The art department at Uxbridge is housed in the I Block, the building is not fit for purpose, there are 278 students and 19 members of staff accommodated here. There is no appropriate access to drinking water or fresh air and the air conditioning is broken in most classrooms, the current conditions are inhumane.

The classrooms and staffroom have no effective airflow/ventilation and are extremely hot, this creates an environment that is extremely challenging and unhealthy for students and staff. Staff are expected to conduct exemplary lessons, this requires energy, fortitude and percipience. This is much harder to achieve in excessively hot and poorly ventilated conditions. Students like tutors are expected to persevere in the same circumstances. The Creative Arts is a thriving department; with the basic rights we are requesting, we could achieve even more!

We request;

• Proper ventilation –access to fresh air in classrooms and staffrooms
• Practical access to drinking water- Water coolers with a function to allow water bottles to be filled
• Air-conditioning to control the excessive heat in classrooms and staffrooms

The current environment and facilities provide extremely challenging conditions to perform the basics of the job and for students to thrive.

Providing good ventilation in the workplace is considered to be a key factor in helping to reduce viral infection within the workplace along with good hygiene standards, a degree of social distancing and the wearing of face masks where close proximity to others is required to allow work to be done.