Councils can help protect children from air pollution by bringing high-efficiency air filtration into classrooms.
Smart Air has already helped deliver the Mayor's School Filters Programme, giving 80,000+ children access to cleaner air across 3,000+ classrooms in over 200 schools.
Now we're helping councils explore how a similar programme could work locally.
Talk to us about a school programme
From London's schools to your local authority
The Mayor's School Filters Programme is one of the UK's largest indoor air quality programmes in the UK.
Working with the Greater London Authority, Smart Air and programme partners have delivered air purifiers, air quality monitoring and clean-air education across more than 200 schools.
We've learned what it takes to move from a small pilot to a programme covering thousands of classrooms, from selecting the right equipment and monitoring impact to onboarding schools and keeping everything simple for teachers.
Your council could do the same.
A practical way to improve air quality in schools
Outdoor air pollution doesn't stop at the school gates.
Children and teachers spend a large part of their day inside classrooms, where fine particulate pollution can enter through ventilation and open windows.
High-efficiency HEPA air filtration provides an additional layer of protection by continuously removing airborne particles from classroom air.
A school programme can combine:
High-efficiency air filtration
Appropriately sized HEPA air purifiers for classrooms and other school spaces.
Air quality monitoring
Measure indoor air quality and understand how filtration is performing in real classrooms.
Clean-air education
Help pupils, teachers and school communities understand air pollution and what they can do about it.
Programme management
A coordinated approach to school onboarding, deployment, support and evaluation.
A proven model, ready to scale
The Mayor's School Filters Programme shows what can be achieved when a local authority brings together funding, technical expertise and school engagement.
The programme includes:
- Air filtration across classrooms
- Indoor (and optional outdoor) air quality monitoring
- Timer switches to manage operating hours and energy use
- School guidance and maintenance support
- Air quality assemblies and classroom activities
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Support for schools throughout the programme
Smart Air can provide the filtration and deployment expertise, while specialist partners can support air quality monitoring, programme management and community engagement.
Could your air quality programme fund cleaner air in schools?
Many councils already have air quality programmes and budgets that could support practical action in schools.
With the Mayor's Air Quality Grant and other local authority funding opportunities, there is an opportunity to turn air quality plans into a programme that children and schools can experience directly.
We're happy to work with councils at an early stage to understand:
- What funding is available
- Which schools could benefit most
- How many classrooms could be covered
- What monitoring and evaluation would be appropriate
- How a programme could be delivered within your timescales
- Whether a pilot or larger rollout makes most sense
Talk to us about your funding opportunity
Start with one school
Not ready to commit to a large programme?
A pilot can be a practical way to test the approach before scaling.
We can help you get one school up and running with air purifiers, while an independent air quality specialist can monitor the results.
A pilot could include:
1. Select a school
Choose a representative school where air quality is a priority.
2. Install the equipment
We size and deploy the appropriate air purifiers across the agreed classrooms.
3. Monitor air quality
WSP or another specialist partner can undertake air quality monitoring and evaluation.
4. Evaluate the results
Use the data and feedback from the school to understand the impact and inform a wider programme.
5. Scale if it works
Use the evidence from the pilot to build the case for a larger council-wide rollout.
We can help you deliver at scale
A successful school clean-air programme involves more than supplying air purifiers.
Smart Air can work with councils and their partners to support the full delivery process.
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Smart Air
Air purifiers, sizing, deployment, technical support and ongoing maintenance guidance. -
Air quality specialists
WSP can provide air quality monitoring, evaluation and programme management. Other local or specialist organisations can also be incorporated where appropriate. -
Community and education partners
Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly known as Sustrans) supported the London programme with school engagement, assemblies and air quality education. Similar local organisations could play a role in future programmes. -
Local delivery
Where programmes are large enough, we can explore consolidated deliveries and lower-carbon deployment approaches, including EV delivery options. Here is the impact our first year in the programme had by choosing EV over regular deliveries.
Why work with Smart Air?
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Proven at scale
We've already delivered the Mayor's School Filters Programme across more than 200 schools and 3,000+ classrooms. -
Designed for classrooms
Our high-capacity HEPA air purifiers are designed to deliver substantial clean air without creating excessive noise in teaching spaces. -
Simple for schools
Plug-and-play equipment, timer switches and straightforward maintenance reduce the workload for teachers and school staff. -
Evidence-led
Air quality monitoring and evaluation can help councils understand the impact of their investment. -
Built for programmes
We can support deployments ranging from a single-school pilot to a large, multi-school rollout.
Cleaner air shouldn't depend on where a child goes to school
London has shown what is possible when councils, schools and delivery partners work together.
Now we want to help other local authorities bring cleaner indoor air to schools in their communities.
Whether you're looking at your existing air quality programme, planning an application for upcoming funding, or simply want to understand what a school pilot could look like, we'd like to talk.
Ready to explore a school clean-air programme?
Tell us about your council, your schools and the funding opportunity you're considering.