Risk Register

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Quick Start

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Further Setup (Manager Guide)

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1. Configuring the School Key Prefix

Every risk item is automatically assigned a unique reference code combining a short school identifier prefix and an incrementing number (e.g. SCH001, SCH002):

1. Navigate to Manage > Areas (or /risk/admin/areas).
2. Click the Settings icon near the top of the page.
3. Enter your school’s official short abbreviation or acronym (e.g., SCH, OAK, SJP).
4. Save to apply the prefix across all newly created risk items.

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2. Delegating Roles Across Staff & Governors

Distribute risk governance responsibilities across your leadership team and governing board:

• Assigning Risk Register Owners: Navigate to Manage > Owners (or /risk/admin/owners). Assign the Risk Register Owner role to senior leaders, heads of department, estates managers, SENCOs, IT managers, or data protection leads who will actively assess, control, and update assigned risks.
• Assigning Risk Register Viewers: Navigate to Manage > Viewers (or /risk/admin/viewers). Assign the Risk Register Viewer role to school governors, trustees, trust executive officers, or external auditors who require read-only transparency to inspect the register and export A3 PDF reports.

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3. Organising Risk Areas

Access Manage > Areas to tailor your risk register taxonomy to reflect your school’s committee structure or trust risk domains:

• Add Custom Risk Areas: Click New Risk Area to create specific operational categories (e.g. Governance & Strategy, Financial Sustainability & Procurement, Premises & Estate Management, Safeguarding & Pupil Welfare, Staffing & HR, Curriculum & Standards, IT & Cyber Security).
• Assign Area Leadership: Designate a primary Risk Register Owner for each area. You can choose to cascade this owner to all existing items within the category or retain individual item assignments.
• Reorder Structure: Use the drag-and-drop handles on the left of each row to arrange categories in your preferred reporting order.
• Deletion Safeguards: An area cannot be deleted if it contains active risk items. The system also requires at least one active area to exist at all times.

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4. Creating & Rating Initial Risk Items

Populate your register with identified institutional risks:

1. In the main Risk Register (/risk/register), click New Risk Item (or the plus icon in the table header).
2. Select the parent Risk Area, enter a concise Description, and assign the responsible Owner.
3. Evaluate the Inherent Risk (before controls): choose Likelihood before and Impact before (1–5 scale).
4. Select the 4Ts Response Strategy (Treat, Tolerate, Transfer, Terminate).
5. Detail the operational Control Measures implemented to mitigate the risk.
6. Evaluate the Residual Risk (after controls): choose Likelihood after and Impact after (1–5 scale).
7. Record Governance Commentary in the Comment field to provide contextual background for trustees and governors.
8. Save to publish the risk to the register.

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Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) & Central Synchronisation

If your school belongs to a Multi-Academy Trust or group operating a centrally coordinated risk management framework:

1. Central Template Definition: Trust executives can define standard risk areas and statutory risk items in the central trust tenant.
2. Automated Synchronisation: The system propagates central templates to all connected academy schools. Centrally synced items display a locked badge to preserve trust-wide consistency.
3. Local Accountability: Academy leaders retain full autonomy to assign local Risk Register Owners, evaluate school-specific likelihood and impact ratings, implement tailored local controls, and add bespoke commentary.

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Next Steps & Guides