'PM', are very relevant both outdoors and inside, including in our schools. Other gaseous pollutants that we might be concerned about outside are not so relevant inside our schools; instead, other compounds like those called VOCs might be more prevalent in schools.
KEY SOURCES IN SCHOOLS AND MITIGATIONS
Some objects and activities in schools are sources of indoor pollution. When possible, these should be removed or reduced but sometimes, they are unavoidable so instead we use ventilation to reduce the levels of these indoor pollutants. When the ventilation is not sufficient then we can consider the use of air cleaners. The Indoor Air Quality Working Party have this worksheet on mitigating indoor sources, so you can think about which are most relevant to your school(s).
SCHOOL MATTERS BUT SO DOES THE AIR QUALITY IN AND AROUND SCHOOLS
The effects of our cumulative exposure to air pollution adds up so it is important to think about exposures both in and around schools. The Global Centre for Clean Air Research have published this guidance which provides simple action points that enable schools, children and communities to make informed decisions and help reduce their exposures to air pollution. Global Action Plan provide a whole host of resources to support schools in improving air quality in and around schools:
- For information on how air pollution can affect children and adults throughout their lives, check out the relevant pages on the Air Hub.
- A good starting point for schools in taking action is the Clean Air for Schools Framework, a free online tool designed to help schools to create a tailored action plan together with a range of tools and resources to tackle air pollution.
- The Schools Action for Clean Air webpage provides a wealth of support and resources for anyone wanting to take action to improve air quality in and around their school. It includes links to educational resources such as campaigning toolkits designed for schools to work through with their pupils. There is also an interventions toolkit designed to provide more in depth detail on physical interventions that schools may want to take.
- ActNow provides a 7-step plan to actively improve air pollution at your school, take their Pure Air Pledge to get involved.
SCHOOL MATTERS BUT SO DOES THE AIR QUALITY IN OUR HOMES
We spend much of our time at home and children often have greater exposures to indoor air pollutants produced by cooking and cleaning processes at home rather than at school. Asthma + Lung UK have lots of information about air pollution at home and the IMPECCABLE project has produced these nice videos on cleaning and cooking.