No. Under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 there is a specific carve-out for early years, primary, secondary and further education sites. Even where they can regularly expect 800 people or more on site, they do not fall into the enhanced tier — they stay in the standard tier.

The second half of the answer is the half that gets lost. Tertiary education institutions and private education institutions abide by the normal legislative requirements. If they can expect 800 or more individuals on site from time to time, they will be in the enhanced tier.

The Act sets two tiers by expected attendance. Standard tier is 200 to 799 individuals reasonably expected on site from time to time. Enhanced tier is 800 or more.

For most sectors that is the whole test, which is why a large school looking at its own numbers reaches an alarming conclusion. A secondary with 1,500 pupils and staff on site every day clears 800 several times over.

A lot of larger schools are concerned that they may fall into the enhanced tier. That is not the case. The legislation carves out education sites from the enhanced tier regardless of how many people they expect:

• Early years settings
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• Further education

Two categories sit outside it, and this is where getting the answer half-right does real damage.

Tertiary education institutions and private education institutions abide by the normal legislative requirements. They are assessed like any other premises: if 800 or more individuals are reasonably expected on site from time to time, they are in the enhanced tier of the legislation.

So two education settings with identical numbers can sit in different tiers. “We are an education setting” is not the answer on its own — which kind of institution decides it, and it is worth settling explicitly rather than by assumption.

The carve-out changes the tier. It does not remove the duty. A school in scope is a standard tier premises, which means having public protection procedures in place so far as is reasonably practicable, as four distinct items: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication.

Public protection measures are an enhanced tier obligation and sit alongside the procedures for those premises only. A standard tier premises, including a school of any size, is not being asked for measures.

Nor does the carve-out mean a large school does less than a small one. So far as is reasonably practicable is not a size test, but it does take account of the nature and use of the premises, its location, its visitor profile, the resources available and the mitigation already there. A site with 1,500 people on it will produce fuller procedures than a village primary — as a consequence of what the site is, not because of a tier.

Penalties are set by tier, and the tier answer above decides which set applies. At standard tier, penalties run up to £10,000 per premises, with daily penalties of up to £500. At enhanced tier they run up to £18m or 5% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is higher, with daily penalties of up to £50,000, and criminal prosecution is available in the most serious cases.

For a school, the standard tier figures are the relevant ones however large the site. For a tertiary or private institution above 800, they are not.

The practical order is to confirm the type of institution, then the expected attendance, then the tier. Doing that this year leaves time to write and exercise the procedures at your own pace before compliance is expected in April 2027.

Prova Risk builds all four public protection procedures around your site, holds the training and exercise records against them, and produces a single compliance document you can put in front of a regulator. £399 per year per site.

• What’s the difference between standard tier and enhanced tier?
• Martyn’s Law scope and tiers
• Procedures vs measures under Martyn’s Law
• Does Martyn’s Law apply to schools?
• The 200-person threshold for schools
• The penalties for non-compliance
• Martyn’s Law hub