Compliance Audit

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Conceptual Model

The Compliance Audit module structures school-wide regulatory governance through a hierarchical relationship between Compliance Areas and individual Compliance Items:

• Compliance Areas: High-level regulatory categories (such as DfE Website Requirements, Statutory Policies, Governance & Trust Structure, Finance & Procurement, Data Protection (GDPR), or Admissions & Attendance). Each area is assigned a primary Compliance Owner who has overall accountability for that domain.
• Compliance Items: Specific statutory mandates, publishing deadlines, or regulatory checks contained within an area (e.g. Publish Pupil Premium Strategy Statement, Annual Register of Pecuniary Interests, Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) Review, SEND Information Report Publication). While inheriting the area’s owner by default, individual items can be delegated to specialised staff, clerks to governors, or nominated trustees.

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Visual Status Indicators

Every area and item features real-time, colour-coded status bars:

• Green (Compliant / Complete): The compliance check has been reviewed, confirmed as OK, and has a future review date more than four weeks ahead.
• Amber (Due for Review): The compliance item is due for re-assessment within the next four weeks.
• Red (Overdue / Incomplete): The item has never been confirmed, is marked Not OK, or has passed its scheduled review date without re-confirmation.

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Roles & Permissions Matrix

The module provides role-based access control to ensure appropriate segregation of duties, delegation to operational leads, and read-only transparency for governance boards and auditors.

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Operational Screen Tour

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1. Dashboard Summary Widget

Users with Compliance module permissions see a dedicated summary widget on their personal dashboard. The widget displays the overall school compliance completion percentage alongside an alert highlighting items personally owned by the logged-in user.

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2. Main Audit Overview (/compliance/audit)

The main audit hub presents a complete list of all active Compliance Areas:

• Overall Progress Bar: Real-time summary across all active items in the school.
• Area Status Cards: Visual completion bars for each category with direct owner mailto links.
• Search & Filters: Search areas by keyword or filter by specific owner.
• Bulk Actions & PDF Export: Instantly export the full audit or selected areas to PDF.
• Direct Navigation: Access the flat Compliance Items list or the Manage console (for managers).

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3. Compliance Area Detail (/compliance/audit/{area})

Clicking any area opens its dedicated management view:

• Item Evaluation: Expand individual compliance items to inspect statutory criteria and publication mandates.
• Evidence Notes: Add or update detailed operational commentary (e.g. direct links to published website policies, approval dates).
• Status Toggle: Confirm requirements by checking the OK box or uncheck to flag remediation needs.
• Audit History: Access the complete, time-stamped history of all updates and reviews via the top menu.

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4. Review Compliance Items (/compliance/audit/items)

A searchable, filterable master view of all compliance checks across the entire school:

• Filter items by owner, completion status (All, OK, Not OK, Overdue, Due Soon), or search keywords.
• Update items and record notes directly from the master list without navigating into individual areas.

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5. Area & Item Administration (/admin/compliance/areas)

Accessible to Compliance Managers and Administrators:

• Create Custom Areas & Items: Add bespoke compliance checks unique to your school type or federation.
• Drag-and-Drop Reordering: Customise the presentation order of areas and items.
• Enable / Disable / Archive: Toggle off irrelevant items or archive retired requirements without losing historical audit logs.
• MAT Synchronisation: Synchronise standardised trust areas with central templates.

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Review Scheduling & Anti-Creep Logic

Regular compliance reviews ensure policies and website publications remain current. The module automates review cycles with smart date calculation:

1. Standard Confirmation: When a compliance item is marked as OK, its next review date is automatically set to one year from the date of confirmation.
2. Anti-Creep Protection: If an item is reviewed early (within 4 weeks prior to its scheduled review date), the new review date is set to one year from the existing due date rather than the review date. This prevents annual review dates from gradually creeping earlier year after year.
3. Custom Review Frequencies: Review dates can be manually set for any date up to 18 months ahead, accommodating termly, half-yearly, or bespoke inspection intervals.
4. Re-Confirming Due Items: To re-confirm an item that is due or overdue, uncheck the OK box and check it again to record the new confirmation timestamp and advance the review date.

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Automated Notification Schedule

The Compliance module maintains proactive oversight through automated email notifications:

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Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) & Group Coordination

For Multi-Academy Trusts and federations operating across multiple schools:

• Centrally Synchronised Templates: Central trust leaders can define standardised compliance audits. Synchronised areas display a lock indicator at the school level to preserve trust-wide consistency.
• Automated Daily Sync: Updates made to central templates automatically propagate to all connected school audits once daily.
• Local Ownership & Reminders: Even in synchronised areas, school-level staff are assigned as local Compliance Owners. They receive automated weekly reminders and record school-specific evidence comments while maintaining central policy standards.