We do them 4 times a year inline with old fashioned term times SBH

Remember that not all 'regulations' are stature regulations/law so we should not get mixed up e.g. the 17th edition IEE regs are not statute regulations but codes of practice as are most of the building regs and Ofsted regs I would ask the question of the inspector to point out in law where such requirements are as such requirements are dependant upon the risk assessment as the primary source of guidance via the RR[FS]O [if its a fire situation] Best of luck with regards to getting an early reply from Ofsted

There is no such thing as ‘OFSTED regulations’. The Dept for Education sets out National Minimum Standards for specific matters and OFSTED inspect against those standards. The objective being to promote and share best practice whilst ensuring a minimum level of compliance. I only have access to a copy of the NMS for under 8’s from about 18 months ago and my hyperlink to it no longer exists. I think this is probably because it has been moved or renamed as part of the re-organisation of DfE documents. I am however confident that the principles will not have changed significantly. The self-evaluation guidance for nurseries etc stated only that ‘fire drills are held periodically’. However, a quick research of current and best practice will show that once every 3 months (once a term) would be seen as acceptable but best practice is every 4-6 weeks. Thus it is possible that a recommendation to hold drills at that frequency may be given. Of course, the principles of fire safety and regulation apply but, amonst other things, the fire risk assessment has to recognise the people at risk. In this case under 8’s who learn, retain information, respond and think differently from adults in the workplace and are normally directly supervised at all times. Thus the frequency needs careful consideration and will not compare directly to a commercial or industrial setting. Here is one example of how such drills can be used as a part of the whole learning experience. Fire drills are generated by placing/hiding a picture of fire somewhere in the nursery. The adult or child who finds the picture is expected to start the ‘alarm’ procedure. The target is one practice every four weeks but no longer than 6 weeks. Children can ask if they can ‘hide the fire picture’, parents or carers can also ask. That is they decide that a fire drill today is a good idea. The frequency may be changed to cover such circumstances as a new influx of children, new staff etc. Drills are held at all times, for example, as parents are collecting their children. Hope this helps. P48

Messyshaw. I was perhaps not clear in my explanation. The picture of fire is used to teach the children to spot the danger and act accordingly. Just like we do for employees. They don't actually manage anything. The lesson plan is to make sure that if there were a fire then the children would feel safe and confident in raising an alarm. Sorry to have caused confusion, p48