| answer text |
<p>All schools must comply with strict building and fire safety regulations. It has
always been the case that where a fire risk assessment required for any new building
recommends sprinklers are installed to keep children safe, they must be fitted.</p><p>As
not all new schools are commissioned by the Department for Education we do not hold
data on the number of all new schools that have been built with or without sprinklers
installed.</p><p>The Department holds information on schools managed centrally by
the Education and Skills Funding Agency, under the Priority Schools Building Programme
(PSBP). Of the 260 schools in phase one of the PSBP, 7<ins class="ministerial">4</ins><del
class="ministerial">5</del> schools include sprinkler systems. As schools under phase
two of the PSBP are still in the early design stage, it is not yet clear which may
require sprinklers at this time.</p><p><ins class="ministerial">The number of schools
in phase one with sprinklers installed had previously been reported as 75. However,
further analysis of the data has confirmed that a joint project between two primary
schools in Wiltshire had inadvertently been counted as two schools, when they should
only have been counted once. Therefore, we can confirm that the correct number of
schools fitted with sprinklers, under phase one of PSBP, is 74</ins></p><p>Until recently,
schools developed under the Free Schools programme were managed by the individual
Free School proposer groups, via their appointed building contractors. Due to this,
the Department does not hold information on the number of Free School buildings with
and without sprinklers installed.</p><p>All schools must have robust safety plans
to follow in the event of a fire and have very strong safety features. This includes
the fact that they are not occupied overnight and are generally low rise with multiple
exit routes.</p>
|
|
