Abstract:
Exposure to poor air quality can have severe effects on health and well-being, with children being particularly vulnerable. Apart from the home, schools are where children spend most of their time indoors. As such, the Schools’ Air quality Monitoring for Health and Education (SAMHE) Initiative has set out to bring together teachers, students and researchers to build a national dataset of air quality in schools. Participating schools receive a free monitor that measures particulate matter (PM), CO2 and temperature amongst other metrics.
We present findings from air quality data collected from over 400 schools over the 2023-2024 academic year. By comparing PM2.5 concentrations in this data set to the outdoor PM2.5 concentrations as recorded by background Defra AURN stations, we demonstrate that the classroom PM2.5 concentration is closely linked to the outdoor concentration. Outdoor particulate matter events, defined as short periods of elevated outdoor PM2.5 concentrations, are evidenced within classroom measurement, leading to disproportionately high indoor exposure during these events.
These findings enhance our understanding of air quality within UK schools, provide an evidence base for future guidance of school building operation and ventilation, and contribute to shaping future school design and retrofit programs.