The Government must ensure schools are safe from fires with
all new and refurbished school buildings fitted with fire
sprinklers, says the National Education Union (NEU), National
Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and Association of School
& College Leaders (ASCL).
While they are waiting for the Government to act, the three
unions have published joint guidance for school leaders on fire
risk assessments in schools in the light of the Grenfell Tower
tragedy.
The appalling fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017 brought
into sharp focus wider questions about fire safety. This has
understandably caused widespread concern throughout the education
sector about how many school buildings have cladding which is not
fire resistant. Pupils, parents, staff and the wider community
who use educational buildings need reassurance that they are not
being exposed to a similar fire risk.
Unlike Grenfell Tower, school buildings have a common fire
alarm system and practice evacuation procedures. Nevertheless, a
fire involving combustible cladding on the outside of a school
poses a risk to children and staff which must be taken
seriously.
Two schools required urgent inspections by the Fire and
Rescue Service following the Department for Education’s (DfE)
limited programme of cladding checks to identify school buildings
which are 18 metres or higher, or providing residential
accommodation, and which are fitted with Aluminium Composite
Material cladding.
The NEU, NAHT and ASCL are calling upon the Government to
survey all school buildings to determine whether any
inappropriate cladding has been used in their construction. Given
that nearly 90% of schools also contain asbestos, the DfE should
also use this survey to establish the location and condition of
all asbestos in our schools to prevent any exposure to this
deadly material.
The NEU, NAHT and ASCL are also urging the Government to
introduce a legal requirement that all new and refurbished school
buildings are fitted with a sprinkler system.
To assist school leaders in understanding the risks to
schools and how best to address these, the NEU, NAHT and ASCL
have published joint guidance to answer common questions and
advise on how best to review fire risk assessments to ensure that
children and staff are kept safe.
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said: “In the
aftermath of the appalling fire at Grenfell Tower attention has
rightly focused on others who could be at risk, including
children and school staff. We have campaigned successfully to
stop the Government weakening guidance on school fire safety. The
National Education Union will continue to hold the Government to
account to ensure that this guidance is adhered to. All new and
refurbished schools should be fitted with sprinkler systems and a
review of cladding on all schools needs to take place. Such a
review should also focus on identification of asbestos and lead,
in the longer term, to a programme of phased removal.”
Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of school leaders’
union National Association of Head
Teachers, said: “Parents rightly expect
school buildings to be safe and secure places for their children.
The dreadful events at Grenfell Tower highlight the importance of
building safety, and we now urge the Government to review all
school buildings to determine that their cladding is safe. We
also need a concerted effort to identify the existence of
asbestos within schools and, as a minimum, all new and
refurbished schools should have sprinklers fitted as standard.
School leaders take the safety of buildings very seriously, and
we need the Government to provide the right support and
investment the school estate so desperately
needs.”
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association
of School and College Leaders, said:
“School leaders take the issue of safety extremely seriously, and
already have programmes and procedures in place to ensure that
schools are safe places in which to work and learn. But they need
expert support in identifying and addressing the risks associated
with issues like cladding and asbestos, and the government must
provide that support. We are urging the government to carry out a
comprehensive survey of the whole school estate so that it can
identify where any risks exist and then to take action to deal
with those risks. Parents must be reassured that schools are as
safe as we can possibly make them.”
