Drills, evacuation support and higher-risk situations

Drills test whether staff know the plan, whether routes and doors work in practice, and whether children need different support during an alarm or evacuation. A poor drill gives useful information that should feed into improvements, not cause blame or forgetfulness.

Some situations increase risk: a child refusing to leave, a young person in crisis, smoke on a primary route, or reduced staffing during a waking night. Staff must understand the local plan before an emergency so they can follow agreed actions under pressure.

Things drills can reveal

• Confusion about roles or routes.
• Children who may need more support to leave safely.
• Equipment or door problems.
• Delays in calling for help or accounting for people.
• Unsafe assumptions about what staff can improvise.

Manager focus: learning from drills

Drills matter because they show whether the plan will still work when people are tired, worried or under pressure.