Academies, crisis management and risk management

Last week the website Children & Young People Now carried an article about changes to the academies funding agreement. Various duties have been erased – how these deletions are interpreted depends on your perspective.

One of the requirements struck out was the duty to have a crisis management plan in place before an academy opens. While I am all for reduced bureaucracy for academies (and other schools too), I do hope that academies do still have appropriate arrangements in place before opening.

Crisis management plans are is basic risk management – and it’s not too difficult either. There are plenty of templates on the internet. For example, here, here and here. Have a look; take your pick; tailor to your organisation; and be prepared for the unexpected.

There is no need for lots of consultancy from people like myself – although my rates are very reasonable!

For guidance on risk management more generally, the Academies Financial Handbook is a wealth of information. The Handbook includes templates for risk registers, although I do believe that a simpler methodology may be more user-friendly and manageable for academies. (There is a revised Handbook in the pipeline so there may be amended guidance and templates when that arrives.)

With academies - and organisations generally - it is vital that risk management becomes a continuous thread through governance, management and operations rather than a ritual that is "done" periodically.