Preparing your school
for Martyn’s Law.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 places new duties on premises where 200 or more people may be present. Here’s what your school needs to know, and how OnSite helps you get ready before enforcement begins.
Law since April 2025
Royal Assent received 3 April 2025
Enforced from 2027
expected from April 2027, prepare now
200+ people
in scope when 200 or more may be on site, staff included
What is Martyn’s Law?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, is UK-wide legislation requiring qualifying premises to be ready to protect the people on them.
It introduces a tiered approach. Smaller qualifying premises (Standard tier, 200–799 people) must put in place public protection procedures: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. Larger premises (Enhanced tier, 800+) have additional duties, including documented plans submitted to the regulator, the Security Industry Authority. Schools are the exception to that split: whatever their size, they sit in the standard tier.
For most UK schools Martyn’s Law applies, and the tier is settled: standard, whatever your size. The open questions are how your existing procedures map to the four the Act names, and how you would evidence them.
“Schools will need to consider how they currently respond to incidents, and put in place procedures that could be expected to reduce the risk of harm to people if an act of terrorism were to occur.”
Key facts
- Legal name
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
- Royal Assent
- 3 April 2025
- Expected enforcement
- From April 2027
- Regulator
- Security Industry Authority (SIA)
- In scope from
- 200 people expected on site, staff included
- Your tier
- Standard, whatever the size of your school
- Applies to
- England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland
How OnSite gets your school ready.
The day-to-day work Martyn’s Law expects: knowing who’s on site, acting fast and showing what you did: in one platform, one log.
Real-time on-site register
A live, named list of every visitor, member of staff and pupil currently on site, across reception, staff phones and kiosks.
Calm, parallel roll call
During an evacuation, multiple staff mark people safe at the same time. Leadership sees who is still unaccounted for, live.
One-tap lockdown trigger
Any authorised staff member can start a lockdown from their phone. Every colleague gets clear, role-specific instructions in seconds.
Mass communication
Reach every member of staff with a single message. Role-specific instructions cut through the noise of a general alert.
Auditable record of every event
Every sign-in, evacuation, lockdown and message is time-stamped and retained: evidence for your standard-tier procedures, and for any review of them.
Capacity awareness
Occupancy trends across the week make it easier to give the SIA an honest “reasonable expectation” of how many people may be present.
To be clear: OnSite isn’t a Martyn’s Law compliance product on its own. No software is. But the everyday work the Act expects of your school is exactly the work OnSite was built to support.
New duty. New records. One system that keeps them.
Questions schools are asking.
Plain answers, with the statutory guidance behind them.
When does Martyn’s Law come into force?
The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 and is law, but the duties are not yet enforceable. The Government has stated an implementation period of at least 24 months from Royal Assent, meaning enforcement is expected from around April 2027. There is no legal requirement to comply before then, but schools in scope are encouraged to begin preparing.
Does Martyn’s Law apply to schools?
Yes, provided the four scope criteria are met: there is at least one building; the premises are used for a Schedule 1 use (which includes education); at least 200 individuals (including staff) may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time; and the premises are not excluded under Schedule 2. For the great majority of UK schools, the Act applies.
Which tier will my school be in?
Standard tier, whatever the size of your school. Schedule 1 of the Act places childcare, primary, secondary and further education premises in the standard tier regardless of capacity, even above 800 people, so a large secondary carries the same duties as a small primary. The 200-person count, which includes staff, decides whether the Act applies to you at all rather than which tier you are in. Only higher education is treated like other premises and can reach the enhanced tier.
How do we work out our “reasonably expected” occupancy?
You can use methods you may already be familiar with, such as fire-safety occupancy calculations, or historic attendance and visitor data. The Home Office has published a supplementary document on assessment methods alongside the statutory guidance.
What are the four public protection procedures?
Procedures for people working at the premises to follow if an act of terrorism occurred there or nearby. They cover four areas: evacuation; invacuation (moving people to a safer place inside); lockdown of the premises; and communication with individuals on site.
What happens if we don’t comply?
The SIA will support, advise and guide duty holders in the first instance. For serious or persistent non-compliance it can issue compliance notices, monetary penalties and restriction notices. The Act also includes some criminal offences.
Is visitor sign-in mandatory under Martyn’s Law?
The Act doesn’t prescribe any particular system. What it requires is procedures that may reduce harm: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. Knowing who is on your premises in real time is foundational to every one of those, which is why sign-in is practically essential even though the Act doesn’t name it.
Read more: statutory guidance (gov.uk) · ProtectUK · Security Industry Authority
This page is informational and does not constitute legal advice.
Get ready before enforcement begins.
Book a free 30-minute demo and we’ll walk through how OnSite’s sign-in, evacuation, lockdown and communication work day to day in a school like yours.