Strengthening governance and security at Lady Margaret School

The challenge for Lady Margaret School 

The school wanted to strictly adhere to statutory requirements while holding the board accountable for the decisions and subsequent outcomes. This needed a comprehensive strategy to align operational practices with regulatory standards and improve accountability measures within the school's governance framework.  

The school provided insight into the reasons behind choosing Juniper as their internal audits partner. 

Lady Margaret School chose to work with Juniper Education as it was clear that Juniper was committed to delivering an internal scrutiny service that provided independent assurance to The Governing Body that its financial and non-financial controls and risk management procedures were operating effectively.

A comprehensive solution to school governance and security   

Over the past 18 months, Juniper Education has helped the school by talking to key stakeholders to understand its current situation and processes, creating an audit plan, and carrying out the audit to identify any gaps and deviance from their plans or the board’s requirements. 

Juniper’s consultants collaborated closely with Lady Margaret School, addressing critical cases and offering their expertise in enhancing security and governance practices.  

The school emphasised specific areas of support where Juniper has assisted in meeting its internal scrutiny requirements, contributing to the school's success. 

“In 2022/2023 the school commissioned both a Cyber Security and Governance scrutiny. Each was led by one of Juniper’s experts who was able to map out a programme of work tailored to the school and its risk profile. The field work was conducted within agreed timeframes with key stakeholders and the information required for each scrutiny was provided in advance. The reports were delivered from Juniper by the deadline and presented in a clear and workable format. Importantly, each expert was able to share their expertise and best practices and therefore assist the school in broadening its knowledge base and improving its practice. 

The annual Internal Scrutiny report required by the ESFA each year was also delivered by Juniper well in advance of the annual audit taking place and the ESFA submission deadline."

An ongoing partnership 

Lady Margaret School continues to use Juniper Education’s services for audit days, indicating ongoing trust and reliance on the expertise received to enhance its internal scrutiny and risk mitigation efforts.