Who is responsible for fire safety in a school?

The "responsible person" under the Fire Safety Order

Article 3 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 defines the responsible person as the employer, where the premises are to any extent under the employer's control. Article 5 extends duties to any other person who has control of the premises, or an obligation under a contract or tenancy for their maintenance or safety. In a school that means the duty rarely sits in one place alone.

Which body is the employer depends on the school type — and this is the point at which responsibility most often gets muddled:

• Community and voluntary-controlled schools — the local authority is the employer and therefore the responsible person, usually with a traded service providing the assessment. Check the scope: an LA contract for assessments does not transfer the duty.
• Academies and free schools — the trust board is the employer, across every school in the trust. Trustees are collectively the responsible person, which is why the board needs assurance from each site rather than a general impression.
• Voluntary-aided and foundation schools — the governing body is the employer, with the diocese or trust often holding the building.
• Independent schools — the proprietor or governing body, with the Independent School Standards adding an inspection dimension on top of the Order.
• Early years settings — the provider, alongside the EYFS statutory framework's premises and emergency evacuation requirements.

How the duties are shared day to day

• The employer / board — holds the legal duty, appoints competent assistance, funds the actions and receives assurance that the assessment is current.
• Headteacher — accountable for the arrangements operating in the school: drills, evacuation, staff briefing and escalation of anything that cannot be resolved locally.
• Business manager / operations lead — contracts for servicing and assessment, budget for remedial works, and insurance requirements.
• Site or estates lead — the routine regime: weekly alarm test, monthly emergency lighting, escape route checks, fire door condition, contractor control and hot works permits.
• Fire wardens — sweep, roll-call and reporting on the day, with deputies named for absence.
• All staff — know the procedure, keep escape routes clear, never wedge a fire door, and report defects.
• Link governor or trustee — asks for the evidence: date of the current assessment, number of open actions, date of the last drill.

Fire safety responsibility mirrors the wider health and safety picture — see who is responsible for health and safety in schools? for how the same roles apply across every statutory duty.

Shared sites, PFI and lettings

Where a school shares a site with a leisure centre, nursery or community facility, or where a PFI provider maintains the building, more than one responsible person exists and the Order requires them to cooperate and coordinate. Get the split in writing: who holds the fire risk assessment, who maintains detection, alarm and emergency lighting, who controls hot works, who is responsible for compartmentation after any works, and who calls and records the drill.

Lettings deserve their own line. When a third party uses the hall on a Saturday, the school remains responsible for the premises and the hirer becomes responsible for their own activity. The hire agreement should say who unlocks, who sweeps, who calls the roll and what happens if the alarm sounds — and the person doing it should have been shown, not just sent a PDF.

Competent assistance is not optional

The Order requires the responsible person to appoint one or more competent persons to assist in undertaking the preventive and protective measures. A school can meet this internally, through the local authority or trust, or through an independent adviser. What matters is that the person has training, knowledge and experience appropriate to this building — a modern single-storey primary and a Victorian boarding school are not the same problem.

What responsibility looks like in evidence

When a fire and rescue service auditor arrives, they are not testing whether someone feels responsible. They are testing whether the responsible person can produce: the current fire risk assessment, the action log with closure dates, testing and servicing records, drill records, PEEPs, staff training records, and the arrangements for contractors and lettings. If those live with one person and that person is on leave, the school has an assurance problem as well as a fire one.

Related reading: how often should a school fire risk assessment be reviewed? and fire safety in schools.

How SchoolSafe Systems helps

SchoolSafe Systems helps schools and trusts set out clearly who holds which fire safety duty, review the assessment independently, and give boards the assurance they are legally expected to have. See fire risk assessments for schools and compliance assurance for governors and trustees.