Schools must work on ventilation
School boards must work on ventilation. In the latest service documents, the cabinet prescribes that administrators inform educational staff and parents about the state of the ventilation. It must be clear whether the premises meet all the requirements and if this is not the case, what plans there are to improve air quality.
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The topic of ventilation has, for the first time, been explicitly added to the latest service documents for primary and secondary education, published on January 28. The service documents contain the cabinet decisions regarding corona. On the basis of this, the employers' councils and unions draw up protocols that serve as guidelines for education. The primary education protocol says the same about ventilation as the service document. The protocol for secondary education is still being worked on. On the website lesop Distance.nl the documents can be found. They form a guideline for schools when it comes to the corona measures.
Plan of action
The documents clearly state that schools must ensure that all areas comply with the Building Decree and legal standards. Schools that have not yet done so must also inform parents and staff about air quality. This means that the school will either report that the rooms or buildings meet the requirements or what plan is in place to ensure that the buildings meet the requirements,” the documents read.
It is still in the guidelines of the MBO written more firmly. If institutions systematically exceed legal standards, they must take additional measures. 'If additional measures are not possible or offer insufficient relief, the room will not be scheduled.' This passage was already in the previous version of the guidelines.
The participation councils and works councils must be involved and give their approval for measures. AObpolicy officer Marcel Koning: "Don't wait until the board informs the mr. As mr, ask proactively about the action plan if no information has been provided yet."
Don't wait until the board informs the mr, ask about the action plan
Urgent
According to Koning, the passages in the service documents and in the primary education protocol show that the ministry and the employers' councils are aware that ventilation is an urgent problem. The AOb made before various guidelines and wrote a step-by-step plan to report if the air quality is not satisfactory. “The fact that this is now in the service documents and protocols will hopefully give the educational staff some support and means that something has to be done,” says Koning.
CO2 meters are mentioned in the protocol for primary education. 'They are a good indicator to find out whether there is sufficient ventilation,' says the protocol. Meters must hang in the right place, such as in classrooms and other high-traffic areas in the school building. Koning: “Measure it, is our call. We believe that all schools should have these meters to see if the air is good. This is in the interest of the health of students and teaching staff. Don't accept it if you're in a poorly ventilated room."
In the roadmap of AOb states what education staff can do when air quality is not in order. The ministry is working on the RuimteOK knowledge center. Concerned employees can make a report there and the center thinks about measures to be taken.
Subsidy
The cabinet has reserved 200 million euros for better ventilation in schools via the SUVIS . scheme (Specific Allowance for Ventilation in Schools). Municipalities can thus improve the indoor climate of school buildings in primary and secondary schools. The budget of this scheme was increased last year and applications can still be submitted until April 30, 2022, because there is still budget left.
Would you like to know more about ventilation and what you can do yourself to improve air quality? Go to our guides via aob.nl/ventilation
