A Martyn's Law checklist for school business managers

Twelve things, in an order where each one makes the next easier. Most schools have four or five already. The harder part is keeping all twelve up to date, with the evidence to prove it, every year after.

Governance

1. Confirm the responsible person. Under Martyn's Law it is whoever controls the premises for use as a school. That is normally the governing body, the trust board or the proprietor. It is a matter of fact, not choice. It cannot be delegated, though the tasks can.
2. Name a lead and a deputy. Someone has to own this day to day. Usually the business manager or site lead, with a deputy for the weeks they are away.
3. Brief governors and put it on the risk register. They carry the accountability. One paper, one meeting, minuted.
4. Record how you worked out your numbers. Pupils on roll, plus staff, plus your busiest regular occasion. A short note is enough. The regulator may ask how you got the figure.

The four procedures

5. Walk the site with the caretaker. Which doors lock from inside. Which doors release on the fire alarm. Where a class could shelter away from glass. Whether the fire assembly point can be seen from the road. Write it down: this list feeds everything below.
6. Adapt your fire evacuation for a hostile threat. A different alert. Routes that can vary. Dispersal, or an assembly place that cannot be predicted, instead of the usual point.
7. Write the invacuation procedure (sometimes called "shelter" in LA plans). Named safer areas. Who triggers it. How outdoor groups are brought in.
8. Update the lockdown procedure. Use the door list from step 5. Decide whether a partial lockdown is an option. Name who starts it, and who gives the stand-down in person.
9. Agree the communication plan. The signal for each procedure. The agreed words. How the far end of the site hears it. Who calls 999 and what they say. Then put one rule at the top of everything: threat inside, get out; threat outside, get in and lock down.

People and proof

10. Brief staff, and record it. A slot in a staff meeting. An induction item for new starters and supply. A one-page quick reference for everyone, and a pocket card for office, gate and senior staff. No course is required. The guidance says so.
11. Decide how you account for everyone. Registers cover pupils. Who holds the visitor and contractor list? Who checks the staff? Who reconciles it at the assembly point or in the safer area?
12. Run one tabletop exercise and write down what you learned. An hour in the staffroom talking through a scenario counts. It is where every plan finds its gaps. Date it, note the actions, and set a review date a year out.

Related: what the four procedures mean in a school · when it starts and the real penalties · paying for SchoolProof through the council or a trust