In 2025, the UK enacted the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act (colloquially Martyn’s Law) to strengthen security at public venues in the wake of recent terror attacks.
In 2025, the UK enacted the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act (colloquially Martyn’s Law) to strengthen security at public venues in the wake of recent terror attacks. The law is designed to “improve protective security and organisational preparedness” by requiring those in charge of certain premises to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack.
It establishes a tiered system of duties based on venue size.
Standard Duty venues are typically those expecting 200–799 people on site.
Notably, primary, secondary, and further education premises are explicitly kept in the Standard Tier regardless of capacity, recognising that schools already maintain safety procedures like lockdown and evacuation drills.
Enhanced Duty premises and qualifying events are premises or events where it is reasonable to expect that 800 or more individuals (including staff numbers) may be present on the premises at least occasionally or attend the event at the same time.
Under Martyn’s Law, Standard Duty organisations now face two core legal obligations:
Register the Premises with the Regulator: The responsible person (e.g. the head teacher or school management) must notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) that their school is a venue in scope of the Act. The SIA has been appointed as the regulator to advise, support, and ensure compliance with Martyn’s Law requirements across the UK.
Implement “Public Protection Procedures”: Schools must have in place, so far as reasonably practicable – appropriate plans and procedures to protect staff, pupils, and visitors in the event of a terror incident.
These procedures should be simple, practical steps that “may be expected to reduce the risk of physical harm” if an attack occurs on the premises or nearby. Martyn’s Law explicitly lists the key scenarios that must be addressed including:
Evacuation: Orderly moving of people from the premises or building.
Invacuation: Moving people to a safe indoor area.
Lock down: Immediate shelter in secure locations within the building.
Communication: Communicating with individuals on the premises during an incident.
In other words, every school needs a clear plan for swiftly getting people out, bringing them in / sheltering, securing doors, and alerting everyone on site when faced with a potential attack.
Importantly, these Standard Duty requirements are meant to be low-cost and non-technical – “there is no requirement to put in place physical measures” like new building modifications. The emphasis is on robust procedures and staff preparedness rather than expensive equipment.
What does this mean for UK schools?
Essentially, school leaders must ensure their emergency plans for terror threats are documented, communicated to staff,
and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. (The DFE issues guidance on Emergency Planning and response for Education,
and help with planning checklists.)
The aim is to make sure “staff are prepared to respond” effectively under duress, for example in schools, that every teacher knows how to initiate a lockdown or call for an evacuation, and that there is a reliable way to notify all staff and students immediately.
While many schools already have fire drills and lockdown policies, Martyn’s Law formalises and standardises these across all institutions, with the SIA empowered to enforce compliance, through inspections, notices, and fines for serious breaches. In this context, having the right tools to execute and coordinate these security procedures is crucial. This is where Cosafe comes in.
How Cosafe Supports Schools
in Meeting Martyn’s LawRequirements
Cosafe operates well for individual schools or via a tiered architecture, streamlining processes in a multi academy trust environment.
Cosafe is an alert, communication, and crisis management platform purpose-built to help organisations respond to critical events. For UK schools navigating Martyn’s Law, Cosafe’s core features align closely with the Act’s requirements – essentially providing a turnkey solution to implement the mandated “public protection procedures” quickly and effectively.
Cosafe enables a school to alert staff instantly, disseminate instructions, report incidents, and coordinate emergency response, all from a secure, easy-to-use app. This not only helps fulfill the letter of the law but also significantly enhances the safety of students and staff during an emergency. Importantly, Cosafe is a software-based approach, meaning it conforms to the law’s intention of simple, low-cost measures (leveraging devices like staff smartphones or computers that schools already use, rather than requiring new hardware installations).
Cosafe has extensive functionality, which maps to Martyn’s Law obligations and other safety guidance including the DFE’s guidance on emergency planning and response for education. Much more than a “lockdown tool’ Cosafe adds value for school decision-makers by ensuring legal compliance and improving on-campus security:
What does this mean for UK schools?
Martyn’s Law mandates the ability to “communicate with individuals on the premises” during a terror incident. Cosafe addresses this by enabling instant emergency alerts that instantly notify all staff (and even students or parents, if configured) via push notification, text, or email.
Cosafe has extensive functionality, which maps to Martyn’s Law obligations and other safety guidance including the DFE’s guidance on emergency planning and response for education. Much more than a “lockdown tool’ Cosafe adds value for school decision-makers by ensuring legal compliance and improving on-campus security: In a crisis, for example, spotting an armed intruder or receiving a bomb threat, a designated staff member can trigger a school-wide alert within seconds. Every teacher and staff phone will flash an immediate warning, accompanied by preset instructions (e.g.“Lockdown now – this is not a drill” or “Evacuate to the assembly point”).
This rapid communication ensures no time is lost in warning everyone on site, fulfilling the law’s requirement for prompt on-premise notification. Cosafe’s reliable, multi-channel alerts help keep everyone informed and safe in those first critical moments, even if phones are in silent mode.
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