Standard internal scrutiny practices, including compliance checks against legislation and internal procedures, are essential for any multi-academy trust. They offer a critical check and balance, helping to ensure the trust's legal and operational health. However, what happens when these traditional approaches overlook hidden risks, those which lie ...

Internal scrutiny: friend or foe?

Internal scrutiny is an important part of your trust risk management and should be seen as a tool that provides reassurance, unbiased advice and strategic recommendations for your organisation. However, it is often viewed as a 'scary' audit where an outside company is picking fault with the processes and procedures in your trust. This shouldn't be ...

7 steps to effective internal scrutiny (part 2)

Internal scrutiny is at the heart of risk management, providing oversight of your management controls, reducing risk to your trust and ultimately benefiting pupils by ensuring resources are protected and used properly. The first blog in this series focussed on the steps for effective internal scrutiny before any audits take place. In part two, we'r...

7 steps to effective internal scrutiny

Internal scrutiny can be so much more than a tick box exercise to meet a regulatory requirement. With the right people and a strong plan in place, internal scrutiny becomes an effective tool which provides reassurance, unbiased advice and strategic recommendations for your organisation. Here at Keystone Knowledge, we believe that there are seven st...

With today's difficult recruitment climate, retaining talented staff is more important than ever. Effective policies around wellbeing, workload and flexible working all help to improve staff morale and help retention, but at what point does staff engagement really start? The onboarding process? The interview process? Or even before candidates have ...

Recruitment in the education sector can be a challenge, particularly in the current economic climate. Retaining talent and attracting quality candidates to your setting shouldn't just start when you have vacancies, it's part of a long-term strategy. Your strategic thinking around recruitment should include: What will your team look like in a year's...

The last couple of years have helped to show the general public how schools are more than 9am to 3pm providers of education to children. That they are centrepieces of communities, the facilitators of childcare that enable parents to go to work, one of the first lines in safeguarding, and essential contributors to the social development of our young...