In August, as Scottish schools were gearing up to reopen, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said improving ventilation in schools would be “vital” and that she was giving councils £10 million to do just that.

Back then it was not clear that, by and large, the solution to poor ventilation was going to be: a) open the window; or b) open the window wider.

That sounds flippant, but a new update from education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville shows that more sophisticated solutions have been few and far between.

The update from Ms Somerville - sent to the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee - details the extent to which councils met the government’s target of completing the monitoring of air quality in the “learning estate” by the start of the October holidays, which it defines as 15 October.

By the October holidays, authorities were also to have started to identify the action needed to improve the situation.

The government figures show that today - almost a month after the original government deadline - all councils expect to have completed the work to assess air quality. However, by the original deadline, a fifth of spaces identified by councils as being in need of monitoring had yet to be assessed.

The update states that across Scotland, 79 per cent of all assessments had taken place by 15 October, with initial CO2 monitoring completed in 85 per cent of primary school spaces, 83 per cent of secondary school spaces, 75 per cent of special school spaces and 72 per cent of local authority early learning and childcare (ELC) spaces.

In some councils the situation was, of course, better than this: more than 20 councils had monitored the air quality in all - or virtually all - their schools and nurseries by the October break.

However, in other councils, progress has been far slower than the national figures would suggest. Glasgow had assessed the air quality in only 20 per cent of its learning spaces by the October holiday deadline, while East Renfrewshire had carried out assessments in 22 per cent of its classrooms and play spaces. In Highland, the figure was 25 per cent.

The government said that the reasons for delay in carrying out assessments included CO2 monitor supply issues, as well as availability of contractors to install fixed devices. It said that local authorities had purchased and deployed - or were awaiting delivery of - approximately 22,000 monitors.

The monitors are used to understand how well air is circulating in and out of the room, and to decide whether any additional steps need to be taken to improve air circulation and ventilation.

So, what are councils actually doing when they identify issues? Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra has quipped that the government “has taken more than a year and spent £10 million of taxpayers’ money on alarms to let teachers know when to open the window”. Unfortunately, it is an observation that seems dangerously close to the truth.

The update sent to the education committee says that councils have reported “only limited instances of remedial action being required in their learning estates as a result of initial CO2 monitoring”.

Now, this could be seen as a good thing - but bear in mind that windows and doors will have been open at the time of the assessment and therefore will have to be kept open even as the temperature drops.

The update goes on to say that “where actions have been required, they have most often been simple measures such as repairing windows or ensuring that there is no obstruction to maximum opening”.

So, where problems have been identified, the solution has been to make it possible for teachers to open the windows - or to open the windows wider.

Other action has been taken, but the report makes it clear this has been rare. This chimes with what Ms Somerville said in the Scottish Parliament last week: that “remedial actions have, in the main, been very small”.

According to the written update, on “very occasional instances”, additional fan systems have been required; it says that this solution has been used when internal spaces are being used as things like sensory rooms, for example, and there is no other ventilation available. In other words, the solution would have been to open a window - but there wasn’t one.

The update also says: “Occasional use of additional mobile fans to assist airflow has been identified in large rooms with low ceilings.” That’s another stopgap solution that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

We have already had our first smatterings of frost and, as we head into winter, is the most common solution to ventilation problems in schools - to open a window - really adequate?

How can the government claim to be serious about raising attainment, nurturing children and prioritising their wellbeing when basics such as having a warm environment to work and play in are not in place?

So much of what happened in the early weeks and months of the pandemic was excusable - but opening classroom windows to improve ventilation should never have been seen as a long-term solution.

It should have been a temporary measure that bought the government time to come up with something better. Instead, children and their teachers face months of literally being been left out in the cold.

Emma Seith is a reporter at Tes Scotland

This article originally appeared in the 12 November 2021 issue under the headline “New update opens a window into progress on improving school air”