Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of ventilation in schools in reducing the spread of airborne infections.

The department publishes non-statutory guidance on ventilation in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.

This guidance is consistent with the expert advice given by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic on ventilation requirements to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and by extension other airborne infections. The department supports and works with academics to understand the research relating to the impact of air quality on school users.