Indoor air quality in primary schools

In 2008 the Dutch government ascertained that the quality of the indoor environment in primary schools could be improved. The concerns were mainly related to air quality during the heating season, temperatures in classrooms during the summer and annoying noises. Also acting on behalf of her colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Integration, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning asked the Health Council of the Netherlands what is known about how children’s health and cognitive performance are affected by the indoor environment in schools. The five questions the minister put to the Health Council are answered separately. Following on from the government vision on the indoor environment in primary schools, this advisory report mainly focuses on pupils in primary schools.