Does playing this game make my school compliant with Martyn's Law?

No. Nothing makes a school compliant except having appropriate procedures in place that staff know and can carry out, and notifying the SIA once the Act commences. The game helps people understand how the procedures work. No product, certificate or training course makes you compliant on its own.

Can we use the game in a staff meeting or governor session?

Yes. Put it on a screen, read each situation aloud and agree an answer as a group before choosing. The debrief at the end lists questions to take back to your own plan.

A Week at Ashcombe Vale: a Martyn's Law scenario game for schools

Why this exists

Martyn's Law is named after Martyn Hett, one of 22 people killed in the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017. His mother, Figen Murray, campaigned for years so that venues would be ready. This exercise is about that readiness: the ordinary decisions, made quickly, that keep people safe.

What to expect

This is a tabletop exercise, not an action game. No attack is shown or described. Each scenario stays at the level of published guidance, and the school is fictional. There are no trick questions, and most answers are workable. The point is to find the gaps before a real day does.

Briefing A Week at Ashcombe Vale

Monday

The scenario game needs JavaScript. You can read the same guidance in our complete guide to Martyn's Law.

Use it with staff

Run it as a 15-minute team exercise

Put the game on the screen in a staff meeting or governor session.
Read each situation aloud. Give the room 30 seconds to agree an answer.
Choose, then read the guidance together. Disagreement is the useful bit.
Print the debrief and take its questions to your next plan review.

What it covers

The four procedures every school needs

Martyn's Law asks in-scope schools to have procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable, and to notify the SIA. The game covers all four, plus scope, the responsible person and what the regulator will look for.

What it is not

It will not make you compliant

Nothing on this page, or any product, certifies compliance. The duties are not yet in force and no start date has been set. For where things stand, see the Martyn's Law tracker. For the full picture, read our complete guide.

Questions about the game

Does playing this game make my school compliant?

No. The standard tier duties are to notify the SIA and to have appropriate procedures in place that staff know and can carry out. The game helps people understand those procedures. No product, certificate or course makes a school compliant on its own, and the Home Office, the SIA and NaCTSO do not endorse any.

Is Ashcombe Vale a real school?

No. Ashcombe Vale Academy and Larkspur Learning Trust are fictional. The site plan is a simplified example, and the scenarios stay at the level of published Home Office, ProtectUK and NPSA guidance.

Why is there no attack in the game?

Because the procedures are about what happens in the first minutes, usually with incomplete information: a call from the police, an unattended bag, a disturbance near the gate. That is where good decisions matter most, and where most real incidents stay.

Is it suitable for primary schools?

Yes. Ashcombe Vale is a secondary, but the principles are the same for any school where 200 or more people, staff included, can be on site at once. Primary teams may want to talk through how pick-up time and younger pupils change each answer.

Where should we go next?

Start a draft with our free lockdown procedure generator, then test whether the building supports it with the 12-point readiness checklist. Staff can take the free ACT Awareness e-learning on ProtectUK.

Sources

Scenarios written by Simon Legrand, Founder, Fyrfly Systems. Checked against official guidance on 19 October 2026.