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Practical Guides

Step-by-step walkthroughs to help headteachers, school business managers, and risk owners operate the Risk Register module effectively.

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Guide 1: Adding a New Risk Item to the Register

Risk Register Managers and Administrators can add new risk items directly from the main workspace:
1

Open the Risk Register

Navigate to Risk Register (/risk/register) in the main navigation sidebar.
2

Launch the Creation Dialogue

Click New Risk Item in the table header or the plus icon (+) in the top right of the table.
3

Define Risk Category & Description

  • Risk Area: Select the appropriate category (e.g., Financial Sustainability, Governance & Strategy, Premises & Estate).
  • Description: Enter a clear, concise summary of the identified risk or vulnerability.
  • Owner: Select the responsible staff member from the dropdown of active Risk Register Owners.
4

Evaluate Inherent Risk (Before Controls)

Assess the initial threat level prior to applying mitigation measures:
  • Likelihood before: Choose from Rare (1), Unlikely (2), Likely (3), Highly likely (4), or Extremely likely (5).
  • Impact before: Choose from Slight (1), Moderate (2), Significant (3), Severe (4), or Extreme (5).
  • The composite Level Before is automatically calculated and displayed.
5

Select Strategic Response & Document Controls

  • Response: Select your 4Ts strategy (Treat, Tolerate, Transfer, or Terminate). This defaults to Treat.
  • Controls: Enter concrete operational controls and procedural safeguards implemented to mitigate the risk.
6

Evaluate Residual Risk (After Controls)

Assess the reduced risk level achieved through active control measures:
  • Likelihood after: Select the revised likelihood rating.
  • Impact after: Select the revised impact rating.
  • The composite Level After is automatically calculated.
7

Add Governance Commentary & Save

  • Comment: Enter any explanatory notes for governors or external auditors (e.g. noting recent changes in external factors, budget assumptions, or newly identified hazards).
  • Click Save to publish the risk item to the register.

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Guide 2: In-Place Editing, Scoring & Governance Notes

Risk Register Owners, Risk Register Managers, and Administrators can update and fine-tune individual risks:
1

Open the Risk Item

From the main Risk Register, click on the risk description or select View from the right-hand action dropdown to open /risk/item/{item}.
2

Update Description, Controls, or Commentary

Click the edit pencil icon next to Description, Controls, or Comment. Amend the text in the modal dialogue and click Save.
3

Adjust Risk Scores

Select revised options directly from the colour-coded Likelihood or Impact dropdown menus for either Risk before or Risk after. The overall Risk Level recalculates immediately.
4

Update Response Type or Management Scope

Change the Response (Treat, Tolerate, Transfer, Terminate) or Managed scope (School, Central, School & central) from their respective dropdowns. Changes save automatically.
Keep the Controls field focused on active operational safeguards. Use the Comment field to explain why a score was adjusted, highlight upcoming milestones, or flag external dependencies for governors.

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Guide 3: Managing Risk Areas & Presentation Order

Risk Register Managers can structure the register to mirror school leadership responsibilities:
  1. Navigate to Manage > Areas (or /risk/admin/areas).
  2. Click New Risk Area in the top action bar.
  3. Enter the area name (e.g. Educational Standards & Curriculum Delivery).
  4. Select a default Risk Register Owner for the category.
  5. Save to add the new area to the register.
  • In Manage > Areas, click and drag the handle icon on the left of any area row to reorder the layout.
  • The order established in this view directly determines the presentation sequence in the main Risk Register and exported A3 PDF reports.
  • An area can only be deleted if all risk items within it have been reassigned or archived.
  • To retire an area and preserve historical records, select Archive from the row menu.

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Guide 4: Configuring the School Key Reference Code

Every risk item receives a permanent code combining the school prefix and a three-digit sequential number (e.g. SCH001):
1

Navigate to Area Management

Go to Manage > Areas (/risk/admin/areas).
2

Open Key Configuration

Click the Settings icon near the top of the management page.
3

Enter Key Prefix

Enter your school’s 2–4 letter abbreviation (e.g. HOG for Hogwarts, OAK for Oakridge Academy).
4

Save Configuration

Save your changes. The key prefix will automatically prepend all subsequent risk item IDs.

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Guide 5: Exporting & Printing A3 Landscape PDF Registers

Generate publication-ready PDF documents for governing body meetings, trust audit committees, or external inspections:
  1. Navigate to the main Risk Register (/risk/register).
  2. Click the three-dots dropdown menu (…) in the breadcrumb header and select Print.
  3. The system instantly compiles and streams a clean, colour-coded A3 Landscape PDF report.
  4. The exported dossier includes school branding, key codes, category groupings, pre- and post-treatment matrix scores, full control measure descriptions, review dates, and governance comments.

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Guide 6: Reviewing Revision History & Audit Trails

The module maintains an immutable, time-stamped record of all modifications to ensure complete governance transparency:
1

Open Risk Item History

  • From the main Risk Register, select History from the row dropdown menu.
  • Alternatively, from an open risk item (/risk/item/{item}), click History in the top action menu.
2

Inspect Modification Details

Review the chronological log displaying:
  • The exact timestamp of the update.
  • The name of the user who made the change.
  • The specific attributes modified (e.g. “Controls changed to…”, “‘Likelihood after’ changed to: Likely”, “‘Level after’ changed to: Moderate”).

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Guide 7: Resolving Ghost Owner Alerts

When staff members leave the school or transfer roles, their assigned risk items must be reassigned:
1

Review the Ghost Owner Alert

Risk Register Managers receive an automated weekly email notification listing any risk areas or risk items assigned to unverified, deactivated, or deleted user accounts.
2

Access the Risk Register

Log into the module and open Risk Register (/risk/register).
3

Reassign Individual or Bulk Items

  • Single Item: Open the risk item and select a new active staff member from the Owner dropdown.
  • Bulk Reassignment: Select multiple items using the checkboxes, click the Change Owners action in the bulk action bar, select the new owner, and confirm.