Overview
- Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has refused to rule out setting maximum workplace temperatures for schools after a late‑May heatwave produced multiple days above 30°C and readings over 35°C.
- Teaching unions have pressed for legally enforceable temperature limits to protect pupils and staff and to drive investment in cooling and other heat‑resilience measures.
- Department for Education surveys show 32% of schools reported overheating in at least one building and DfE risk assessments warn some classrooms could be unusable for learning for up to eight days a year under future warming scenarios.
- The government points to its February Education Estates Strategy and a new April programme backed by £710 million to 2029–30 as the main route for upgrades to insulation, ventilation and low‑carbon cooling.
- Advisory bodies say limits and upgrades are urgent but caution that large‑scale air conditioning must use low‑carbon technology to avoid higher energy use and refrigerant harms while experts warn a likely El Niño could raise heat risk this summer.