Competent person support
A named source of professional advice for CEOs, trustees, central teams and school leaders.
Health and safety consultants
for academy trusts and MATs.
National support. Clear oversight.
We help CEOs, trustees and central teams understand where schools are exposed, strengthen accountability and evidence the action taken to control health, safety and fire risks.
Remote support is available nationally. Site visits are easiest to arrange across the South East and Cumbria.
THE TRUST-LEVEL PROBLEM
A policy does not prove every school is in control.
Multi-academy trusts often have central policies, school-level ownership and a changing estate. The gap appears when leaders cannot see whether responsibilities are understood, actions are complete or repeated issues are being dealt with consistently.
- Can you compare safety performance across schools?
- Are audit findings assigned, tracked and checked?
- Is competent advice available when difficult decisions arise?
- Can trustees see the evidence behind leadership assurance?
Build a clearer picture across the trust.
We combine competent person advice, independent audits, fire safety support and Leadership Protection so central teams can prioritise action and show how risks are being managed.
Trust-wide audit programmes
Comparable findings across schools, with priorities that can be reviewed centrally.
Leadership Protection
A Shield Audit of governance, accountability, competence and evidence of follow-through.
Fire safety and premises risk
Fire risk assessments, fire door inspections and practical management plans.
Safety management systems
A common framework that connects policies, procedures, duty holders and action plans.
Incident and RIDDOR advice
Support with reporting decisions, proportionate investigation and learning after incidents.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR CEOS AND TRUSTEESTrust leaders need more than assurance.
Trust leaders need more than assurance.
They need evidence.
01
Identify exposure
Review where schools differ, where action is overdue and where accountability is unclear.
02
Set ownership
Connect significant risks to named duty holders, procedures and resources.
03
Act on findings
Turn audits, incidents and advice into assigned actions with realistic timescales.
04
Evidence control
Use management review and repeat checks to show decisions and improvements.
COMMON TRUST SCENARIOS
Where we usually start.
THE PROBLEM
“Every school reports differently.”
Central teams receive inconsistent updates, making it hard to compare risk, action status and assurance.
THE SUPPORT
Comparable audits and reporting.
We help create a clearer view of findings, priorities and repeated themes across schools.
THE PROBLEM
“We have delegated safety, but can we evidence oversight?”
Delegation can leave trustees relying on summaries without seeing the quality of control behind them.
THE SUPPORT
Leadership Protection.
We review accountability, competent advice, reporting and follow-through so leadership can challenge and evidence decisions.
THE PROBLEM
“Known issues are not closing quickly enough.”
Actions can sit across different spreadsheets, systems and schools without a clear owner.
THE SUPPORT
Action plans with ownership.
We help connect findings to owners, timescales, escalation and management review.
CHOOSING YOUR SUPPORT
Clear scope. A practical next step.
Understand the support before making a commitment.
Can one service support every school in our trust?
We can agree a coordinated scope across your trust, with named competent advice, comparable school audits and priorities for central teams. The arrangements should reflect each school’s risks and the responsibilities held at school and trust level.
Can you help central teams compare audit findings?
Our trust-wide audit programmes can provide comparable findings and prioritised actions across schools. We help connect findings to owners, timescales and management review so CEOs, trustees and estates teams can understand where action is needed.
Do you offer national academy trust support?
Remote health and safety advice is available nationally. Site visits are easiest to arrange in the South East and Cumbria. We agree the delivery arrangements, travel requirements and scope for your trust before work starts.
What should we bring to the first Teams call?
Tell us how many schools and sites you manage, their locations, your current competent advice arrangements and the main concerns you want to address. Recent audit findings or incident trends can help us decide whether retained support, school audits or a Leadership Protection review is the right first step.
WE’RE ON YOUR SIDE
Request a leadership consultationWin a clearer view of your trust’s exposure.
Start with a Teams call. We will help you decide whether competent support, audits or a Shield Audit is the right first step.