A one-pager schools can adopt as-is. Written for the ~30 Nairobi schools and clinics hosting county air sensors.
Your school hosts one of Nairobi County's air quality sensors. Its readings are public at airquality.nairobi.go.ke. This one-page protocol turns those numbers into decisions. PM2.5 is fine dust measured in µg/m³; the WHO says a healthy daily average is under 15.
Green: under 15 (Good). Normal day. All activities as usual.
Yellow: 15-35 (Moderate). Normal activities. Teachers note pupils with asthma or chest problems; keep their inhalers accessible.
Orange: 35-55 (Unhealthy for sensitive pupils). Pupils with asthma, heart conditions, or recent chest infections sit out strenuous outdoor sports; substitute lighter activity. Close classroom windows facing roads or any visible smoke. Break and lunch outdoors are fine for other pupils.
Red: over 55 (Unhealthy). Move PE and games indoors or postpone to another day. Keep windows closed where practical. Pupils with respiratory conditions stay indoors at break. If any pupil struggles to breathe, treat as a medical event, not misbehavior.
Any level, visible smoke on or beside the compound: move pupils away from the smoke side, close those windows, and report the burning (it is illegal under EMCA and the Air Quality Regulations) to NEMA: incidence@nema.go.ke or 0786 101 100, with the location, time, and a photo if safe.
Two habits that make this work: assign one staff member to check the reading each morning at assembly time (30 seconds on any phone), and record red days in the school log; a pattern of red days is exactly the evidence your board and your county representative should see.
Prepared from public county data by Atmos Nairobi, a citizen air quality project. Free to copy, adapt, and rebrand. No permission needed.