School budgets for fire safety should be ring-fenced to help ensure pupil safety, a Suffolk headteacher has said.

East Anglian Daily Times: Only three state schools out of 293 in Suffolk have sprinkler systems, according to Suffolk County Council (SCC) data. Clements Primary Academy in Haverhill is the only primary. Picture: GREGG BROWNOnly three state schools out of 293 in Suffolk have sprinkler systems, according to Suffolk County Council (SCC) data. Clements Primary Academy in Haverhill is the only primary. Picture: GREGG BROWN

It comes after an investigation by this newspaper after the Grenfell Tower tragedy found only three state schools out of 293 in Suffolk have sprinkler systems, according to Suffolk County Council (SCC) data obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

They are Clements Primary Academy in Haverhill, Sybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmunds, both run by the Samuel Ward Academy Trust, and Pakefield High School in Lowestoft. Sprinklers are fitted in every classroom at all three schools.

It is not mandatory for schools to have sprinklers, but they must be installed if deemed necessary by fire safety experts or required under planning laws. All schools must carry out fire safety risk assessments to demonstrate they are fire safety compliant.

Clements Primary Academy moved into its £5.1m building in 2011. Acting headteacher Sam Gallacher said: “I think everyone in the country is thinking about fire safety, and I think everyone would agree that sprinklers are an advantage. Once everyone is evacuated, they slow down a fire and protect the property. They also assist with the restriction of the fire.

“I think more people will reflect on Grenfell to make sure we are doing the very best to make sure people are safe, especially children. It is quite a healthy thing to look at, and might well be something that people consider in the design of new schools and the design of extensions and developments. Is the school as safe as it can be with the latest technology available to schools?”

He said school safety since the 1980s has changed “remarkably for the better”.

“The next stage may well be considering sprinklers in all new schools, rather than saying ‘we don’t need it’,” he added.

East Anglian Daily Times: Only three state schools out of 293 in Suffolk have sprinkler systems, according to Suffolk County Council (SCC) data. Clements Primary Academy in Haverhill is the only primary. Picture: GREGG BROWNOnly three state schools out of 293 in Suffolk have sprinkler systems, according to Suffolk County Council (SCC) data. Clements Primary Academy in Haverhill is the only primary. Picture: GREGG BROWN

“I think from the Grenfell fire, there will be lots for academy trusts and local authorities to consider in terms of construction of buildings.

“But it all depends on how much capital the government gives to schools to do this, because schools budgets are already seriously stretched across England.

“When money is restricted, it goes on the most immediate things, but there should be a ring-fenced budget for fire improvements for schools. A headteacher or a governor is given a choice between a teacher and a sprinkler system.

“If the government is serious, then it should encourage a review of school buildings alongside a ring-fenced budget for fire improvement.”

It has been suggested that the lack of sprinklers in the Grenfell Tower could be a possible reason why the fire spread so quickly. At least 80 people are believed to have died in the blaze on June 14.

Andy Prestoe, headteacher at Sybil Andrews Academy, which moved into its £20m building last November, said sprinklers provide an “extra layer of defence and reassurance”.

He said: “I think there should never be a point where either individual school budgets or indeed centrally controlled budgets around safety are compromised.

East Anglian Daily Times: Sybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmunds. Picture: ARCHANTSybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmunds. Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant)

“Keeping buildings safe has to come first before perhaps providing some other things. Government money has to be spent on keeping children safe, but if you haven’t got very much money, then maybe you can’t do some of the other things instead. But headteachers won’t be taking risks.

“The current funding regime for schools is placing schools under huge pressure and there are tough decisions. You mention school computers, but it is in all areas. There are national issues around staffing, resourcing, upkeep of buildings.

“Every school has its own pressures, but the bottom line is, not enough money is going into education in the right places.”

The SCC data also reveals that six out of the nine primary and secondary schools built since 2010 do not have sprinkler systems.

A SCC spokesman said: “Our approach is to include sprinkler systems in all new school buildings, where capital works are directly funded by the council.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “All schools have to follow strict fire safety regulations designed to ensure they are as safe as possible and extremely well prepared in the event of a fire.

“They must have robust plans to follow in the event of a fire, conduct regular fire drills, install sprinklers if an assessment deems them necessary and typically have multiple exit routes.

East Anglian Daily Times: Pakefield High School. Picture: ARCHANTPakefield High School. Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant)

“It has always been the case, and remains the case, that where the risk assessment required for any new building recommends sprinklers are installed to keep children safe, they must be fitted.

“There will be no softening of the fire safety laws for schools or our determination to protect children’s safety.

“Alongside the rest of Government, we will take forward any findings from the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.”