School Governance
Assurance Framework
Assurance Framework
Structured governance assurance for UK school governing boards.
Structured governance assurance for UK school governing boards.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. Schools that can reasonably expect 200 or more people to be present at the same time from time to time fall within the Standard tier. This 3-minute audit tells your board exactly where it stands and what to do next.
Every answer shapes a plan built around your current term. Six terms, three phases, each step assigned to the right committee or lead so the chair can delegate cleanly.
Confirm whether you fall within the Standard tier (200+ reasonably expected). Identify the responsible person. Document evacuation, invacuation and lockdown procedures.
FGB · Resources · SLTAgree the terrorism-incident communication plan. Train all staff on the four public protection procedures. Run a lockdown or invacuation drill and review it.
SLT · Resources · FGBLock in the annual review cycle, signed off by the responsible person. Confirm visitor management. Engage your Counter Terrorism Security Adviser and add ProtectUK / NaCTSO to the policy library.
Resources · SLT · FGBThe roadmap starts from your current term, so summer begins differently to autumn. Already strong in an area? That term reads as sustained, not repeated.
Answer each question based on your school's current position. There are no trick questions and no wrong answers. This audit produces a documented record that the board has formally considered Martyn's Law readiness.
A board-ready document with your score, responses, action plan, 18-month implementation roadmap and a year-long governor visits plan (autumn, spring, summer). Ready to present at your next governing body meeting.
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School Governance Assurance Framework
Position Statement
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. The Home Office intends an implementation period of at least 24 months before the duty comes into force. Until then, compliance is voluntary. The preparation work takes time.
Schools that reasonably expect 200 or more individuals, including pupils, staff and visitors, to be present at the same time from time to time fall within the Standard tier. Schools remain in the Standard tier even with 800 or more attendees. The Act provides explicit special consideration for education settings.
The Standard tier requires four public protection procedures, so far as is reasonably practicable: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. Each must be documented, trained and reviewed. The responsible person (typically the governing body or proprietor) will need to notify the SIA once the duty is in force.
This is the most common question boards raise: the Act's threshold is the greatest number reasonably expected to be present at the same time, from time to time. It is not the average school day. A planned concert, summer fete, parents' evening, open evening or prize-giving can be relevant if peak simultaneous attendance is reasonably expected to reach 200 or more.
An unforeseen one-off spike does not by itself bring the premises into scope if it is not expected to happen again. The practical answer for governing boards is to assess routine school use and planned recurring or occasional activities, using evidence such as roll, staffing, tickets, registration, fire occupancy, historic attendance and the events calendar.
Events held at early years, primary, secondary or further education premises are not treated as separate qualifying events, but the premises can still be Standard tier premises. The board's scope decision should be minuted at full governing body, with the evidence attached so the basis for the decision is on record.