Martyn's Law for the Education Sector: Protecting Students and Staff
Martyn's Law, also known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, requires schools to take steps to improve their preparedness for terrorist attacks and other incidents by making it difficult for someone intending to cause harm to target their sites.
Schools should have plans in place to respond effectively to different types of incidents. If an incident arises, staff should be able to draw on their knowledge from plans and make good, informed judgements about keeping themselves and others safe.
Your Obligations Under Martyn's Law
Schools will need to implement procedures to reduce harm in the event of a variety of scenarios (including terrorist attacks). This includes evacuation, invacuation (moving people to a safer location within the premises), lockdown, and effective communication.
Below is a typical lockdown procedure for a school site.
- Detection and Assessment: Identify the threat through surveillance or reports.
- Initiation: Trigger the lockdown using the control panel or push buttons.
- Notification: Send alerts to all occupants, providing clear instructions.
- Securing the Premises: Lock all doors and secure entry points.
- Sheltering in Place: Direct individuals to safe areas, such as classrooms or offices, and instruct them to remain silent and out of sight.
- Communication with Authorities: Notify local law enforcement and emergency responders.
- Monitoring and Updates: Continuously monitor the situation and provide updates to occupants.
- All Clear Signal: Once the threat is neutralised, send an "All Clear" message to inform everyone that it is safe to resume normal activities.
- Post-Lockdown Review: Conduct a debrief to evaluate the response and identify areas for improvement.
While some of the requirements of Martyn's Law can be addressed procedurally, there will also be physical security and technological requirements that need to be implemented to ensure the best outcomes.
These include, but are not limited to:
CCTV System – The latest CCTV technology with AI intruder detection enables schools to take a proactive stance with site security. During the detection and assessment stage, a correctly configured CCTV system will allow your team to evaluate potential situations and make informed decisions. In the unfortunate event that a situation occurs, you will have clear evidence of happend. AIS is a certified partner for many of the leading manufacturers of CCTV systems and provides consultancy, installation and support for many of the UK's leading education trusts.
Building access control system – As part of a school's obligations under Martyn's Law, there is a requirement to ensure that access into and around a site is controlled/restricted. AIS is a certified partner for many of the leading manufacturers of building Access Control Systems and can provide consultancy, installation and support for various solutions, including biometric, keypad and fob-based solutions.
Lockdown Alert system
Lockdown Alert systems are designed to minimise disruption and confusion during lockdown events by providing a clear warning that is easily distinguishable from a fire alert. A lockdown alert system will enable you to quickly notify everyone on-site through audio and visual communications.
AIS are certified partners with the leading manufacturers of Lockdown Alert and public address systems and can provide consultancy, installation and support for various solutions.
