Martyn’s Law: What Schools, Colleges and Trusts Need to Do to Prepare

Understanding Martyn’s Law

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, widely known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.

It introduces a new legal duty for certain premises — including most education settings — to consider the threat of terrorism and plan how they would respond to an attack.

The law is named in memory of Martyn Hett, who lost his life in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. Its purpose is to make sure that venues and organisations take proportionate steps to keep the public safe.

Who the Law Applies To

The duty applies to any premises or event expected to have 200 or more people present at any one time.
This includes most schools, colleges, and universities.

To reflect the unique nature of education, there’s a tiered system:

• Standard Tier (200–799 people): Applies to early years settings, schools, and further education institutions — even if they have more than 800 people on site.
• Enhanced Tier (800+ people): Applies to most other types of premises, including universities and large public venues.

Settings with fewer than 200 people on site are out of scope but are encouraged to follow the principles voluntarily.

What Education Settings Will Be Expected to Do

Each education provider must have a “responsible person” — such as the proprietor, governing body, or trust — who ensures the new duties are met.

Although the detailed statutory guidance is still being developed, schools and colleges will need to:

• Assess vulnerability to a terrorist attack and review access control, visitor management, and security arrangements.
• Develop clear emergency procedures, covering evacuation, invacuation, and lockdown.
• Communicate those procedures to staff, pupils, contractors, and visitors.
• Train staff to understand their roles and responses in a terrorist incident.
• Review and record these plans regularly and as part of wider safeguarding and health & safety duties.

The approach is designed to be proportionate, recognising that most education settings are already used to preparing for emergencies.

Implementation Timeline

The Act is now law, but there will be an implementation period of at least 24 months before full enforcement begins.

During this time, the Government will issue detailed statutory guidance for the education sector.

Schools, academies, and colleges are encouraged to begin preparations now — building on existing emergency plans, site security assessments, and safeguarding frameworks.

Practical Steps to Take Now

1. Identify your Responsible Person and clarify governance responsibilities across your Trust or organisation.
2. Review your current emergency procedures — especially lockdown, invacuation, and evacuation plans.
3. Audit access control and visitor management processes for vulnerabilities.
4. Plan awareness and training sessions for staff and contractors.
5. Record and review evidence of compliance, so that when the law comes into force you can demonstrate readiness.

How Compliance Pod Can Help

Compliance Pod provides the structure, scheduling, and documentation you need to stay audit-ready:

• A dedicated Martyn’s Law compliance task will be included in the Education Facilities Compliance Framework, complete with guidance and links to related emergency planning tasks.
• You can assign responsibilities, track review cycles, and upload your emergency plan documentation directly into the system.
• Regular reviews through your Compliance Pod Monthly Review Meetings will ensure your sites stay aligned with evolving statutory guidance.

This helps your organisation demonstrate that you’re actively preparing and reviewing security and emergency arrangements — a key expectation under Martyn’s Law.

Next Steps

Further sector-specific guidance will be published by the Home Office and Department for Education during the implementation period.

Compliance Pod customers will be notified when the relevant updates are added to the Framework and guidance library.

For the latest Government guidance click here