SP11 Response Accepted

Out-of-school settings guidance update

Recommendation

The Department for Education should update the out‑of‑school settings guidance by reviewing the health and safety section to ensure terminology is clear and consistent, particularly regarding emergency plans and fire/evacuation plans for smaller providers. The guidance should also be updated to include a non‑binding cross‑reference to school entrance security guidance, emphasising that while out-of-school settings may differ from schools in terms of what is necessary, appropriate or proportionate, providers should still consider appropriate entrance and exit security measures.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The Department for Education ran an out-of-school settings safeguarding call for evidence from 29 May 2025, which closed on 21 September 2025, seeking views to shape future safeguarding policy for the out-of-school settings sector (Out-of-school settings safeguarding, Department for Education, May 2025).
- The Department for Education stated in its response that it is the lead department and expects to complete implementation by late 2026, that it will review the existing safeguarding policy following publication of a response to the Call for Evidence on Out-of-School Settings safeguarding, that the review will include strengthening of the section on security, health and safety, and emergency planning, and that specific consideration will be given to entrance and exit security issues informed by responses to the Call for Evidence (Government Response to Phase 1 of the Southport Inquiry, CP 1623, Home Office, July 2026).
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by claude-opus-4-8 on 02 Jul 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted Department for Education
02 Jul 2026

The Department for Education (DfE) is the lead department and expects to complete the implementation of this recommendation by late 2026. Progress and next steps:
- DfE will review the existing safeguarding policy following the publication of a response to the Call for Evidence on Out-of-School Settings safeguarding.
- The review will include relevant guidance documents & strengthening of section on security, health and safety, and emergency planning.
- Specific consideration will be given to entrance and exit security issues, informed by responses to the Call for Evidence.

Read Full Response
Progress Timeline
Department for Education states: Official Report
02 Jul 2026

Government response published 2 July 2026 (CP 1623). The government accepted this recommendation; the lead department reports implementation is in progress.

Source
Source
Inquiry Southport Inquiry
Report The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1 13 Apr 2026
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Department for Education Primary
Themes & Tags
Fire risk assessment failures School Estate Management Failures Emergency contingency plans Emergency Response Policing
Recommendation age 0.4 yrs
Last formal update 02 Jul 2026