Risk registers: summary and guidance

Last reviewed on 21 June 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 4347

Don't know your risk register from your risk assessment? Understand what needs to be included and who has responsibility for the register.

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Contents

  1. What are risk registers?
  2. Who needs one?
  3. What's on a risk register?
  4. Who's responsible for the risk register?

Our thanks to Martin Owen, one of our associate education experts, for his help with this article.

What are risk registers?

Risk registers are documents that allow a school's leadership – which includes the governing board – to plan for, track, and monitor key risks and risk controls for the whole school.

Who needs one?

Academies

Risk registers are mandatory in academies, as set out in paragraph 2.38 of the Academy Trust Handbook.

If you're in a multi-academy trust (MAT), there's no rule on whether you need school-level registers as well as, or instead of, a trust-level register. It's about what works for you as a trust.

Our associate education expert, Angela Browne, said her trust only has a trust-level register, which also includes any risks that only apply to one school. For example,

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