Schools are replacing their lighting. But who's checking the results?

I was chatting to a Headteacher recently who was telling me about how LED lighting can cause migraines.

It reminded me of visiting secondary schools with my daughter. At one, most of the classrooms we were shown had the blinds down because it was a sunny day, and in many of them the artificial lighting felt yellow and gloomy. I remember telling my wife in one of the rooms that I could quite happily have a nap at the back.

Another school was the complete opposite. An older building with huge windows, full of natural light. Bright, welcoming classrooms.

It got me thinking. When schools replace their lighting, who checks what the finished classrooms are actually like?

What the research found

Schools have good reasons to switch to LED lighting. The energy savings can be substantial, and the DfE has specifications covering how lighting should be designed and installed.

But after reviewing public tenders, funding documents and project records, I struggled to find evidence of a consistent requirement to check lighting quality in completed classrooms.

And that matters.

One study found that 45% of migraine sufferers surveyed identified flicker as a trigger, compared with 6% of those without migraines ¹.

The interesting part? You don't necessarily have to see flicker for it to cause discomfort!

UKHSA researchers tested 16 installed lights across four Bedford schools. Only four met the study's low-risk flicker thresholds ².

It's a small study, not evidence of a nationwide problem. But it raises an obvious question: if researchers are finding this, who's checking during everyday lighting replacements?

Sometimes the best light is free

Another study of 90 classrooms found something equally interesting.

With blinds open and electric lights off, daylight provided an average of 846 lux on desks. With blinds closed and lights on, it was 710 lux ⁴.

Schools close blinds for glare, heat and screen visibility — that's why the study found them closed. But it reminded me of those gloomy classrooms I'd visited.

Perhaps we're not always looking at the whole room.

Try the classroom, not just the lights

Alongside the technical checks, try three simple things:

• Borrow a pupil’s chair. Sit near the window, then at the back. Look between an exercise book and the board. What does a glance from the doorway miss?
  
  
• Rehearse a lesson. Ask a teacher to demonstrate reading, board work and screen use. Then ask: “What would you have to change to teach comfortably in here?”
  
  
• Book the return visit before installation starts. Agree who will review the room once staff have used it, while there is still someone responsible for investigating difficulties.

Three questions worth asking

If your school is considering LED lighting, I'd ask the contractor:

1. How much do the fittings flicker? Ask for PstLM and SVM figures, including when dimmed. The DfE's 2026 specification provides useful limits ³.
   
   
2. Can the components be replaced? Particularly the LED driver and light engine.
   
   
3. Who checks the finished classroom? Not just whether the lights work, but brightness, glare and flicker under normal conditions.

And if staff or pupils report headaches after installation, investigate rather than dismiss the concern.

One final thought

We spend considerable time making sure lighting projects deliver their promised energy savings.

Perhaps we should spend a little more time checking what it's like to sit underneath those lights all day.

Statlog...more than just compliance and premises software

Sources

• Miller C et al. Flicker: A review of temporal light modulation stimulus, responses, and measures. LEUKOS / US Department of Energy, 2022
• Price E, Dahlmann-Noor A, Khazova M. Daylight and Electric Lighting in Primary and Secondary School Classrooms in the UK — An Observational Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2024
• DfE. Technical Manual — Employer's Requirements for School and College Buildings, January 2026
• Winterbottom M, Wilkins A. Lighting and discomfort in the classroom. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2009