Air quality program rollout continues in schools

Thousands of classrooms will benefit from fresh air ventilation systems, as part of the NSW Government’s $100 million investment.

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the comprehensive audit of all NSW public school learning spaces has helped make schools COVID safe and identified opportunities for permanent improvements to enhance natural ventilation.

“Schools have received a mix of temporary and permanent remediation works, and in some cases have adapted the way they use spaces as part of their COVID-19 Safety plan,” Mitchell said.

“Our focus now is on leveraging the insights from the audit of all our public schools to deliver permanent improvements to air quality through this investment.

“The advice from experts is that maximising natural ventilation is the most effective method of minimising the spread of COVID-19 and we will continue to implement measures that support this.”

Almost 2000 learning spaces, identified by the audit, are set to receive permanent automatic fresh air ventilation systems to complement natural ventilation and airflow. The ventilation systems are currently being procured and will be progressively installed.

Temporary measures, including the use of air purifiers, have been put in place in these learning spaces to supplement natural ventilation and to ensure that they are safe for use.

Ventilation is only one COVID-safe measure in NSW public schools. Vaccinations, cohorting, restricted access and mask wearing all play an important role in keeping students safe.

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