Excessive classroom temperatures - NASUWT

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Below is a representative sample of teachers’ comments about the impact oftemperature on pupils’ ability to learn:“My classroom acts like a greenhouse as the sun is on the windows from firstthing, well into the afternoon. There is no airflow because of the type ofwindows. As soon as students walk in, they start to complain about the heat.This leads to students using it as an excuse to behave poorly. They moan thatthey can’t work or concentrate. The area close to the windows is very hot andsometimes it means having to move students away from the windows.However, with a full class this is very difficult. Students find it more difficult toconcentrate on tasks. They also take longer on tasks, as they spend more timecomplaining about the heat.”“The classroom was most excessively hot after lunch. During the hot weather,the children would come in from their lunch break hot and sweaty after runningaround on the field. Lessons usually started late or were disrupted by childrenasking to get a drink. The heat made them lethargic and inattentive and, ingeneral, the quality of the work produced in the afternoons in the summer termwas lower.”“Last year when the temperature reached 29-30 o C we had to let severalstudents go outside to sit down and have a glass of water because they feltfaint. This meant that they were unsupervised, and if they had fainted this wouldobviously be a failure in our duty to care.”“Even older, highly motivated A level students lose the desire to work. Younger,and less well-motivated students become restless, less well-behaved, irritableand occasionally aggressive, often engaging in unsociable behaviour withfellow students to the point of fighting with each other. There are constantinterruptions – asking for drinks, toilet visits, requests to go outside – and asignificant increase in feeling unwell / referrals to the medical room.”“I teach Reception and Year 1. These youngest children struggle to cope inhigh temperatures and this is made worse by the poor ventilation in my class.They cannot learn effectively in these conditions where they cannotconcentrate in the heat, and a lot of my time will be spent on emotional supportduring these times.”The following are representative of teachers’ comments about the impact oftemperature on their ability to teach:“I teach in a classroom with no ventilation, no windows and just two doorswhich open into other closed areas. When the weather is above 24/25 o C, andmore especially if the humidity remains high, the room is too uncomfortable inwhich to work. Any significant movement results in sweating, it becomes8
difficult to concentrate and there is a complete loss of enthusiasm to doanything beyond basic child minding. This occurs, on average, between twoto four weeks every summer and completely removes the desire to go to work.”“As the windows in the classroom do not open much, there is a lack of fresh airin the room, and with 30 pupils, it quickly becomes ‘stuffy’. This is true all yearround, but in summer, the temperature of the room can be unbearable. I findthis hot and stuffy environment has a detrimental effect on my concentrationand energy level. My room has 15 computers. Using these in the summer addsto the temperature of the room. Although there may be benefits to learning, inhigh temperatures I often change lessons to avoid using them in order to limitthe temperature of the room. This decision is not based on pupil-learning needsbut rather on the level of comfort for my pupils and I. On very hot days I find mytolerance decreases.”“I am a naturally enthusiastic and animated teacher who spends a largeproportion of my time on the move. However, the temperatures in myclassroom lead to me being unable to teach effectively as I become excessivelysweaty, making me extremely uncomfortable and self-conscious. I becomelight-headed and find that I am having to sit down regularly to avoid fainting,which is not in the interests of my pupils. I become lethargic as a result of thesweat and light-headedness, which means that my level of engagement withthe students is not always as it should be.”“My room is hot and stuffy and, as I am menopausal, I am uncomfortably hotand my energy levels are low. I am frequently thirsty and this affects my abilityto concentrate. There is a lack of time and opportunity to go to the loo.”“Excessive temperatures make it almost impossible to be dynamic in theclassroom. How can I encourage my students to fully engage when I amstruggling to move around in a room so hot that I feel nauseous?”ConclusionThe survey results submitted by members indicate conclusively that classroomtemperatures above 24 o C have a detrimental effect on both teaching and learning.It is a matter of concern that these results probably understate the extent of theproblem as, during the survey period, temperatures throughout the UK were wellbelow the seasonal norm.The NASUWT endorses the views expressed by the TUC in its 2009 Report, Thecase for a legally enforceable maximum temperature.9
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Excessive classroom temperatures - NASUWT

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