Quality Management Framework

Info

Status: pending-signoff · Version: 05.26 · Last reviewed: 2026-05-21 · Next review: 2027-05-21 Owner: Proprietor · Approved by: Proprietor + Governing Body

1. Purpose of this document

This Quality Management Framework sets out how The Haven plans, delivers, monitors and improves its specialist online education provision. It is the single reference point for our quality management system.

The Haven is not certified to ISO 9001:2015. Instead, we operate a documented quality management system aligned with the principles of ISO 9001:2015 and proportionate to the scale and nature of a specialist online education provider. This document maps our existing governance, policies and operational practice to those principles, and identifies the underlying documents where each is evidenced in more detail.

Our full suite of operational policies is published openly at policies.thehavenonline.school and is available to commissioners, partners and the public.

2. Scope

This framework applies to all activities of The Haven, including:

• Specialist online education, from the Back to Balance reintroduction-to-learning programme through to full-time provision and GCSE-level study.
• Mentoring, Neurodiversity University, clubs, entrepreneurship and Preparing for Adulthood, which are included as standard.
• Partnership working with schools, Local Authorities and statutory services. It applies to all staff, volunteers, contractors and governors in the conduct of Haven business.

3. Quality Policy

The Haven is committed to delivering high-quality, neuro-affirming education to neurodivergent young people.

We operate a quality management system aligned with the principles of ISO 9001:2015, proportionate to our size and the nature of our work. Our system is designed to ensure that:

• The young people and families we serve are at the centre of every decision we make.
• Our practice is consistently neuro-affirming and informed by lived experience; all of our educators are themselves neurodivergent.
• Safeguarding is embedded in every part of our work and meets statutory and regulatory expectations.
• We measure outcomes systematically and use what we learn to improve.
• Our staff are competent, supported, supervised and developed.
• We comply with all relevant legal, regulatory and ethical requirements.
• We review the quality management system, our risks, and our performance at least annually. This policy is owned by the Head and approved by the Board of Governors. It is reviewed annually or sooner where statutory or regulatory changes require.

Signed:

____________________________ Chair of Governors Date: ______________

____________________________ Head Date: ______________

____________________________ Proprietor Date: ______________

4. Mapping to ISO 9001:2015 principles

The seven quality management principles of ISO 9001:2015 are applied at The Haven as set out below. The right-hand column references the operational policies in which each principle is evidenced in further detail; the full policy set is published at policies.thehavenonline.school.

5. Risk-based thinking, safeguarding and business continuity

Risk-based thinking is embedded across our quality management system, consistent with the 2015 revision of ISO 9001. Risks are managed at three levels:

• Strategic risk: the Board of Governors maintains and reviews a strategic risk register. Risks to delivery, finance, reputation, regulatory standing and safeguarding are reviewed at scheduled governor meetings.
• Operational risk: management-level risk assessments cover service delivery, online safety, lone working, off-site activity, and medical and first-aid arrangements.
• Learner-level risk: individual risk and reasonable-adjustment plans are held for learners where indicated, with clear escalation routes to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Business continuity is documented separately and covers loss of key systems, key-person dependency, and safeguarding continuity. Our cyber and data protection arrangements are governed by a dedicated policy set covering data protection, privacy, cyber security, BYOD, and the responsible use of AI.

6. Document control and review cycle

All policies referenced in this framework are version-controlled, dated, and assigned an owner. Policies are reviewed annually as a minimum, or sooner where statutory or regulatory guidance changes. The current published versions of every policy referenced in this framework are available at policies.thehavenonline.school, where the date of last refresh is shown.

This Quality Management Framework is owned by the Head, approved by the Board of Governors, and reviewed annually or earlier where service or regulatory changes require.

7. Regulatory and accreditation context

The Haven operates under the legal entity of its charitable owner, registered in England and Wales (1196655) and in Scotland (SC054837). The provision is therefore subject to charity regulation alongside the regulatory requirements of online education.

The Haven is currently progressing through the Department for Education’s Online Education Accreditation Scheme, assessed by Ofsted. This process provides an independent external review of our quality, safeguarding, curriculum, leadership and management arrangements against the published Online Education Accreditation Standards.

Our quality management system, as set out in this framework, is designed to satisfy these regulatory regimes and to support orderly external assurance through routes including Local Authority commissioning reviews, examination board moderation, independent safeguarding audit, and Ofsted accreditation.

8. Contact

Questions about this Quality Management Framework, or requests for specific underlying policies, should be directed to:

The Head

The Haven

68 South Green Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9HP

Web: thehavenonline.school

Policy library: policies.thehavenonline.school

Document version	1.0
Date issued	May 2026
Next review	May 2027
Document owner	Head
Approved by	Board of Governors

ISO 9001:2015 principle	How The Haven applies it	Where it is evidenced
Customer focus	The young people and families we serve are at the centre of every decision. We capture their voice through learner surveys, parent and carer feedback, structured check-ins, and the lived insight of our staff team. Feedback is triangulated with safeguarding and outcomes data and used to inform service development.	Quality Assurance Policy (sections 5.1, 5.2); Statement of Purpose; Complaints Policy; Admissions and Referrals Policy.
Leadership	The Haven is governed by a Board of Governors that holds operational and strategic oversight. The Head is responsible for educational and safeguarding delivery, supported by the Designated Safeguarding Lead. The Proprietor holds ultimate accountability. Roles, responsibilities and reserved decisions are documented.	Governance Structure document; Governor Responsibilities; Statement of Purpose; scheme of delegation.
Engagement of people	Our educators are recruited through safer recruitment, inducted, supervised, and supported through annual appraisal and ongoing reflective supervision. Lived experience of neurodivergence is a core competency. Staff competence against statutory training requirements is monitored. Volunteers and contractors are governed by the same expectations.	Safer Recruitment Policy; Staff Conduct Policy; Quality Assurance Policy (section 4.5); Whistleblowing Policy; Ex-Offenders Policy.
Process approach	Our delivery is structured as defined processes: the learner journey from referral and admission, through Back to Balance, into part-time or full-time placement, GCSE progression and transition or Preparing for Adulthood. Each process has documented entry, delivery and exit points.	Admissions and Referrals Policy; Teaching and Learning Policy; Attendance Policy; Statement of Purpose; commissioning documentation set.
Improvement	Quality assurance operates on a termly review cycle with annual strategic evaluation. Findings from observations, learner and parent voice, complaints, safeguarding audits and external reviews feed into documented improvement actions, which are tracked to completion and reported to the Board of Governors.	Quality Assurance Policy (sections 4 and 8); Complaints Policy; safeguarding audit cycle; governor meeting minutes.
Evidence-based decision making	Decisions are informed by data: learner attendance and engagement; learner progress; outcomes; training evaluation; family feedback; safeguarding records and chronologies; financial and risk indicators. Governors receive termly dashboards covering safeguarding, attendance, engagement, progress, complaints, and quality assurance themes.	Quality Assurance Policy (section 4.6); Data Protection Policy; governor dashboard cycle.
Relationship management	We work in partnership with families, schools, Local Authorities, commissioners, examination boards, professional networks, and funders. Partnership and commissioning expectations are documented in our terms and conditions and contractual agreements. External quality assurance includes Local Authority monitoring, examination moderation, and preparation for Ofsted Online Education Accreditation.	Terms and Conditions; Statement of Purpose; Quality Assurance Policy (section 6); commissioning documentation set.