GuidancePremises, October 2026
School heating, gas safety and plant rooms before winter
The system has stood idle since spring, and the plant room has probably been used for something else since then.
A heating system that has not run in six months is the one most likely to give trouble, and the plant room is the space least likely to have been looked at over the summer. Both are worth half an hour before the weather turns.
What to have in place
- Annually
- Gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with the record kept
- Annually
- Boiler and plant service, before the heating season rather than during it
- Periodically
- Carbon monoxide detection tested, batteries changed where fitted
- Daily
- Plant room kept clear, locked, and not used for storage
The plant room
Plant rooms fill up. Cleaning stock, spare furniture, PE equipment, Christmas decorations. Anything stored against a boiler, in front of a panel or over a ventilation opening is a problem before it is a fire. Keeping it clear is the harder part, and a lock helps.
Flues and ventilation
Summer works block things. Check that flue terminals, air bricks and louvres have not been covered by scaffolding, insulation, render or a new store. Anything restricting the air supply to a gas appliance is a carbon monoxide risk rather than a nuisance.
Warm surfaces and young children
Radiators and exposed pipework can reach temperatures that matter in early years rooms and where pupils have additional needs. Guarding or a thermostatic control is the usual answer.
Blocked in over the term
Furniture, storage boxes and displays migrate towards radiators over a term. Anything pushed against one stops it working and turns a warm surface into a hot one. It is worth a look at the same time as the plant room, because both problems come from the same habit.
Before the cold sets in
- Gas safety record in date and on file.
- Boiler and plant serviced for the season.
- Carbon monoxide detection tested and recorded.
- Plant rooms cleared, locked and not in use as a store.
- Flues, air bricks and louvres clear of summer works.
- Radiator guarding checked where young children are involved.
- Frost protection set and the water plan agreed for the holidays.
If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds
Get everyone out into fresh air, open doors and windows on the way if it is safe, and do not go back in. Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Treat anyone with headache, dizziness or sickness as needing medical help. Nothing goes back on until a Gas Safe registered engineer says so.
How we help
Plant rooms, servicing records and storage are part of every planned visit we make, and anything found is issued the same day with a rating and a suggested date.
General guidance only. It does not replace the fire risk assessment, water hygiene risk assessment or specific advice for a particular building.
