What is it?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, also known as Martyn's Law, is new legislation that requires your school to:

• Prepare for a potential terrorist attack; and
• Be ready to help keep people safe if there is an attack

Which schools does it apply to?

Martyn's Law only applies to your school if it's reasonable to expect 200 or more people to be present at once, even if this only happens from time to time.

If your school only ever has 199 people or fewer on site, the legislation doesn't apply to you.

When does it come into force?

You have at least 24 months (starting from April 2025) before you're legally required to comply with Martyn's Law. 

This is explained in the Home Office's 'Overarching Factsheet' on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.

We will update this article when the deadline is confirmed.

What are the requirements for schools?

Your school will only need to meet the 'standard duty' requirements for its premises. This is because schools are exempt from 'enhanced duty' requirements (see schedule 1, paragraph 14(3)(b) of the legislation).

You won't need to meet the requirements for events, because schools are exempt from the requirements for events (see schedule 2, part 2, paragraph 6 of the legislation).

To meet the 'standard duty' requirements for premises, your school will need to:

• Notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA), which is responsible for your school premises (see next section below)
  • Please note: the portal you'll use to notify the SIA will go live once Martyn's Law is in force
• Put in place appropriate public protection procedures for:
  • Evacuating people from the school
  • Invacuating people to a place in the school where they are safer
  • Lockdown to prevent people entering or leaving the school
  • Communicating with people during an incident, to alert them to danger and give instructions about what to do

You can read more guidance on these requirements in the Home Office's standard duty requirements factsheet.

Who is the ‘person responsible for’ our school?

If you’re in a trust, your trust board is legally responsible for meeting the requirements. Otherwise, your school's governing board is responsible (unless your school is a PRU, in which case it’s your LA). This is set out in schedule 1, paragraph 14(3)(a) of the legislation.

As with other school policies and procedures, it's likely your board will ask you to draw up and implement the plans, but it will still be its responsibility to make sure your school is meeting the requirements.