South Bank Multi Academy Trust

Business Continuity & Recovery Policy

Approved by Trustees May 2017
Adopted by Governing Body: April 2017
Review Timetable: 3 years
Renewal Date: March 2020

1 WHAT SHOULD THIS POLICY ACHIEVE?

1.1 This Policy sets out how core business functions are maintained in the short, medium and long term in the event of serious disruption.

1.2 Examples of serious disruption include:
 Full or partial denial of access
 Full or partial loss of services (electricity, heating, water, telecoms, internet)
 Loss of key staff or skills
 Potential risk of harm
1.3 For clarity about how each individual academy will respond to site-specific incidents, each academy will have in place its own detailed Disaster Plan, which will provide guidance for senior staff in managing a range of critical incidents and situations.
1.4 Each Disaster Plan will include guidance for Headteachers to follow in relation to handling the media.

2 WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF THE POLICY?

2.1 To minimise the impact of serious disruption on the strategic objectives of the MAT, by protecting as far as possible the core business functions, namely:
 Student welfare
 Staff welfare
 Education of students
 Strategic management of the school
 Finance

 ICT and telecoms systems

3 WHO MANAGES THIS POLICY?
This policy is overseen by the Headteacher of each school, with designated roles delegated to other senior members of staff.

4 ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 The Business Continuity Policy will normally be implemented in response to an emergency incident (see Emergency Response Procedures).
4.2 The Headteacher and other members of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) will assess the scale, impact and likely duration of the incident using Initial Impact Assessment Form (Appendix 1).
4.3 The decision to implement the Business Continuity Policy will be taken by the Headteacher with reference to the Chair of Governors.

5 PRIORITISATION AND FORMULATION OF THE POLICY

Once the decision to implement has been taken, a more detailed assessment of the situation and plan of action in response will be carried out by the Headteacher and designated staff using Detailed Impact Assessment and Action Plan (Appendix 2) and with reference to the Business Continuity Policy Framework (Appendix 3). In general, the Action Plan will prioritise in the following order:
 health, safety and welfare of students and staff
 protection of vital assets: physical, data and reputation
 preservation of urgent and necessary channels of communication
 continuity of core business functions

6 DELIVERY OF THE ACTION PLAN

6.1 The Action Plan will include designation of roles to particular members of staff. The Headteacher will maintain overall oversight and ownership of the Action Plan.
6.2 The Headteacher will arrange regular monitoring of the Action Plan with input from key stakeholders to ensure that it is being delivered effectively and to make any changes necessary.
 resumption of normal business

7 RESUMPTION AND REVIEW

7.1 The Action Plan will include actions towards full resumption of normal business. Once resumption has been achieved, the Headteacher will notify relevant parties that the Action Plan has been concluded.
7.2 The Headteacher will subsequently carry out a full review of the recovery and continuity process and make recommendations for any changes to future Action Plans.

APPENDIX 1: INITIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM

Severity Assessment

*This is the time after which it is presumed to be necessary to implement the Business Continuity Plan

Decision to implement Business Continuity Plan:
Yes/No

APPENDIX 2: DETAILED IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN

APPENDIX 3: BUSINESS CONTINUITY & RECOVERY FRAMEWORK: WOODTHORPE PRIMARY SCHOOL