Updated fire safety standards and training for teaching staff

An updated Fire & Building Safety Risk Management Standard was approved by the Work Health and Safety Committee. This includes a requirement for training and sets out responsibilities for teaching staff at UCL.  

All UCL teaching staff have a responsibility for the safety of students whilst studying or carrying out activities. These include: 

• In the event of a building emergency, staff take responsibility for evacuating the teaching space and the people under their supervision.   

• That students and staff are provided with clear information and instructions on what to do in the event of a fire or emergency.  

• Ensure that teaching activities have risk assessments in place.   

• Staff take reasonable steps to be familiar with the fire evacuation arrangements in teaching spaces they use. This includes reading Fire Action Notices (example pictured below), which are displayed in all UCL spaces.  

• Keeping within the maximum safe occupancy capacity for a teaching space. Where there is clear overcrowding (e.g. blocked doors or students sitting in aisles), teaching should be suspended. Teaching staff should make the appropriate faculty or department managers aware of the issue to rectify and reschedule teaching and or rooms, where overcrowding is occurring. Look out for room posters (example below) displaying the space's maximum capacity. 

• It's also important to keep teaching sessions to the UCL Hour, starting on the hour and finishing at ten minutes to the hour. This is designed to support wellbeing and make campus life more manageable and inclusive.  

Find out more about fire safety and read the details for teaching staff in Section 3.6.