A report summarising the achievements and final outcomes of the Clean Air Living Matters: Exploring Reading (CALM:ER) Air Quality Awareness Programme.

The Committee considered a report that updated on the Clean Air Living Matters; Exploring Reading (CALM:ER), Air Quality Awareness Programme following the completion of the project. The following documents were appended to the report:

• Appendix 1: Table 1 - Summary of Key Performance Indicators for CALM;
• Appendix 2: Table 2 - Performance against KPIs.

The report explained that CALM:ER was a two-year educational project funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) through the Air Quality Grant Scheme 2022-2023. The purpose of the project had been to engage primary and secondary school students to increase their knowledge and awareness of air quality issues, learn about its causes, and understand impacts and find solutions through behavioural change. The programme had been delivered across schools in partnership with the Council, Stantec, the University of Reading and Design Nature between February 2023 and July 2025.

The report stated that the programme had made substantial progress across all of its key performance indicators (KPIs), had exceed many of its original targets and had left a lasting educational and environmental legacy.  A main success of the programme had been to directly reach over 9,000 children, over 2,000 through practical knowledge sessions and nearly 7,000 through awareness activities.

The report highlighted significant progress in engaging the wider community and parents. Through school?gate conversations and community events, over 860 parents and carers had been directly involved, with an estimated additional 17,000 to 24,000 adults reached indirectly through CALM materials shared at home and at public events. The outreach had encouraged important discussions about air quality within households and contributed to positive behaviour changes such as reduced car idling and more frequent active travel.

Assessments of the programme showed strong learning gains had been achieved, with primary pupils improving their knowledge by 28% and secondary pupils by 9%. These results indicated that the educational materials were effective and easy to understand. Pupils were highly engaged with the presentations, videos, and hands?on monitoring activities, and were able to apply what they had learned confidently during planning and discussions. Beyond knowledge gains, the programme had succeeded in supporting behavioural change. Action planning activities had been completed in 8 primary schools and 5 secondary schools, where pupils developed and presented proposals to improve air quality in their schools and wider communities.

CALM had made a strong contribution in-terms of its curriculum integration and, although air quality was not currently a standalone topic within the national curriculum, the programme’s materials had aligned well with subjects such as science, geography, mathematics, and citizenship. The development of a dedicated Key Stage 2 lesson plan, in collaboration with the University of Reading and a local teacher, had further embedded air quality education into mainstream learning and would remain accessible as part of the university’s climate education resources. Additionally, the availability of materials on the Council’s and Design Nature’s websites ensured that the programme’s legacy would continue beyond its official end.

The report explained the CALM:ER programme had aligned well with priorities set out in The Council Plan 2025-28, in particular the priority to deliver a sustainable and health environment and to reduce Reading’s carbon footprint. The programme had also contributed directly towards the delivery of several actions outlined in the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) 2024-2029 which were listed in the report. The report also provided a broader overview, setting out the programme’s aims and delivery methodology in detail, and included an evaluation of the project’s successes, supported by a table at Appendix 2 summarising the programme’s performance against its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The report concluded that the CALM:ER programme had successfully delivered a high-impact, inclusive, and sustainable environmental education programme that had engaged with over 26,000 people (or near 33,000 if two adults at home engaged with CALM materials). The programme had not only met its original objectives but had also laid the foundations for long-term engagement with air quality and climate education across schools, households and the wider Reading community.

Resolved –  That the report be noted.