26 Risk Assessment Policy, Including Remote Learning

Purpose

This policy sets out how the school identifies the risks in anything it runs, records them, puts controls in place, and keeps the assessment under review. It applies to online learning and to any activity in person.

What must be assessed

• a new course, timetable or teaching format;
• a new or changed platform, including its chat, camera and recording features;
• the making, storing and viewing of lesson recordings;
• the use of a third-party provider or learning platform;
• any in-person activity, venue, exam sitting or visit;
• any change that affects how pupil data is held or shared.

Method

Each assessment follows the same five steps:

• identify what could cause harm;
• identify who might be harmed and how;
• judge how likely and how serious it is;
• put controls in place to reduce it, and record the risk that remains;
• name the owner and the date the assessment will be checked again.

Remote learning risk assessments

Because the school teaches online, every assessment of a lesson format or platform specifically considers:

• whether group chat is moderated and whether private contact is possible;
• whether recording is needed, who may view it, and how long it is kept;
• whether the content and interactions are age-appropriate;
• what happens if the platform fails during a live session, so a pupil is not left unsupervised or cut off mid-lesson;
• whether a pupil can take part without a camera, and what is asked of them if a camera is required;
• whether the platform is accessible to the pupils who will use it;
• what data the platform holds about pupils, and on what terms.

Third parties and providers

Before a platform or provider is used with pupils, the school carries out due diligence on its safety features, its data handling and its terms, and records the outcome. A provider is not used with pupils before that check is complete.

Approval, records and dynamic risk

• An assessment is approved by its owner, and by the Principal where the residual risk is high, before the activity goes ahead.
• Assessments are kept as records under the school's Records Management and Retention Policy.
• A member of staff may stop or change a live session at once if it becomes unsafe, and reports what happened the same day.

Review

Assessments are reviewed on the date recorded in them, whenever something changes, and after any incident that shows a control did not work. This policy is itself reviewed at least once a year.