KEY POINTS
- The Act does not require any specific training course or certificate. The duty is to have appropriate procedures in place, which means staff who carry them out must know them, know their role and be able to do it.
- Courses, e-learning, quizzes, certificates and ACT Awareness are optional ways to build that understanding, not legal requirements.
- Home Office guidance says that, so far as is reasonably practicable, all staff should be able to spot suspicious items and behaviour and know how to report them.
- Staff means everyone working at the premises: employees, casual and agency workers, contractors and volunteers.
- There is no need to pay for training. Free options include ACT Awareness e-learning and SCaN for All, both listed in Home Office guidance.
- Keeping a training record is good practice at the standard tier and, for the enhanced tier, the guidance treats it as a necessary part of the compliance document.
What the Act requires
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 does not require the responsible person or staff to complete any specific training or course. The Home Office statutory guidance is clear on this. What it does say is that, as part of ensuring public protection procedures are in place and can be carried out quickly and effectively, the people responsible for carrying them out must be made aware of the procedures and their specific role, and given the understanding, experience and tools they need.
In plain terms: the legal duty, in section 5 of the Act, is to ensure appropriate procedures are in place so far as reasonably practicable, and procedures only work if staff know what to do. So the requirement is an outcome (staff who can carry out the procedures), not a particular format. The guidance says that if staff are not informed of the procedures, or trained in how to carry them out, it is likely to be difficult to show that appropriate and reasonably practicable procedures are in place.
The guidance goes further on general awareness. It says the duty to have appropriate procedures should require, so far as is reasonably practicable, that all members of staff are trained to be alert to suspicious items and behaviours, know how to report concerns, and understand why reporting quickly matters.
| What is required | What is optional (ways you might meet it) |
|---|---|
| Appropriate public protection procedures in place, so far as reasonably practicable (Act, section 5) | Formal training courses, paid or free |
| Staff who carry out the procedures are made aware of them and their role, and can carry them out (guidance paragraphs 7.51 and 7.52) | Team briefings, inductions, shadowing, prompt cards and walk-throughs |
| So far as reasonably practicable, staff are alert to suspicious items and behaviour and know how to report concerns (guidance paragraph 7.59) | ACT Awareness e-learning, SCaN for All, quizzes, posters and action cards |
| No specific course, provider or certificate is legally required | Completion certificates and training logs, which are useful evidence but not a legal form |
Who needs information and training
The statutory guidance defines staff as everyone working at the premises, including employees, contractors, volunteers and others, whether full time, part time or on shifts. That matters for venues that rely on casual, seasonal or agency workers.
| Group | What they need |
|---|---|
| All staff, including casual and agency workers | What the procedures are, what their role is in each, codewords and alerts, how to spot and report suspicious items and behaviour. |
| Duty managers and supervisors | Tailored instruction on making decisions, starting procedures, directing others and calling 999. The guidance notes they are likely to be the person activating a procedure. |
| Door supervisors and security staff | Site-specific instruction on your procedures, even if they hold an SIA licence. The guidance says prior security training does not remove the need for this. |
| Contractors working regularly on site, such as cleaners | Enough to follow instructions safely and report concerns, and their role if they have one. |
| Volunteers | The same as staff in an equivalent role. Many community premises rely on a senior volunteer to brief others. |
| Public-facing roles | The guidance suggests some public-facing roles may need a deeper understanding of suspicious activity, so consider role-specific training. |
If your premises are sometimes unstaffed, the guidance suggests considering whether people on site could follow procedures, for example through posters in communal areas or information at induction. If you use agency staff, agree with the agency who briefs them, and make sure they get a short site briefing before their first shift.
What good training looks like
The guidance says training should be tailored to your premises and procedures, focusing on the specific procedures rather than simply completing a generic module. It lists many acceptable forms:
- induction sessions and team briefings
- start-of-shift briefings
- annual refresher briefings
- shadowing and supervised practice with equipment such as shutters or radios
- e-learning modules and formal courses
The guidance also says a document for staff setting out the procedures, how to follow them and clear roles will probably be appropriate in practice. That could be a quick reference guide or a credit-card-sized prompt card. A prompt card could be lost or found by someone else, so keep codewords and sensitive details off anything that could be lost in public.
A practical layered approach for a standard tier venue:
- Every new starter gets a 15-minute site briefing on the four procedures before working unsupervised. You might also ask them to complete free counter-terrorism awareness e-learning, which is optional.
- Decision makers get a longer session covering decisions, scripts and calling 999, ideally including a tabletop exercise.
