Fire safety in pre-school

[Guest Zoe]

Hi there,

I am in the process of setting up a preschool and have fire doors with glass panels leading to the garden area where children will be. Can we put a screening on this to ensure people are unable to see the children in the garden for obvious safeguarding reasons from Ofsted? Also, we have replaced a lower handle on the double doors that lead to the exit with a high handle so that children cannot reach to escape and have popped a tiny alarm panel that alerts us to people coming through into that space as we cannot lock it, however in the centre we are setting up the preschool in I have noticed that one of the double doors is always locked at the top and bottom - only allowing access via 1 door, is this legal?

Some advice asap would be fab so that I can take this back to them immediately.
Kind regards and thanks in advance,

[Tom Sutton]

I see no fire safety reason for putting screening on the door to the garden there maybe a health and safety reason. Placing the door handle so that children cannot reach it is acceptable, providing the children are never left alone and it is fully documented in your fire procedure. The  tiny alarm panel that alerts you to people coming through into that space, again is acceptable. 

If double doors are required and one is always locked at the top and bottom is not acceptable as people will think both doors will open allowing them to escape in an emergence, causing a blockage and trying to open them during an emergency would be impossible.