NEU Calls for Changes to School Operations Amid Extreme Heat

Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), has urged schools to adapt their schedules and infrastructure in response to the increasingly severe heatwaves affecting the UK. He suggests that schools should consider changing start and finish times, reordering holidays, and moving exams from the summer months.

Impact of Extreme Heat on Education

This summer, repeated bouts of extreme heat have had a devastating impact on both teachers and pupils, with classroom temperatures exceeding 40°C. Hundreds of thousands of students were sent home due to unbearable conditions. Kebede emphasized the need for a mass retrofitting program to ensure that schools, which were built for a different climate, are better equipped to handle extreme heat ahead of next summer's El Niño-influenced temperatures.

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"There needs to be a really serious discussion about how we make sure there is the continuity of education in this changed climate," Kebede stated.

Proposed Changes to School Schedules

Kebede proposed several measures to help schools adapt:

  • Consider moving the school year around.
  • Implement a longer summer holiday, similar to practices in hotter countries.
  • Adjust start and finish times to earlier in the day.
  • Reassess the timing of exams to avoid the hottest months.

He noted that he has received numerous messages from teachers during this summer's heatwaves, expressing distress and concern for their students' well-being. "The last time I felt that level of panic in the profession was during the Covid pandemic," he remarked.