Structured governance assurance for UK school governing boards.

The governance operating system

The whole governance year, connected.

SGAF is the Governance Operating System for UK schools and academy trusts: automated website compliance checks, governor visit plans built from your school's priorities, live risks and the evidence behind the annual statement.

Audit findings become risks. Risks become actions. Actions become the annual statement. Every school rolls up to trust oversight.

The SGAF Boardroom Dashboard showing a demo school's governance year across the summer term

20+ governance checks, delegated and tracked in the Audit Hub

One connected loop from audit finding to annual governance statement

Every school rolls up to one live trust oversight view

Built by a governance practitioner, not a software company

The platform

The whole system, one stage at a time.

Five stages form the assurance loop, from audit finding to annual statement. The sixth is the quality side that grades the whole system and proves it. Pick a stage to see the tools that do the work.

Assurance loop · Audit

Findings surface before they become surprises.

This is where evidence enters the system. Guided checks and an automated compliance crawl tell the board what needs attention this term.

  • Audit HubGuided audits that surface what needs attention this term, delegated by link and tracked.
  • Automated Website ComplianceAn automated crawl of every page and policy, re-run each term and scored.
  • School SummaryDfE published history and your live figures, in one oversight view.
Run the audits →
The Audit Hub summary with a completed governance check ready to review

Assurance loop · Risk

Every finding lands as a risk someone owns.

Audit findings become suggested risks. The board confirms them, scores them and gives each an owner and a review date, so nothing quietly slips.

  • Risk RegisterEvery risk with an owner, a response and a review date, scored inherent and residual.
Own the risks →
The Risk Register with risks scored and given owners and review dates

Assurance loop · Action

Risks become a plan the whole board can track.

Risks and priorities become owned actions and governor visits, planned from your own improvement plan with a named governor on each one. Nothing here is a template.

  • Governor Assurance PlanThe board's single annual plan, built from your school's priorities.
  • School ImprovementYour improvement plan turned into termly governor visits, with named governors.
  • Statutory & CoreA visit plan for every statutory monitoring role.
  • Faith visitsCatholic and Church of England monitoring, Section 48 and SIAMS ready.
Track the actions →
A governor visit plan laid out across three terms with named governors

Assurance loop · Statement

The year's work becomes the annual statement.

Evidence, risks and completed actions assemble into the board-adopted annual governance statement, drawn from data the board already has in front of it.

  • Governance StatementEvidence, risks and actions become the board-adopted annual statement.
  • Board IntelligenceOne termly board pack, assembled from every live data source.
  • Headteacher ReportThe head's termly data feeds the board's briefing.
Sign the statement →
The annual governance statement assembled from the year's evidence and risks

Assurance loop · Oversight

Every school's position, in one live view.

For trusts and federations, each school's risks, audits and reports roll up so the central board sees the pattern, not fragments, and can act on exceptions without chasing.

  • Trust Command CentreEvery school's risk, assurance and governance position in one live view.
  • Completion gridWho has done what across the estate, with delegation and deadlines.
  • Risk rollupEvery school's risks, surfaced in one place for the central board.
See every school →
The Trust Command Centre showing every school's governance position in one grid

The quality half

Grade the whole system, then prove it.

Alongside the assurance loop, the operating system runs the quality side: self-assess the whole of governance across three stages, then have it independently verified.

  • Quality StandardGrades your whole governance system, stage by stage.
  • External ValidationIndependent verification of the standard at £295 per stage. A verification mark you can display.
Prove the standard →
The Quality Standard framework map grading governance across three stages

Pricing

One price. Everything included.

One annual price per school with every member tool included. No feature tiers, no add-ons.

Primary / Nursery

£229

per school per year

Secondary / FE

£329

per school per year

Validation External Validation · £295 per stage · independent verification of the Quality Standard, separate from membership

Invoice and purchase order accepted. Annual billing. Trusts pay per school with central oversight included; we agree the detail on a short call.

See pricing →

Not ready to talk? See where your board stands first.

Run a free check →

Get started

One twenty-minute call. No commitment.

See the whole system with your own school's data in front of you, then decide.

Book a walkthrough