Update to Martyn’s Law for education settings

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (the act) became law on 3 April 2025. It is commonly known as Martyn’s Law, and is named in honour of Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Martyn’s mother, Figen Murray, campaigned over many years for a new law to better protect the public in the event of a terror attack.

The government have removed references to capacity – security tiers, standard and enhanced, now reference the expected number of people (staff and learners) in attendance. The update clarifies that settings with under 200 people are exempt but encouraged to plan.

There are special considerations in place for premises used for early years or primary, secondary or further education. Such premises will remain in the standard tier even if 800 or more individuals are expected to be present. Similarly, events held at such premises will not be drawn into scope as qualifying events, but the premises would remain in the standard tier.

The government have reiterated that this is a policy paper – formal guidance will follow before the 2027 implementation with a period of at least 24 months before the act comes into force.