The Department for Education’s new Technical Manual marks the most significant overhaul of school fire safety guidance since Building Bulletin 100 was introduced almost 20 years ago. So what’s changed? Ashish Kirori from SOCOTEC finds out
For almost two decades, Building Bulletin 100 (BB100) has shaped fire safety design in schools across England and Wales, influencing everything from means of escape and compartmentation to fire alarms and sprinklers.
The publication of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Technical Manual – Employer’s Requirements (Technical Manual) in January 2026 represents the most significant change to school fire safety guidance since BB100 was first introduced. BB100 has not yet been withdrawn and remains a useful reference for projects outside the DfE funding framework. However, for DfE-funded projects, the Technical Manual now forms part of the Employer’s Requirements, making compliance a contractual obligation in addition to meeting the Building Regulations 2010 (as amended).
Why the change, and why now?
BB100 was developed in a very different construction and regulatory environment. It was first published in 2007, before the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, before the widespread adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in education projects, and before the increasing use of roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage technologies.
While BB100 provided a robust framework for school fire safety design, it was fundamentally a guidance document that has not been revised since its first publication. The new Technical Manual is an employer’s requirement, and on any school project procured under a DfE framework, compliance is contractually mandatory, which is a meaningful shift in status.
What has actually changed?
Regarding fire alarms, the Technical Manual introduces more demanding expectations for fire detection as the minimum required system category has been upgraded. BB100 allowed a Category M (manual system for single-storey buildings) or Category L2 (automatic system for multi-storey buildings) system as the baseline, covering escape routes and high-risk areas.
The new manual requires Category L2 and P2 together, which means that automatic fire detection is provided across the whole building, plus property protection monitoring. Alarm systems must also be connected to a staffed alarm receiving centre around the clock, unless the building is permanently occupied. This has ongoing revenue implications that schools need to factor into their facilities budgets.
Electrical systems and energy storage
Unlike BB100, the Technical Manual introduces specific requirements for communications rooms, electrical distribution rooms, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and UPS installations. In addition, BESS and UPS installations are required to comply with NFPA 855 and HSE INDG 139, reflecting the growing use of these technologies within modern school buildings.
Evacuation lifts
Evacuation lifts are another area where the new rules go further than before. Previously, the accepted approach was for staff to physically assist a non-ambulant pupil down the stairs.
As per the new Technical Manual, evacuation lifts are now mandatory in all multi-storey school buildings, sized according to the number of pupils (one evacuation lift upto 749 pupils, otherwise two evacuation lifts). This needs to be factored into the design during the earliest concept stages to ensure that the design team is aware of it for spatial planning and cost purposes.
Compartment floors and sizes
Under BB100, compartment floors were generally recommended as a property protection measure rather than treated as a mandatory requirement. The Technical Manual adopts a more prescriptive approach, requiring compartment floors to provide a minimum of 60 minutes’ fire resistance. The requirement may be relaxed where the building is protected throughout by an automatic sprinkler system.
Compartment size limits have also been revised. Under BB100, multi-storey schools were generally limited to 800m2 per compartment without sprinklers and 2,000m2 with sprinklers, while sprinkler-protected single-storey schools had no upper compartment size limit. The Technical Manual increases the allowable compartment sizes, permitting up to 2,000m2 without sprinklers and 4,000m2 with sprinklers in multi-storey schools. However, it also introduces new limits for single-storey schools of 4,000m2 without sprinklers and 8,000m2 with sprinklers.
Load bearing elements of structure
Under BB100, sprinkler-protected school buildings with a topmost occupied floor of no more than 5m above ground level could benefit from a reduction in the fire resistance period for elements of structure from 60 minutes to 30 minutes. The Technical Manual removes this relaxation and requires all elements of structure to achieve a minimum of 60 minutes’ fire resistance (REI 60), irrespective of whether the building is sprinkler protected. Certain exclusions remain in line with Approved Document B, such as structures supporting only a roof.
Automatic fire suppression system
Under BB100, sprinkler provision was determined through a sprinkler risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis.
While sprinklers were recommended as best practice, they were not mandatory. Under the new manual, sprinkler risk assessment and a cost-benefit analysis are now removed. Sprinklers are now mandatory in any school building over four storeys or above 11m in height, in all specialised schools, all alternative provision settings, and all schools with residential accommodation such as boarding schools.
In practice, the consequences of a significant fire in a specialised school can be far more severe than in a mainstream educational setting. Unlike conventional schools, many specialised schools rely on highly specialised spaces and equipment that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere. As a result, the consequences of a significant fire can continue to affect pupils and families long after the incident itself.
The new requirements specify that sprinkler systems must be designed and installed by contractors certified to both LPCB LPS 1014 and LPS 1084 Level 4 standards. In addition, systems are required to incorporate quick-response sprinkler heads, a superior single water supply in accordance with BS EN 12845, duty-and-standby pump arrangements with automatic changeover and externally located sprinkler water storage tanks.
Hence, this uplift reflects a broader shift towards business continuity rather than focusing solely on life safety.
External wall construction
The Technical Manual also places greater emphasis on the use of non-combustible materials within external wall construction.
All insulation used in external walls, roofs, and any voids within modern modular construction must now be Class A1, i.e., non-combustible. This is an absolute requirement regardless of building height. For school buildings that use modern methods of construction, there is now an entirely new sub-section in the Manual, Section 9.2, which sets out specific fire safety requirements for volumetric and panel-based systems. This did not exist in BB100.
What does this mean in practice?
For school projects that are already in design or on site, the first question to ask is whether the project sits within DfE’s Employer’s Requirements framework. If it does, the Technical Manual governs fire safety design.
Decisions relating to sprinklers, evacuation lifts, compartmentation, MMC systems and energy technologies can all have significant implications for cost, programme and building layout. These are no longer matters that can be deferred until detailed design.
Perhaps most importantly, project teams should recognise that compliance with Building Regulations and compliance with
the DfE Employer’s Requirements are not necessarily the same thing. A design may satisfy the statutory requirements while still failing to meet contractual obligations for a DfE-funded project.
The publication of the Technical Manual does not signal the end of BB100. However, it does represent a clear evolution in the way school fire safety is being approached with greater emphasis on resilience, inclusivity, protection of vulnerable occupants and long-term operational continuity.
Ashish Kirori is associate director of fire engineering at SOCOTEC UK and Ireland.
