How to plan and carry out fire drills
It's up to you to decide how often to hold drills
However, you should aim to carry them out at least every 6 months or once a term. You should have a fire risk assessment that explains how often drills will happen. Read more about writing a fire risk assessment in this article.
Hold fire drills as soon as possible after the start of each school year for new staff and pupils. This is recommended by the NEU.
Drills should simulate a full evacuation onto a playground or playing field
Your school's health and safety policies should outline your drill procedures and how you should evacuate school buildings.
You can contact your local authority (LA) or fire brigade for information about how often you should test your fire alarm. Most schools test their alarms once a week.
Jeremy Bird, one of our associate education experts, gave us the advice in this section.
