Air quality could be monitored at dozens of primary schools across Warwickshire if the county council successfully secures nearly £500,000 in funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The project will cost a total of £530,250 with ten per cent being funded by the council and it would build on work already taking place at a number of secondary schools.

The submission for the Air Quality Grant was signed off by Cllr Margaret Bell, the council's portfolio holder for adult social care and health this week.

It is hoped that the funding will initially see five schools in each district or borough fit an air quality monitoring system that would allow up to 30 rooms to be monitored for temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, particulate matter and Radon.

There would also be two external monitoring points and these would normally be at the school entrance and main playground.

The data collected could be displayed for parents and children to see when they enter the school premises and used to make improvements in internal air quality at each site.

It could also form the basis of an educational plan to improve knowledge of air pollution among teachers, pupils and parents alike with training given to teachers on the interpretation of the data.

If successful, the project will run for a year with the backing of DEFRA but the county council would retain ownership of the equipment which could be relocated to allow second and third year projects to be developed which would engage another 50 schools across the county.

Where applicable, schools within or in close proximity to air quality management areas will be included. 

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