Commonsense risk management for schools

Avoiding knee jerk reactions (and overreactions) by a systematic approach

ESTABLISHING APPROPRIATE RISK management policies is best done away from a crisis, and of course is best done before a crisis hits. In this way balance and perspective can be attained, offering the best chance that the full gamut of risks will be considered.

The following provides commonsense principles for a school community to use to manage its risks:

Identify the school's current business and future aims
Identify the risks to the school's business by three converging paths:
- Open brainstorming (following an appropriate introduction) of key school community stakeholders (including representation from parents, students, the school's PR firm, financial controller, counselor etc as well as council members, heads of departments and junior teachers)
- A structured investigation to identifying possible hurdles to the school's future aims
- A consideration of the relevance of recent known risk incidents (and near-misses) in the industry, such as these
Group similar risks identified from the above process into a structure that is meaningful to the school's board/council and that facilitates clear risk ownership - note that it is likely that a number of strategic and tactical opportunities will also probably have been identified
Ask the board and principal to rate these risks using a simple scale such as:
- Critical and Urgent to school's survival/success - with issues and points needing immediate response
- Critical to school's survival/success
- Important to the school's success
- Less important to the school's success
Confirm the grouping/rating of these risks with the larger stakeholder group, inviting short written responses if an aspect appears to have been lost, and edit the risk assessment accordingly
Consider the Critical and Urgent risks at board/council level, assessing whether:
- Current controls should be improved
- Current reporting can be improved (including generating targeted risk indicators)
- Current formal delegations to the principal are adequate to allow immediate action - these need to be demonstrable to allow clear accountability and action in stress situations
- Current training (including crisis management response) is adequate
Consider the Critical risks at board/council level, in a similar manner, but with recognition that these are likely to be the strategic risks that the board/council is responsible for directly
Establish responsibility and reporting delegations for the Important risks to the appropriate school staff member - this encourages growth in the school's executives, and helps engender a responsible risk culture throughout the school staff as opposed to a "that's not my concern" ethos
Where appropriate, establish and test business continuity/crisis management procedures using a layered approach starting broad-brush with a few senior people around a table and progressively becoming more specific and detailed with involvement of all affected people (even if only to advise them) - and probably leading to the construction and maintainance of a school crisis management kit
Establish a school community wide charter of conduct that includes a behavior/ goal of seeking the best long term interests of the school and its community, and build it into induction training for staff and at a lower level for students and parents - this both states what is expected of staff and students etc and what they can expect of the school
Periodically review the risk assessment and response

The above steps are not a quick fix. Nor will they be quickly put aside and forgotten. They are a responsible and cost-effective means of incorporating and demonstrating a risk culture to balance and protect the other aims of a school.

Contact Austega for facilitation services in these risk management areas.

Last updated:16/5/07

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