| 17 August 2026
Protective security is not the responsibility of one team or person alone.
Across health and social care, the people who regularly interact with patients, service users, visitors, colleagues and the public play an important role in identifying potential risks and raising concerns. Reception teams, ward staff, community practitioners, estates and facilities teams, volunteers, security personnel and other frontline staff are often closest to what is happening on the ground – making their awareness, judgement and vigilance an important part of an effective protective security approach.
With the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, commonly known as Martyn’s Law, bringing greater focus to preparedness and public protection, healthcare organisations are increasingly looking to strengthen workforce awareness as part of a wider approach to safety, security and resilience.
The statutory guidance supporting the Act makes clear that staff should understand relevant protective security procedures and their role in implementing them effectively. It also states, as good practice, that all staff should be alert to suspicious items and behaviours, know how to report concerns and understand the importance of reporting them quickly.
This is where effective counter-terrorism awareness starts: not by turning every member of staff into a security specialist, but by giving people the knowledge to recognise potential threats and respond appropriately.
Introducing the Level 2 Award in Counter-Terrorism Protective Security Awareness
To support organisations in developing this workforce awareness, Skills for Health is working with Skills for Justice Training to deliver the Level 2 Award in Counter-Terrorism Protective Security Awareness (CTPSA).
As with our partnership in delivering the Level 3 Award in Counter-Terrorism Protective Security and Preparedness (CTPSaP), this collaboration brings together specialist expertise in counter-terrorism and protective security with Skills for Health’s deep understanding of health and social care environments.
Designed by SFJ Awards for staff working in public-facing environments, the Level 2 qualification develops the essential understanding needed to maintain vigilance, appreciate individual roles in protective security, and understand the immediate actions to take in response to a potential threat.
The one-day, online course helps staff working in, or supporting, healthcare settings become informed contributors to organisational preparedness and resilience, providing timely observations and information to those with more formal counter-terrorism and protective security responsibilities.
This is particularly relevant in healthcare environments, where large numbers of patients, visitors and contractors move through sites every day. The Level 2 Award gives staff a stronger understanding of the part they play in protecting people and places, supporting the statutory guidance that “Training, learning, instruction or overall counter-terrorism awareness will usually be necessary to ensure that staff are informed and competent to implement public protection procedures and measures”.
Learn from expert practitioners
The value of protective security awareness training lies in making it relevant to the realities people face in their working environment.
Our partnership combines decades of operational experience in counter-terrorism policing, protective security, intelligence, major event security and crisis response with Skills for Health’s deep understanding of healthcare delivery, workforce development and the practical realities of health and social care environments.
Together, this expertise ensures that protective security principles are translated into learning that is relevant, practical and applicable across hospitals, community services, mental health settings, primary care and wider care environments.
We can also tailor delivery for organisational and group bookings, enabling learning to reflect your operating environment, workforce roles and existing procedures – supporting a consistent approach across teams responsible for safety, security and incident response.
“Skills for Justice are the gold standard and that was reflected in the trainers and the professionalism of the whole process.”
– Learner with Skills for Justice Training
Find out more about the Skills for Justice expert trainers >
Different people have different roles to play in protective security
At the foundation of effective protective security and a whole-of-society approach to public safety is workforce awareness: ensuring people understand that a terrorist attack could occur, can recognise potential indicators and know how to report concerns.
Beyond that sits the more advanced capability required by those responsible for assessing information, evaluating risk, overseeing preparedness and making informed protective security decisions.
The statutory guidance supporting the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 reflects this distinction. It recognises that staff with specific responsibilities may require different or additional training, learning or instruction, tailored to their role and the procedures and measures in place.
Start building workforce awareness
The SFJ Awards Level 2 Award in Counter-Terrorism Protective Security Awareness is now available for healthcare organisations through Skills for Justice Training.
If your organisation is looking to strengthen counter-terrorism awareness among staff working in patient-facing and public-facing roles, find out more and register your interest in upcoming Level 2 delivery.
Register now