Changes to Serious Incident Reporting

Reminder about changes to the Charity Commission’s process for reporting serious incidents – this will affect how your school makes such reports.

In June 2019, the Charity Commission introduced changes to the serious incident reporting process. This seems to reflect the Commission’s strategy (available here) which emphasises that it intends to be less reactive to events and more driven by risk.

Some independent schools have thankfully not had to use the new serious incident reporting system yet so, by way of a reminder, some key points to note are:

• Reports must be made online via a ‘Report a serious incident’ online form. There is no function for attaching a separate document or a covering letter so all relevant information must be included on the form.
• The Commission will require details of when the incident occurred, what impact the incident has had on the charity’s beneficiaries, finances, staff, operations or reputation, and the steps taken to deal with the incident and to prevent similar incidents.
• The Commission’s online form also requires specifics of the incident. For instance, schools reporting a safeguarding matter will be asked to describe i) the breach which has occurred, and ii) any significant current risk of harm to those who come into contact with the school. It is therefore important to ensure relevant information is available when completing the form.
• Trustees should be mindful of the importance of full and frank disclosure. Given there is a restriction on the permitted number of characters for answers to certain questions, it is imperative that answers are succinct but sufficiently detailed for the Commission to form a view of the incident and any implications for the charity.
• The Commission has helpfully published guidance on data protection and confidentiality.  Schools should familiarise themselves with this to ensure any sharing of personal data (including special category personal data) is lawful, fair and transparent. For example, the Commission does not require personal data of those involved in the incident to be reported unless the incident cannot be reported without such information being disclosed. Before sharing such data, schools should review (amongst other things) the lawful basis of sharing personal data and take advice, if in doubt.
  Schools should also note that the Commission is subject to the Freedom of Information Act and requests can be made to share the information that it holds. This means the Commission cannot routinely guarantee that information provided will be kept confidential. Advice should be sought where the information being provided is particularly sensitive and/or if you feel a particular exemption applies, as this will need to be clearly communicated to the Commission.

We recommend that schools keep a register of serious incidents to help monitor and assess those incidents that were reported to the Commission (and those that are not). Schools should always be mindful of any data and confidentiality implications of the information contained in this register, and put in place appropriate security controls on access and limits on any personal data recorded.

Internally, there may also be advantages in putting in place guidance for reporting serious incidents, clarifying when incidents should be brought to trustees’ attention, who to inform/seek assistance from, and steps to take when considering whether or not to make a report. However, schools should also be mindful that documents which become a ‘policy’ can also create difficulties, and serious incidents are often highly nuanced and specific to the particular prevailing circumstances. Accordingly, whilst internal guidance may be helpful, these factors should be borne in mind.

What is a serious incident?

The Charity Commission requires charities (including charitable independent schools) to report ‘serious incidents’. The Commission’s guidance defines a serious incident as an adverse event, whether actual or alleged, which results in or risks significant:

• harm to your school’s beneficiaries, staff, volunteers or others who come into contact with the school;
• loss to your school’s money or assets;
• damage to your school’s property;
• and/or harm to your school’s work or reputation.

All charities should report serious incidents to the Commission promptly. If trustees fail to report a serious incident that subsequently comes to light, the Commission may consider this to be mismanagement. This may prompt regulatory action particularly if, for example, further damage or abuse has occurred following the initial incident.

All independent school governors, as charity trustees, bear ultimate responsibility for deciding whether an incident should be reported, although in practice the report can be made by a senior employee (such as the Bursar acting on behalf of, and with authority from, the governors).

The Charity Commission has identified six main categories of reportable incidents and has published an examples table (available on the above link) to help trustees determine which incidents to report. Governors may find this helpful when considering whether to make a serious incident report.

Changes to the reporting process