New school

WHEN PLANNING an extension or major refurbishment to a school it is important that the project team consider the project holistically, to ensure that the project does not create a detrimental impact on the school’s overall fire strategy.

While extensions or major refurbishments must comply with the current Building Regulations, they do not need to be applied retrospectively to areas of the school outside the project. However, it is recommended that the client considers extension and refurbishment projects as an opportunity to make improvements to rectify existing issues within the wider school. For example, where a fire risk assessment has identified fire safety concerns due to a change of use, or where for instance part of the school is now being used for out-of-hours activities by the wider community, the project team should consider compliance in the refurbished area or extension as well as the potential fire safety impact on the existing buildings.

When planning extensions or major refurbishments it’s vital that the project team are given a clear design brief of how the school is intended to be used. Although the school is the ‘client’, they may have minimal input in the design phase as the projects are often led by the local authority who may not have a complete understanding of how the school buildings are actually being used on a day to day basis, so the project team may fail to fully understand how the school intend to utilise the building now and in the future.

Therefore, the project team should have a clear understanding of the future strategy for the school so that the design can be ‘future proofed’ so that it not only meets todays requirements but will also meet the requirements of the coming five to ten years. If the school have projected that pupil enrolment will increase by twenty percent over the next five years then this should be factored into the project and thus the fire strategy for the building.   

Holistic approach

With restricted budgets there is often a temptation to consider and implement school extension and major refurbishments as a standalone project, in isolation of the existing premises. This means that although the new or refurbished area may comply with current Building Regulations, as the project area of the school has not been considered as an intrinsic part of the wider schools overarching fire strategy and/or evacuation strategy leading to the school’s fire strategy being ineffective.

Particular problems can occur where the refurbishment or extension impacts on the current means of escape, particularly with regard to the capacity and availability of existing fire exits, travels distances and “merging flows”. Issues can also occur where refurbished areas or extensions integrate with the existing means of escape, or where escape routes need to be re-routed.

The project team should therefore take a “holistic” approach whereby they review and understand the schools current fire strategy and consider how the refurbishment or extension will impact upon it. This means they will be required to not only design the means of escape within the refurbished area or extension but also calculate whether any shared means of escape will remain adequate for the existing part of the school. Factors such as occupancy figures, number of fire exits, capacity of exits, stair widths, merging flows and travel distances should be considered. In addition, areas of the premises external to the building may be impacted, including assembly points, pathways and traffic routes used as means of escape.

Extensions may include facilities to improve accessibility and make the school more inclusive, e.g. the installation of an Evacuation Lift. Again, the installation of such equipment will be of most benefit when the project team have considered how it can be utilised by the existing school. This may require improvements to the access arrangements in other parts of the school.

As with other purpose groups, extensions to schools can often be built using modern building techniques such as timber frame and external cladding systems. A holistic approach should be taken to ensure these systems do not affect the existing buildings integrity.

Out-of-hours use

The use of schools out of hours is becoming increasingly widespread. Organisations such as local groups and charities often sublet areas of the school buildings to provide a community-based service.

When designing school extensions and modifications in England and Wales, the functional requirements of the Building Regulations can often be met by following Building Bulletin 100 - Design for fire safety in schools “BB100” (the current version is from 2007 with a revised version currently on hold).

BB100 notes that, “With the increasing use of school buildings for community, or part-time use throughout the day and evening, the designer will need to cater for extended use very carefully, particularly for a refurbishment scheme”. BB100 further acknowledges that a “major impact of the extended use is that the occupants of the building during these periods are less familiar with the layout and facilities than the day time pupils are”.

The project team should identify the size of the groups likely to be using the school and ideally design a standalone area which can be operated independently of the main school with the constraints clearly defined. However, the project team must consider the impact on the existing buildings and the fire strategy. For example, there may need to be changes to internal and external emergency lighting, signage, exit door hardware etc.

The project team will also need to consider if the means of escape are adequate for the user groups, regardless of age, gender or disability. Facilities in use during the day may not be adequate for a vastly different user group in the evenings. For example, fire alarm systems may need to be modified to provide for persons with hearing impairments for example, or suitable refuges provided.

Change of use

The use of schools and parts of schools has changed over the years so that areas of the school designed for a specific requirement are put to different uses. These changes in use and/or occupancy may have occurred incrementally over time with a failure to consider their impact on the adequacy of means of escape as circumstances changed.  

In planning new projects, the school should consider any issues identified by the premises fire risk assessment, (as well as any concerns raised by other stakeholders such as the fire and rescue service). A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment should have identified areas of the school, which due to a change of use may no longer comply with current standards.

Using school gymnasiums as an example, these facilities are often used for exams and other functions which means their current occupancy can exceed the maximum occupancy of the original sports hall. In which case, the fire risk assessment may have identified that there are no longer sufficient fire exits, or that the exits are not suitable for wheelchair users.

By reviewing the fire risk assessment as part of the project planning process, the client may be able to justify extending the project brief to bring those areas up to current fire safety and accessibility standards.

Where the school is extended or subject to a change of occupancy such as use by outside groups the school must ensure that the fire risk assessment, evacuation procedures and training for responsible persons are kept up to date.

It is likely that that existing management arrangements will need to be reviewed and amended following any major refurbishment or extension.

In particular, consideration should be given to the need to revise or complete Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for staff and pupils or Generic Emergency Evacuation Plans for visitors and out-of-hours groups.

Training for staff and external group leaders should be reviewed to take into account any revised facilities and management arrangements.

Conclusion

When planning major refurbishments and extensions, project teams must ensure that the existing fire strategy is not compromised and should consider the future needs of the school. This is best achieved by involving the school at the planning stage and considering the new project works holistically with the existing school.

Areas of schools used out-of-hours for external groups should be carefully considered so that means of escape are adequate and all users regardless of age, gender or disabilities can utilise the school safely. The fire evacuation strategy must also consider all times that the building is in occupation such as ‘out-of-hours’ or holiday periods where all of the stakeholders on site may not be present.

Where areas of a school have undergone a significant change of use, fire safety standards may have been affected. Planned projects can be used as opportunities to bring these areas up to standard.

Following the completion of the project the fire risk assessment and fire safety management procedures will need to be reviewed.

Russell Peacey is principal consultant at Turner & Townsend. For more information, visit www.turnerandtownsend.com

References

1. Building Bulletin 100 - Design for fire safety in schools – Department for children, schools and families – 2017
2. Building Bulletin 100 (revised draft) - Fire safety design for schools – Department for education (2016)