AQW 49810/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 29/06/2026
Answered On Date: 15/07/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether any assessment has been made of the impact of extreme heat on (i) pupil health; (ii) concentration; and (iii) exam performance, in schools.

Answer:

Schools are responsible for managing any health and safety risks and are best placed to take proportionate, contextappropriate measures to address the impact of increased temperatures.

My Department’s Building Handbook provides guidelines on temperature control in classrooms, emphasising the importance of maintaining comfortable and consistent temperatures for learning and is used when designing and building schools as well as being used as a reference for existing schools.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has advised that no examination centres contacted their Centre Support regarding weather conditions including extreme heat. This year’s summer examinations series were completed on Monday 22 June 2026 and were, therefore, finished before the recent period of increased temperatures.