Providing Clean Air for Kids in School is Cost-Effective

It has been estimated that installing air cleaners in schools in England would cost around £140 million while Sky News recently reported that supply teacher costs in England last year alone were £1.4 billion. Running costs are low: it’s effectively the power for a small fan in each unit, and a change of filter in each one every 12 months, so the price of installation and running costs would pay for itself many times over very quickly just from the savings from supply teacher budgets.

A programme of installing air cleaners to reduce the spread of sickness in schools will reduce workplace sickness absence and spread of illnesses, improve productivity, help the economy and drive growth. Meanwhile protecting the NHS, taking pressure off the benefits budgets as well as having huge health and wellbeing benefits which in themselves will bring societal improvements.

With political leadership, we could easily transform the lives of schoolchildren, their teachers, and their families by improving the quality of the air they breathe. We drink two litres of water and breathe in 11,000 litres of air every day. We wouldn’t let our children drink dirty water, so why are we letting them breathe dirty air?