Schools: Fire Prevention

(asked on 16th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to publish its response to the Review of Building Bulletin 100: design for fire safety in schools consultation.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 19th November 2020

The Government gives the highest priority to the safety of pupils and staff, and to ensuring that the owners of school buildings take the necessary action to protect those buildings.

The Department has not made an assessment of the effect of school fires on levels of educational attainment.

The data held from the Department’s Condition Data Collection indicates that 1665 schools in England have sprinkler systems.

The Department is currently updating Building Bulletin 100 (BB100), the department’s guidance on fire safety design in schools. A revised version of BB100 is expected to be published in 2021, following a full public consultation. The consultation will give full consideration to the implementation of various fire safety measures, including the use of sprinkler systems.

In the meantime, schools are fundamentally safe environments. All schools must comply with Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which means they must have an up to date fire risk assessment, appropriate fire alarms and regular fire drills. This is to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire.

Sprinklers must be fitted in new schools where they are deemed necessary to keep pupils and staff safe. All new school building projects must also comply with building regulations, including on fire safety, and this must be independently checked by Building Control or an Approved Inspector before buildings are occupied.

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