Protect You and Your School
In anticipation of Martyn’s Law, which we expect to be effective later this year, we want to ensure that your educational setting is ready and prepared to protect your staff and pupils against terrorism.
What is Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law, also known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, is a UK wide measure to prepare and protect larger premises from potential terrorist attacks.
The law is named after Martyn Hett, who sadly lost his life in the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena in 2017. Martyn’s mother has been tirelessly campaigning to Parliament ever since. A draft bill setting out the Government’s proposed approach was first published in May 2023 with final consultations ending on 18th March 2024.
The bill sets out to enforce certain premises and events increase their protection dependant on their size: Standard Tier premises with a capacity of 100-799 individuals; and Enhanced Tier premises of 800 of more individuals. However, educational premises will fall under the Standard Tier, even if there are over 800 students.
What does a lockdown procedure look like?
A lockdown procedure must follow a set of clear actions that have been outlined and communicated to all participants that may be involved. Simply put, when an alert is triggered, all staff and pupils must stay in the safest place, whether this means evacuate, relocate within the building or stay in the same place.
The raised alert must be broadcast across the whole premises. With Bodet Time’s Lockdown Solutions, an alert can be triggered simultaneously across multiple buildings on site. The word ‘lockdown’ can be clearly transmitted, or a coded message can be broadcast to inform staff. Pre-recording the message saves time in the event of an emergency as well as reducing panic should a fearful tone be broadcast.
As it is not just the front desk that may need to trigger a lockdown, members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) also need to be equipped with a trigger button. Alerts can be triggered via a control box, or remotely from a PC or smartphone. The event may take place from any part of the premises, including outside areas. Bodet Time provides a great range of sounders suitable for installation internally and externally.
A lockdown response may be in reaction to anything that poses a potential threat, such as an intruder on site or a disturbance in the local community.
Other elements to the lockdown procedure may include locking doors and windows, closing the blinds / curtains, turning off the lights, switching off interactive whiteboards, hiding under desks or moving to a safe area, and taking a register for all pupils and staff before communicating with SLT; All whilst remaining as silent as possible.
What can you do to prepare?
At Bodet Time, we recognise the challenges that schools face with Martyn’s Law and want to support you with protecting your school by preparing for lockdown and evacuation.
Effective procedures need to be in place for lockdown and evacuation. However, it is not enough to just have a procedure, these questions need to be considered – Where is the lockdown system? How will it be tested? How will it be communicated? Where will announcements be broadcast? How is each individual accountable?
Staff and pupils alike need to be trained in and test the procedures termly to avoid any doubt about what is to be carried out.
We recommend these steps:
- Providing clear instructions
- Training all staff and pupils
- Testing and communicating effectively
Informing parents of the situation and how it is being tested will show them that your school is taking the proposed law seriously and put minds at rest.
Every school needs a person accountable for a lockdown or evacuation procedure. This may be the same person who is responsible for fire safety procedures or a different member of staff.
Will this be part of an Ofsted inspection?
It is our understanding that Ofsted inspectors will be looking for schools to adhere to Martyn’s Law and looking for effective procedures that are in place. If the required laws are not followed, Ofsted have the right to issue an improvement notice. If this notice is ignored, the school may be faced with a prison sentence.
When the law is finalised, we expect to see what ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’ will look like.
How can Bodet Time support you?
If you are an existing customer with Bodet Time’s Sigma Networked Master Clock, simply add some sounders to your premises to broadcast your Lockdown alert.
Bodet Time’s Harmonys range includes sounders and alerts ready to be broadcasted in a variety of ways, including a control box with four buttons, a text display and luminous strobes to account for pupils with visual or hearing impairments.
On a budget? Why not meet the initial requirements and add to them later, building on what you already have?
If you are just joining Bodet Time, our sales team would be happy to visit your site and provide you with a personalised quote for how to provide an effective solution for lockdown.
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