Schools, hospitals and places of worship are at the heart of our communities; they provide care, spaces to learn, reflect and connect. They’re places where everyone should feel safe, welcome and supported. But sometimes they can be the target of something sinister.
With the introduction of Martyn’s Law, these organisations and places are being asked to take a closer look at how they prepare for emergencies. Whether it's how their team would respond to a serious event or what steps they would take to protect those in their care. The importance of Martyn’s Law is making sure emergency preparedness is worked on and improved, to ensure places are as prepared and confident to handle an emergency as they can be.
It’s not about creating fear or negativity, but building the confidence and reassurance that if something were to happen – staff, volunteers and leaders – will be able to act confidently, calmly and support others.
Preparedness without fear
In community settings its important that safety and planning feel balanced and proportionate. A primary school playground, a place of worship and a hospital ward are all centred around trust, care and openness. Channelling fear into the community, with unbalanced safety procedures, will bring a sense of uneasiness and could encourage the feeling of paranoia, which we want to avoid.
Preparedness under Martyn’s Law should be about:
- Making sure staff understand simple and clear procedures
- Ensuring there is clear communication and consistency across teams
- Helping people feel reassured and not alarmed
- Providing support when needed
For example:
Schools: Staff should review how they communicate with each other during an emergency, making sure messages are clear and age-appropriate for pupils.
Hospitals: Teams should understand how to respond if normal operations are disrupted, without impacting patient care.
Places of worship: Should agree on simple guidance for guiding visitors calmly to safety while maintaining respect and reassurance.
If organisations and community settings think through these scenarios in advance, their emergency responses will feel more instinctive than overwhelming.
Duty of care in community settings
Healthcare, education and faith-based environments operate under a strong duty of care already. They’re responsible for protecting those who are more vulnerable, like children, the elderly and patients, providing safe environments for staff, visitors and volunteers, and knowing how to respond appropriately when someone is at risk or in distress.
A huge part of this responsibility is first aid and emergency planning. For example, organisations are already expected to ensure the appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and trained staff are available.
But Martyn’s Law further builds on this foundation by also asking them to consider:
- How incidents can unfold in their specific setting
- What immediate actions can help in reducing harm
- How teams can work together in those first few months
This can be seen as an extension of safeguarding, because it helps protect people, not just in everyday situations, but in those unexpected, more serious situations.
Staff confidence and calm response
The confidence of staff and volunteers can make a huge difference in community settings. As people often look to familiar faces during uncertain moments. Whether that’s teachers, healthcare professionals or faith leaders: trusted figures and their responses can help shape how others react.
The focus of Martyn’s Law is not turning staff into safety specialists, but ensuring they’re able to:
- Recognise when a situation is serious
- Follow clear, simple steps
- Communicate calmy to those around them
For example:
Schools: A teacher may need to guide pupils to a safe area using clear and reassuring language that avoids creating panic and confusion.
Hospitals: Staff members have to maintain a calm disposition while following established emergency procedures.
Places of worship: Volunteers may need to support visitors who are unsure of where to go by offering directions and reassurance.
This is where providing first aid training can help. With practical, scenario-based learning, it can help build awareness, confidence and familiarity, so people are more likely to act with confidence instead of hesitation.
Practising real-life situations that staff may encounter can help teams and staff feel more prepared if the worst were to happen.
First aid as part of a safeguarding culture
In many community settings, first aid provisions are already a key part of safeguarding, and by following Martyn’s Law, their importance will be reinforced.
Being able to provide help and support by responding quickly in environments where people gather, will help protect individuals and the wider community.
Everyday readiness can look like:
- Having accessible, well-stocked first aid kits
- Ensuring staff know where first aid provisions are location
- Providing first aid training so teams feel more prepared in basic first aid
In a school this might mean responding to playground injuries or allergic reactions, and in healthcare settings this can be having support staff outside of specialist clinical areas. For places of worship this can be assisting older attendees who may feel unwell during a service or event.
Preparing for more serious situations
Although less common, serious incidents, like a terrorist attack, early action is imperative, especially in the first few moments.
For example:
- Recognising when someone needs urgent help
- Being able to perform first aid measures
- Calling for additional support and following guidance
Not every situation will be complex, but all situations need confidence and clarity. We believe that providing first aid training is an important step towards Martyn’s Law preparedness. Because not only does it help ensure teams are ready to respond when an incident happens, but helps reduce panic and harm. Knowing what to do and how to provide simple first aid without feeling overwhelmed can make a life-saving difference.
What does preparedness look like in different community settings?
Schools, healthcare and places of worship settings will approach Martyn’s Law differently, depending on the people, the activities taking place and the environment. Although the risks and responsibilities may vary, the core remains the same: helping people in an emergency and reducing harm.
In schools and educational settings
School settings are already familiar with safeguarding, emergency protocols and protecting children in their care, so Martyn’s Law is about building on that. This could be from encouraging schools to support a wider range of incidents by developing lockdown plans, evacuation protocols and clear communication.
For example, on open days, sports day, awards ceremonies or school fairs, there will be an influx of people in the schools compared to normal. Therefore, staff and school volunteers should know:
- How to communicate clearly
- Which entrances and exits should be used
- Where people can move to safety in an emergency
Preparing isn’t about rehearsing for the worst situation repeatedly; it’s more about ensuring your staff always know what to do if ever needed.
In healthcare settings
GP surgeries, hospitals and community clinics already care for vulnerable patients and often already have well-thought-out emergency plans. But with Martyn’s Law the aim is about encouraging teams to think about how these plans would work in fast-paced situations.
For example, a busy outpatient department may have multiple waiting areas, patients with reduced mobility and visitors who are unfamiliar with the building. If an emergency were to happen, the hospital staff should be able to direct people to safety while supporting those in their care. By bringing in Martyn’s Law, it’ll help make sure every staff member understands their emergency procedures and feels confident in applying them when needed.
In places of worship
Places of worship hold a special and unique role within communities. From support, shelter and a place to reflect, to developing connections of all ages. Services and events can bring together large groups of people, whether its seasonal events or celebrations and in these situations, employees or volunteers need to know what to do in an emergency.
This can include:
- How to guide people to a safe zone
- Where first aid equipment is stored
- Who to contact in an emergency
By applying this in a sensitive manner, it hopefully won’t change the nature of these spaces, but further protect them. Because at the end of the day, we want these organisations to remain a place where people feel safe, supported and cared for.
Our focus is on building confidence in a way that feels practical and not turning organisations into spaces that feel overwhelming, and not hard-to-follow first aid courses that feel impossible to understand. They’re designed to be simple and hands-on, with scenarios that reflect what may happen in your working/social environment, so you can feel as prepared as possible.
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