Unions seek “urgent reassurance” on fire safety following Grenfell blaze

Two education unions have joined fire officers in writing to education secretary Justine Greening demanding reassurance on school fire safety.

This comes following the large-scale blaze that took place at Grenfell Tower in London last week.

The Fire brigades Union (FBU), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) have urged Greening to ditch proposals they believe will make fire safety rules less effective - especially in regard to the installation of sprinklers in schools.

The unions have also demanded clarity over the use of “combustible materials” for cladding on school buildings, after reports schools could be fitted with the same cladding blamed for the blaze.

According to a statement released by the NUT, the NUT and FBU have been pressing the government since last year to reverse its proposed changes to fire safety requirements for school buildings which “show a total disregard for the health and safety of children and staff”.

The NUT went on to say that last summer, the government announced that the expectation that sprinklers should be fitted in new schools in England would be removed from its Building Bulletin guidance.

Although it responded to NUT and FBU protests by claiming that it was still consulting, its proposed replacement Building Bulletin set out the government’s intention: ‘The Building Regulations do not require the installation of fire sprinkler suppression systems in school buildings for life safety and therefore [guidelines] no longer include an expectation that most new school buildings will be fitted with them.’

The NUT state that they have “been repeatedly refused access to information about responses to the consultation, including which respondents, if any, were in favour of the removal of the sprinkler expectation” and that refusing to provide this information suggests that there was “little, if any, support for the proposed move”.

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary the ATL, said: “It is shocking that the government continues to ignore the recommendations on fire safety in schools.

“The government - now more than ever - needs to make assurances that they will prioritise the health and safety of pupils and staff in school buildings and implement the changes required to keep them safe.”