Introducing The Education Compliance Framework

A new standard for managing compliance across schools, colleges, and Multi-Academy Trusts

In July 2024, Compliance Pod reached a major milestone with the launch of the Education Compliance Framework — a comprehensive model that brings clarity, consistency, and confidence to facilities compliance across the UK education sector.

Developed in collaboration with schools, colleges, and Trusts, the Framework provides a single, authoritative structure for managing every statutory, best-practice, and preventative maintenance task required to operate a safe and compliant education estate.

Why the Framework Matters

For years, compliance management in education has been fragmented — an assortment of spreadsheets, paper records, and varied local practices that made it difficult for leaders to know whether every legal duty was covered.

The Framework changes that. It combines more than 700 tasks across 37 categories, organised under five clear sub-schedules: 

• Core Statutory Safety
• Building Systems & PPM
• Facilities & Operations
• Curriculum & Departmental
• Governance, Safeguarding & Assurance

This structure gives education organisations complete visibility while making workloads manageable for the different teams responsible — from site caretakers to Trust compliance leads.

What It Delivers

The Framework provides:

• Complete assurance – every statutory requirement captured and tracked.
• Audit-ready confidence – all evidence in one accessible, version-controlled location.
• Consistency – standardised schedules reduce variation between schools or campuses.
• Efficiency – tasks are grouped and streamlined to remove duplication and save time.

For leadership teams, it brings peace of mind.
For facilities and operations staff, it brings structure, clarity, and confidence.

What Information Each Task Contains

Every task in the Education Compliance Framework is presented in a consistent, structured format so that schools, Trusts, and colleges can understand exactly what needs to be done, how often, by whom, and what evidence must be retained.

The Framework’s Master Schedule is delivered as a structured spreadsheet and mirrored inside the Compliance Pod system. Each task record includes a detailed set of data fields, ensuring clarity, consistency, and audit-readiness across every site.

Each task includes: 

• Task Number – a unique identifier that allows clear referencing and traceability.
• Sub-Schedule – identifies which of the five broad areas of compliance the task belongs to:
• Core Statutory Safety, Building Systems & PPM, Facilities & Operations, Curriculum & Departmental,
• or Governance, Safeguarding & Assurance. These groupings make it easier for different teams to focus on the sections relevant to them.
• Category and Subcategory – the main compliance area (for example Fire, Water Hygiene, Electrical Safety, Gas Safety, Work Equipment (PUWER)) and its sub-grouping of related activities.
• Task Name – a clear title that combines the category, subcategory, and a concise description of the specific action required.
• Task Description – a short paragraph explaining what the task is, why it matters, and what evidence should be uploaded to Compliance Pod, written in accessible, education-sector language.
• Typical Task Frequency – the usual inspection or servicing interval (for example Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, Every 4 Months (Termly)), based on sector norms but always subject to risk assessment and local context.
• Task Type – whether the work should be carried out by an Approved Contractor or a suitably trained Competent Person within the organisation.
• Task Status – whether the task is
• Statutory, Best Practice, or Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM).
• Priority – classifies importance as Core (must-do), Recommended (strong practice), or Optional (useful enhancement).
• Commonality – indicates how widely applicable the task is across educational estates (Common, Occasional, or Rare).
• Grouping Information – flags whether a task can be combined with related activities to reflect how it is carried out in practice, reducing duplication without losing compliance assurance.
• Evidence – a short note summarising the documentation to be uploaded (for example
• service report, certificate, log extract, or annotated photos).
• Notes – additional context or cross-references where tasks could overlap with other compliance categories (for example, curriculum-based electrical checks).

In the Compliance Pod system, this information is searchable, filterable, and linked directly to task forms, giving users the ability to see exactly what is required, when it’s due, and how compliance will be evidenced.

Re-enforced by the Guidance Library

Every task in the Framework links to a plain-English guidance document explaining:

• What the task involves, step-by-step.
• Why it matters — legal, safety, and educational context.
• Who should carry it out — competent person or approved contractor.
• What evidence to keep — certificates, photos, logs, and reports.

This library transforms the Framework from a checklist into a living knowledge base that supports staff development and assures compliance. Organisations can also add bespoke guidance where local variations or grouped tasks exist, keeping everything consistent and audit-ready.

For Compliance Pod customers, all schedules and guidance documents are available in a dedicated Guidance Library within the system. They can be browsed and downloaded by category or accessed instantly through the active task forms that staff complete every day — ensuring the right information is always at hand.

Fully Integrated with Compliance Pod

The Framework isn’t just a paper model — it’s built into the Compliance Pod system, where every task becomes a live, trackable workflow:

• Tasks generate automatically with due dates, reminders, and evidence uploads.
• Guidance appears directly in task forms for easy reference.
• Evidence is stored securely and version-controlled.
• Dashboards provide real-time Red-Amber-Green (RAG) visibility across every site.
• Issues identified in checks trigger reactive tickets for follow-up and closure.

This integration turns compliance management into a proactive, transparent process — visible from caretaker to CEO.

A Supported Implementation Journey

Implementing the Framework is a guided, low-burden process.
Our account management team works as an extension of your organisation, following a clear sequence:

1. Scoping & Gap Analysis  – reviewing your current arrangements against the Framework and identifying any omissions or overlaps.
2. Organisation Master Schedule (OMS)  – tailoring the Framework to your sites, confirming which tasks apply, how often they are required, and who will be responsible.
3. Site-Level Audit & Evidence Collection – using the OMS as a checklist, each site reviews its own compliance position, confirms which tasks are relevant locally, and uploads any existing evidence or certificates before Go-Live. This process ensures that the system launches with accurate data and complete visibility of current compliance status.
4. System Configuration & Training – we handle the technical setup, data import, and workflow configuration while your teams receive practical training on how to use the system.
5. Go-Live & Review – your first task cycles launch under our active support, with early reporting and fine-tuning to ensure everything runs smoothly. 

From initial workshops to post-Go-Live assurance reviews, Compliance Pod does the heavy lifting — so your teams can focus on running safe, compliant sites.

An Evolving Sector Standard

Since its release, the Framework has already helped schools, colleges, and Trusts bring structure to complex estates, standardise processes across multiple sites, and demonstrate clear evidence of compliance to boards and regulators.

It continues to evolve — with updates reflecting new legislation, Department for Education guidance, and emerging best practice.

By combining the completeness of the Education Compliance Framework, the clarity of the Guidance Library, and the power of Compliance Pod, organisations can move from reactive firefighting to confident, proactive compliance management.

Learn more:

To read more about the Framework click here   

To explore the Education Compliance Resource Library, view sample schedules, download sample Guidance Documents and other Implementation Resources click here