Effective School Management

Particularly novel and useful in a school context are the concepts of
internal customer/supplier relationships and of describing and recording
systematically the ‘processes’ within the school. This latter activity not only
stimulates an improvement in the way we do things but is also an excellent
preparation for Ofsted inspections and can save an awful lot of frenzied
activity as the invasion approaches!
PERSONAL APPLICATIONS
(1) (a) List your ‘internal customers’ (i.e. those who expect you to ‘produce’ things
for them and in particular those who depend on what you produce in order
to do their own job effectively).
(b) Choose one or more of these ‘customers’, list some of the more important
things that they expect you to produce and against each of them write in
order of importance what you believe to be the criteria (e.g. punctuality,
content, presentation) against which your ‘customer’ judges the ‘quality’ of
your product.
(c) Discuss your findings with your ‘customer’ and the extent to which you are
meeting/exceeding expectations.
(2) (a) Similarly list your internal ‘suppliers’ (i.e. those who are expected to
produce things for you and on whom you depend for your effectiveness).
(b) Choose one or more of them, list what you expect them to produce and
the criteria by which you judge their ‘products’.
(c) Discuss your conclusions with your ‘supplier’.
(3)
Choose one ‘process’ for which you are primarily responsible (e.g.
establishing your departmental budget) and one in which you are involved
(e.g. organizing parents’ evening, preparing the timetable). Describe each

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MANAGING QUALITY, RISK, HEALTH AND SAFETY
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‘process’ as it currently happens. List any problems the last time the
‘process’ was run. Amend the ‘process’ so as to reduce or eliminate these
problems. How would you ensure that the amended ‘process’ was followed?
RISK
Since 2001 charities have been required by law to submit risk-management
statements with their annual reports, confirming that the major risks to which
the charity is exposed, as identified by the trustees, have been reviewed and
systems have been established to mitigate those risks. Although it is only
compulsory for schools in the charitable sector, it is good management practice
for all schools to take stock annually of the risks they face. This enables heads
to focus attention on mitigating the most serious risks, and is helpful as a
defence if negligence is alleged after a serious untoward incident.
Although legal responsibility rests with the governors (trustees) or the
LEA, advice will be required from heads and senior staff. The first step is to
identify all risks that the school faces from any source whatsoever; this is best
done by assembling groups to brainstorm them. Examples of risks are: fraud
or embezzlement, expenditure exceeds income with no reserves to draw on,
failure of IT systems, loss of key staff, accidents, a child abuse incident,
litigation and loss of reputation. They can then be placed in categories, so that
similar risks can be combined if necessary. Next comes a process of scoring
(say, out of 10); judgments are made of the impact of the risk if the worst
should happen, also of the likelihood of it occurring. The product is the ‘risk
score’. Ways of addressing the risk are then identified, and any explanatory
notes added. The results are tabulated as in Figure 12.1.
High-impact, low-likelihood risks may be insurable. Low-impact, high-
likelihood risks require alert day-to-day management attention. High-
impact, high-likelihood risks (say, scores greater than 30, depending on the
school’s risk tolerance) require specific attention and regular monitoring.
Focus on what really matters and don’t waste time agonizing about minor
risks. Can the risk be avoided by ceasing an activity? Can it be transferred by
outsourcing the activity? Can it be controlled by introducing new pro-
cedures? Are the benefits of accepting the risk commensurate with the
drawbacks of running the risk? Remember that life is inherently a risky
business and excessive risk aversion can be damaging. Thus prohibiting
conkers and skipping to reduce the risk of children hurting themselves courts
ridicule and prevents the school from fulfilling its statutory obligation to
teach children to look after themselves by learning the technique of risk
management.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
In a book of this kind it is not appropriate to go into the many detailed
regulations covering health and safety in schools. For these we would refer

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
you to the sources listed at the end of the chapter and, for a readable overview,
to David Brierley’s Health and Safety in Schools (1991) of which details are also
given at the end of this chapter. Since its publication, inspectors have started
to devote more attention to emotional health (work-induced stress). Our
purpose here can only be to discuss some of the key issues and principles
involved in the management of risk, health and safety in schools.