Schools track hundreds of compliance requirements: DBS checks, safeguarding training, first aid qualifications, fire safety inspections, risk assessments, and single central records. Most manage this across multiple spreadsheets. Ofsted inspectors are unimpressed.
The Single Central Record
The Single Central Record (SCR) is the most important compliance document in any school. It must contain DBS check details, right to work evidence, qualification verification, and prohibition checks for every member of staff, volunteer, and governor. Maintaining this in a spreadsheet is common but risky — it's easy to miss an entry, and there's no audit trail showing when records were added.
Beyond the SCR
- Training compliance: Safeguarding, prevent duty, first aid, manual handling — each with different frequencies and requirements for different roles.
- PAT testing: All portable electrical equipment needs regular testing. Schools have hundreds of items.
- Fire safety: Extinguisher inspections, alarm tests, evacuation drills — all on schedules that need tracking.
- Risk assessments: Reviewed regularly, signed off, and stored accessibly.
What a Compliance System Provides
- Central dashboard: One view showing all compliance areas with traffic-light status indicators.
- Automated alerts: Email notifications when qualifications, certifications, or inspections are approaching their due dates.
- Ofsted-ready: Pull a current, complete SCR and compliance report in seconds, not hours of spreadsheet wrangling.
Got a Spreadsheet That's Driving You Mad?
Send it over — I'll tell you what an app version would look like and what it'd cost. No obligation.