The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 – FAQs for schools

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 is new legislation also known as “Martyn’s Law”, introduced following the tragic Manchester Arena Attack. It aims to protect the public by  requiring certain types of premises to prepare for and protect people from terrorist attacks and other major incidents. 

Yes, if the site has a capacity of 200 people or more. This does not mean that 200 people necessarily have to be on site all the time, just that there is a reasonable expectation that 200 people could be. All schools/academies with a capacity of 200 or more are treated as “standard duty premises”, even if their capacity exceeds 800 which for other types of premises triggers additional “enhanced” duties. The new legislation does not place obligations on education settings whose site capacity is less than 200 people. 

New obligations for schools and academies that meet the “standard duty premises” criteria above include to:

• identify a Responsible Person, typically the headteacher or principal;
• so far as reasonably possible, ensure that public protection procedures are in place; and
• register with the Security Industry Authority (SIA) (the regulator).

These are procedures to be followed by staff in the event of, or where there is reason to suspect, a terrorist attack. The aim of the procedures is to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals if an act of terrorism were to occur at the premises or in the immediate vicinity. So far as is reasonably practicable, these should cover:

• evacuation: getting people safely out of the premises
• invacuation: bringing people safely into, or to safer parts of, the premises
• lockdown: securing the premises to prevent individuals entering or leaving the premises
• information sharing: communicating during an incident 

The gov.uk website has links to various resources and the DfE have published non statutory guidance “Protective security and preparedness for education settings”. This is a helpful resource for schools in ensuring that public protection procedures are in place. The guidance stresses that measures taken should be proportionate and tailored to the school, and take into account pupils’ needs, specifically those with SEND. Key steps the guidance describes include:

• appointing a designated security lead
• creating a protective security and preparedness plan which may be a new document or written into and annexed to an existing plan/policy – for example, existing critical incident plans, major incident plans or other security policies and plans
• factoring in the needs of pupils with SEND
• training staff (ongoing and induction)
• raising awareness among parents and pupils in an age and needs-appropriate way
• testing and implementing the plan (a rolling programme of regular testing is recommended)
• identifying lessons learned from test exercises and adapting the plan accordingly

Where your school or trust has multiple sites, you may wish to assess those sites to see whether they all fall within the scope of Martyn’s Law. There may be a need for different approaches in terms of protection plans given the specific nature of individual sites. 

There is a 24 month implementation period so technically schools have until April 2027 to have these measures in place. Introducing the measures sooner rather than later is recommended to ensure and promote the safety of those on the school site and in order to allow time for training and testing to take place. 

Compliance with the new legislation will be overseen by the SIA, who can issue enforcement notices and fines in the event of non-compliance. Taking steps to ensure the safety of pupils is part of schools’ wider safeguarding duties and, as such, may be explored by Ofsted at inspection.