No. Martyn's Law doesn't require a training course. What it asks at the standard tier is that the people with a part in your plans know them, and know their own role, well enough to act on the day. For most venues, that's a short briefing, not a course.
This guide covers what the law asks, what the Home Office's guidance suggests, the free courses you can do if you'd like to, and how briefings fit in. For the law as a whole, start with what is Martyn's Law?
What the law asks
The Home Office's standard duty factsheet is clear: "There is no statutory requirement" for the responsible person or staff to do specific training.
It's just as clear that a plan in a drawer isn't enough. The people with responsibility for carrying out your plans "must be made aware of the procedures and their specific role". The factsheet gives an example: an evacuation plan isn't enough if nobody at the venue understands how to follow it.
The statutory guidance says the same (paras 7.51 and 7.52). If the people with a role haven't been told about your plans, it will be hard to show that you have the right plans in place.
Who needs to know? The factsheet says it may include employees, volunteers and contractors "as well as those hiring premises". So think about:
- Trustees and volunteers who open up, run the door or lead events.
- Staff, in a pub, a club bar or a hall with a caretaker.
- Hirers, who are often the people in charge on the night. See our guide for hirers.
You don't have to pay for a course
The statutory guidance says paying for third-party training isn't mandatory (paras 7.55 and 7.61). You can buy a course if you think it would help, but the law doesn't ask you to.
The guidance's own example is a village hall. Its volunteers learn the plans when they join, a senior volunteer explains how to lock down, and the written plan is up in the staff room. The hall turns down a costly online course that promised to cover the law for them, because it doesn't need one (para 7.55).
What knowing the plan looks like
The guidance says learning can take many forms, such as a briefing, an induction or shadowing someone experienced (para 7.53). It should fit your building and your plans, not be a general module (para 7.56). Someone who has done security training elsewhere still needs to learn your venue's plans (para 7.57).
For the paperwork, the guidance suggests something short: a briefing, a quick reference guide or a prompt card (para 7.58). The factsheet's examples are a one-page summary, a poster in a staff area, and a short briefing for new staff when they start.
After a briefing, each person should know:
- Which of the four plans they have a part in: get everyone out (evacuation), bring everyone in (invacuation), lock down (lockdown) and keep people informed (communication). The glossary explains each term.
- What their job is. For example, which doors they lock, or which exit they lead people to.
- Who decides to start a plan, and how they'll hear.
- Where to go, and where the safer room is.
The Home Office estimates each person's briefing takes about 15 minutes, once (impact assessment, para 129).
A made-up example
Say a made-up synagogue expects its biggest crowd of the year at Rosh Hashanah. A week before, the committee sends each volunteer on the doors a one-page briefing on their part in the plans, and asks them to confirm they've read it. On the day, the two volunteers who would decide to lock down walk round the building together first, checking which doors lock and where the safer room is. No course, no certificate: just the right people knowing the plan.
Free courses, if you'd like them
These are optional. The Home Office's guidance mentions free resources on ProtectUK, the police's advice service (para 7.60), and says there's no obligation under the Act to buy the products it lists (supplementary document C, para 4).
- ACT Awareness e-learning. Free on ProtectUK, about 45 minutes, with a certificate at the end. It teaches how to spot and report suspicious activity. You need to register first.
- SCaN for All (See, Check and Notify). A free course on spotting and reporting suspicious behaviour, listed in supplementary document C.
- ACT Awareness sessions in person, run by police counter terrorism security advisers, where they're available (supplementary document C, para 8).
- Faith Security Training. Free, funded by the Home Office, for anyone who helps keep a place of worship safe in England and Wales: faith leaders, trustees and volunteers. There's a multi-faith course, and courses for Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities.
The guidance also suggests that everyone, whatever their role, knows how to spot something suspicious and how to report it, so far as is reasonably practicable (para 7.59). The free courses above cover exactly that.
Keeping it fresh
The law doesn't say how often to brief people. The guidance gives "annual refresher briefings" as one example (para 7.53), and the factsheet's example briefs new staff when they start.
A simple rhythm works for most venues:
- Brief new volunteers, staff and regular hirers when they start.
- Brief everyone again once a year, when you review your plans.
- Brief again whenever a plan changes, for example a new exit or new key holders.
Where hailo fits
hailo sends each volunteer, member of staff and hirer their own briefing link, written from your plans, and keeps a dated record of who has read and confirmed it. It chases anyone who hasn't. It isn't a training course, because the law doesn't ask for one. See how it works.
You can do all of this without us, too. Our free templates and checklist will get you there, and the readiness check shows what's left to do.
Where to read more
- Home Office: standard duty requirements factsheet
- Home Office: statutory guidance, paras 7.51 to 7.62
- Home Office: supplementary document C, further resources and learning
- ProtectUK: ACT Awareness e-learning
- GOV.UK: Faith Security Training
General information, not legal advice.