Martyn's Law for Schools: Does It Apply and What Do You Need to Do?

For the wider legislation, see our Martyn's Law explained pillar page.

What is Martyn's Law for schools?

It is the same law, applied to education settings. It asks the people responsible for the premises to consider the threat of terrorism and have reasonably practicable procedures so that, if an incident occurs, staff know how to protect pupils, students and visitors. The Standard Duty reflects existing safeguarding and emergency arrangements in education, so many schools will already have much of what they need.

Why are education settings always Standard Duty?

Schools already manage safeguarding, site security and emergency planning. The legislation recognises that and applies the Standard Duty to the education sector regardless of size. Even a very large secondary school or university does not move into the Enhanced Duty on capacity alone. (See Standard vs Enhanced Tier for how the tiers otherwise work.)

What do schools need in place?

The four public protection procedures are the heart of the duty:

• Evacuation: including how to move pupils safely off site and where to go.
• Invacuation: moving everyone to safe internal spaces.
• Lockdown: securing rooms and controlling movement.
• Communication: how staff, pupils, parents and emergency services are told what is happening.

Many schools already run fire evacuations and lockdown drills, so the work is often about checking that existing procedures cover terrorism scenarios, that roles are clear, and that records show it.

Practical priorities for schools

1. Name an owner. Give one person or team clear accountability, supported by senior leaders and governors or trustees.
2. Assess your site. Consider layout, entrances, grounds, evening and weekend use and large events such as concerts or sports days. Use the approach in our risk assessment guide.
3. Include everyone who might need to act. That means teaching staff, support staff, supply teachers, contractors and volunteers.
4. Train and practise. Short, regular refreshers and tabletop exercises beat a single annual briefing. See Martyn's Law training.
5. Keep records. Document your assessments, procedures, training and reviews as part of normal school governance.
6. Consider event use. A school hall hosting a 300-person event may need its own plan, and where premises are shared with community groups, clarify who is responsible.

Common questions

Is lockdown the only thing schools have to do? No. Lockdown is one of four procedures, alongside evacuation, invacuation and communication.

Do we need guards or new equipment? For most Standard Duty premises the focus is effective procedures rather than costly infrastructure.

What if we are an academy trust with many sites? Each qualifying premises needs to be considered, and central oversight with clear local ownership tends to work best.

When does it start?

Enforcement is expected from spring 2027, with the exact date to be confirmed by the Home Office. Use the time to review procedures and build habits, not to wait for a deadline.

Further reading

• Home Office statutory guidance
• ProtectUK: Martyn's Law
• ACT Awareness eLearning, free counter-terrorism awareness training
• NPSA: physical, personnel and organisational security

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