Most teachers in England say their classrooms are too hot in summer because of poor ventilation, and a quarter say they are too cold in winter due to inadequate heating systems, a major new survey reveals.
Around one in five teachers questioned by Teacher Tapp for an Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) report were working in rooms with broken windows or doors, and more than 10 per cent had leaking ceilings.
Teacher Tapp questioned 9,202 state school teachers - 3,359 in primary schools and 5,844 in secondary schools - in February this year, asking the question: “Thinking of the classroom you taught in most recently, which of the following are true?”
Some 55 per cent of all teachers - 55 per cent in primary and 56 per cent in secondary - said their classrooms were too hot because of poor ventilation. And 27 per cent - 26 per cent in primary and 29 per cent in secondary - said they were too cold because of inadequate heating.
School buildings ‘too hot or too cold’
Poor electrics, affecting mains switch panels, lighting and IT infrastructure, were cited by 15 per cent of all respondents (13 per cent in primary and 16 per cent in secondary).
Some 17 per cent of teachers in primary and 19 per cent in secondary reported broken doors or windows, and 11 per cent of all teachers reported having to teach in classrooms with leaking ceilings.
Under a third of respondents said they did not face any of these problems.
The poll results were published today as chancellor Rachel Reeves was set to make her spring statement in the House of Commons ahead of the publication of her multi-year spending review in June.
The Department for Education requested £4 billion per year for capital funding between 2021 and 2025 but the Treasury allocated £3.1 billion - a total shortfall of £3.6 billion during that period. ASCL is calling on the Treasury to restore this lost capital expenditure.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of ASCL, said: “Large parts of the school estate are in a shocking condition because of years of underinvestment by the previous government. Schools and colleges simply don’t have the money to make the repairs and refurbishments that are necessary.
“This isn’t just about bricks and mortar but about ensuring that children are in suitable learning environments rather than shivering their way through the winter and being overheated in the summer. “
He said it was “staggering” that a recent National Audit Office report found that the maintenance backlog across the education estate requires an “eye-watering sum” of £13.8 billion.
Mr Di’Iasio said school leaders are aware that the national financial situation is tight but added: “All we are asking for is enough money to keep things going without having to make further cuts. These aren’t extravagant requests but basic necessities. We think that’s what parents have every right to expect.”
Call to clear SEND deficits
Ahead of the spring statement today, ASCL is also calling on the government to eradicate the deficits in local authority budgets for special educational needs provision - estimated to be £4.6 billion by next March - to ensure that all high-needs funding gets to the frontline.
It wants the government to provide an additional £650 million to enable all schools to cover cost pressures next year, and an additional £200 million to maintain real-terms spending per student in colleges.
There is currently a statutory override in place that allows councils to keep their deficits on high-needs spending off their books. This is due to expire in March 2026 and there are warnings that more than half of councils could have to declare effective bankruptcy if this override is not in place and a solution isn’t found.
The DfE has been approached for comment.
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