- Door and security staff walk the building to learn every access point and how to secure it.
- Everyone takes part in a short refresher at least once a year, and after any change to the procedures.
Free official training and resources
The Home Office's supplementary document on further resources lists counter-terrorism awareness products from Counter Terrorism Policing's ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) programme and the National Protective Security Authority's SCaN (See, Check and Notify) programme. These are the main options, using the names given in that document:
| Product | Format and cost | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| ACT awareness e-learning | Free online course on ProtectUK, in short modules that can be paused. Covers suspicious activity and items, bomb threats and responding to a marauding attacker. | Staff at all levels |
| ACT security e-learning | Free online course | Front-line security operatives |
| ACT e-learning for education | Free online course developed with the Department for Education | Staff in education settings |
| ACT Awareness | Two-hour session delivered in person by Counter Terrorism Security Advisors, depending on their availability | Staff at all levels |
| ACT Operational | Three-hour scenario-based session delivered by Counter Terrorism Security Advisors, depending on availability | Operational supervisors and staff |
| SCaN for All | Free module, best run in person by someone in your organisation for 30 to 60 minutes using facilitator notes, or completed online | Staff at all levels |
The same document lists paid SCaN courses for roles such as CCTV operators and customer-facing staff. Awareness courses build general vigilance, but they do not teach your procedures. The document notes, for example, that ACT security e-learning is not a substitute for premises-specific instruction. You still need to brief staff on your own building. For more options, see free training and resources.
Keeping training records
At the standard tier there is no legal duty to document anything, but records are the simplest way to show an inspector from the Security Industry Authority (SIA) that staff know the procedures. For enhanced tier premises, the guidance says the responsible person should keep a record of training, and considers it a necessary element of the compliance document. A simple log is enough:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Name and role | J. Smith, bar staff (agency) |
| What was covered | Site briefing on four procedures, codewords, reporting |
| How | Induction briefing and ACT awareness e-learning |
| Date and delivered by | Date, and the duty manager who gave the briefing |
| Next refresh due | Twelve months later, or sooner if procedures change |
If staff complete e-learning, you can keep completion certificates with the log as evidence, but no certificate is legally required. See record keeping and evidence for what else to keep.
How often to refresh training
The Act and the statutory guidance do not set a fixed frequency. The guidance mentions annual refresher briefings and e-learning with periodic refreshers as examples. As good practice, consider refreshing:
- at induction, before someone works unsupervised
- at least once a year for everyone
- whenever procedures, layout, codewords or key roles change
- after an exercise or real incident that showed gaps
- more often where staff turnover is high, for example a five-minute item in a monthly team meeting
For example, a 400-capacity bar where many staff are students on casual contracts might add a two-minute procedure reminder to the start-of-shift briefing on busy nights, and run a full refresher at the start of each academic term. That is illustrative only: choose what works for your staffing pattern.
Common mistakes and next steps
- Treating an online certificate as compliance, without explaining your own procedures.
- Training only permanent staff, while casual and agency workers cover the busiest shifts.
- Briefing managers but not the door staff who would actually lock the doors.
- Never refreshing training after the first round.
- Keeping no record of who was briefed and when.
Check your tier with the free checker, make sure your public protection procedures are written down, then brief staff and test the result with a tabletop exercise. Our packs include a staff briefing script, prompt card template and training log.
Frequently asked questions
Is staff training a legal requirement under Martyn's Law?
The Act does not require any specific training course or certificate. However, staff responsible for carrying out procedures must be made aware of them and their role, and be able to carry them out. Without that, Home Office guidance says it is likely to be difficult to show that your procedures are in place.
Do casual and agency staff need training?
Yes, in practice. The statutory guidance defines staff as everyone working at the premises, including contractors and volunteers. Anyone with a role in your procedures should be briefed before they work unsupervised.
Is ACT Awareness e-learning enough on its own?
It is a useful free foundation for spotting and reporting suspicious activity, but it does not cover your own procedures. You still need a site-specific briefing on what staff should do at your premises.
Do door supervisors with an SIA licence need extra training?
The statutory guidance says that staff with prior security training, including SIA licence training, are still likely to need site-specific instruction on the procedures at your premises.
How often should training be refreshed?
The Act does not set a frequency. Annual refreshers are a common good practice, plus a briefing whenever procedures change and more frequent short reminders where staff turnover is high.
Sources
General information based on the Act and published guidance, not legal advice. Check the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK for your situation.