Northern Ireland schools urged to put on extra layers as energy bills set to surge by £8m

Schools across Northern Ireland have been instructed to encourage staff and pupils to dress more warmly rather than turn up the thermostat, as the Education Authority (EA) warns that rising energy costs will add roughly £8m to its schools' gas and electricity bills by March 2027.

In a letter sent to head teachers, the education body said recent geopolitical events were expected to have a "substantial impact" on energy spending during the 2026/27 financial year. Among the factors cited behind the increase is the US-Israel war with Iran, which has fed into wider volatility in global energy markets. The guidance has already been highlighted as evidence that the pressure on household budgets across Northern Ireland is now reaching the classroom.

The EA has asked every school to examine how much energy it uses and to look for savings wherever they can be found. Suggested measures include trimming heating by roughly one hour each day and switching off artificial lighting so that classrooms rely on natural daylight instead. Pupils and staff have also been advised to add extra layers of clothing when classrooms are chilly, rather than raising the thermostat.

Behind the headline figures lies a sharp split between the two main utilities. Total gas bills for schools are projected to climb by about 60%, jumping from £10.7m to £17m by the end of March 2027. Electricity spending, by contrast, is expected to rise more modestly — from £23.8m to £25.1m, an increase of roughly 5%. Together, the two changes amount to the £8m uplift that the authority has flagged to schools as it prepares next year's budget.

The EA's message is ultimately a financial one: with costs climbing so quickly, the money available for teaching and learning could be squeezed unless consumption falls. By framing the issue as one of collective responsibility, the authority is effectively passing the challenge down to individual principals, who must balance the savings drive against their duty to provide a comfortable and safe environment for children.

However, head teachers have made clear that the advice is far easier to issue than it is to implement. Kirsty Logan-Hall, principal of Tullygally Primary School in Craigavon, said her school was fully committed to promoting responsible energy use and regularly reinforced good habits among both staff and pupils. But she stressed that the scale of any realistic reduction is limited by the physical characteristics of the site itself.

Tullygally occupies an older building, which Logan-Hall said brings inherent problems when it comes to energy efficiency. The campus is also unusually spread out, a layout driven by the accommodation and operational demands of its specialist provision. As a result, heating, lighting and equipment have to remain in use across multiple areas for most of the school day to guarantee suitable learning spaces, accessibility and pupil welfare.

Logan-Hall added that there is only limited room to cut consumption further without damaging the quality of provision, the working conditions of staff, or the wellbeing of pupils — including those with additional needs. Her comments underline a recurring tension in energy-saving campaigns: the savings that look straightforward on paper can carry real costs for the people who rely on the service.

A similar picture emerges at Holy Evangelists Primary School in Dunmurry, where principal Claire Robinson described energy costs as "ferocious". Although parts of the school are relatively new and fitted with underfloor heating, Robinson said the system cannot simply be switched off at will. Classrooms must be maintained above a minimum temperature, meaning the heating has to stay on for much of the day.

Robinson revealed that despite its modern construction, the school has been awarded an energy efficiency rating of D, largely because of the expense involved in running its heating system. The rating illustrates how newness alone does not guarantee low running costs, and how specialist heating arrangements can leave schools locked into high consumption no matter how carefully they manage day-to-day use.

Taken together, the two principals' accounts point to a broader difficulty facing the Education Authority. blanket instructions such as turning down the heat or relying on daylight assume a uniform estate, when in reality Northern Ireland's schools range from drafty Victorian buildings to recently built sites with complex mechanical systems. Uniform guidance, in other words, may produce very uneven results.

There is also a welfare dimension to consider. Younger children, pupils with medical conditions and those with additional needs are more sensitive to cold, and schools have a duty of care that can conflict directly with instructions to economise. Principals have effectively warned that any further cuts risk affecting provision quality, staff morale and pupil wellbeing — outcomes that would be difficult to quantify but easy to feel.

The debate arrives against a backdrop of rising costs for families throughout Northern Ireland, with energy already identified as a significant driver of pressure on household finances. For many parents, the prospect of children being asked to wear coats indoors will resonate with their own experience of deciding between heating and other essentials at home.

Ultimately, the EA's letter marks the start of a difficult conversation about how schools are funded and how their buildings are maintained. Unless investment in insulation, heating controls and efficiency upgrades follows, principals are likely to keep facing the same stark choice: absorb the cost, cut the service, or ask children to wrap up warm.