Audit of council-level clean air policies for schools in England

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> During the COVID Pandemic paediatric respiratory admissions in the UK fell to unprecedented levels. People questioned whether school air quality may be a risk factor for childhood respiratory disease and school health. There are existing recommendations around school air quality, but whether these have been implemented has not been audited. <b>Aim:</b> to evaluate whether district councils had policies&nbsp;around clean air in schools, and whether there was consistency across the country. <b>Method:</b> 3 reviewers examined the most recent council Air Quality Reports/Plans on the council websites of 181 district/borough councils in England. Based on existing standards, we evaluated important domains: air pollution monitoring; school travel plans; individual schools’ asthma plans; education about air pollution; clean air zones around schools; building use to optimise air quality. <b>Results:</b> There was inconsistency across district councils. 143/181 (79%) of councils had an air quality action plan, but of these only 4/143 (3%) included policies specifically for schools. 119/181 (66%) recommended that schools should promote greener travel alternatives. Only 13/181 (7%) had specific plans to help manage children with respiratory illnesses. No councils had policies around building use, including ventilation. <b>Conclusion:</b> We found significant inconsistency in clean air policies for schools across district councils in England.&nbsp;Improving this is a priority for childhood respiratory health.&nbsp;Research must be undertaken alongside children suffering from respiratory illnesses, teachers, and healthcare professionals – in particular school nurses – to set high standards for air quality in schools.