SCHOOL buildings need urgent investment to deal with the worsening effects of climate change, the National Education Union (NEU) warned in an open letter to the Education Secretary today.

In his letter, NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede urged Bridget Phillipson to roll out air conditioning to all schools to protect pupils and staff from extreme heat health risks.

Pupils have been struggling to concentrate and pregnant staff put at risk as this week’s heatwave saw thousands of schools struggling to keep students and staff safe in record-breaking temperatures.  

Mr Kebede wrote that the government is on track to take 220 years to complete its pledge for making schools fit for purpose — despite an increase in expenditure on the school estate through last year’s Spending Review.

The union leader said that “every school closure this week is a direct consequence of successive governments failing to invest” in Britain’s school estate, of which many are uninsulated Victorian structures or poorly insulated 1960s and 1970s system-built blocks.

“I am writing to you to call for urgent investment for education buildings to be retrofitted or upgraded to help adapt to climate change,” he said.

“Schools need to be more resilient to heat and cold, be more energy efficient, and ultimately transition to net zero.  

“Much more needs to be done to help better prepare our education system for the climate emergency.

“Greater investment is needed to make all schools resilient to this type of extreme weather, which is only going to become more common.”

Mr Kebede added that the disadvantaged children living in deprived, urban areas suffer the most when poorly adapted buildings force schools to shut down.

“For a child living in a high-rise tower block with no private garden or safe green space, the school environment is a vital lifeline,” he said.

“It is not just a place of learning, it is often their only consistent access to open air, physical exercise, and a safe outdoor environment.  

“Without more investment we can expect more disruption to pupils’ learning. This will be worrying to teachers, parents and students. These concerns will only intensify with more frequent and intense heat waves.”

The Department for Education was contacted for comment.