School governance terms, defined plainly
Answer paragraph: This glossary defines the governance, risk and compliance terms that principals, business managers.

Thirty minutes, your data, no slides.
Answer paragraph: This glossary defines the governance, risk and compliance terms that principals, business managers, chairs and board secretaries meet in the running of an Australian independent school, and the terms EthosOne uses inside the product. The definitions are the ones the product is built on, drawn from the EthosOne product specification, so a word means the same thing on this page, on a board report and on a screen. Where a term belongs to the sector first, the sector meaning comes first and the product use follows. Each entry names the EthosOne module it belongs to and links to the page that describes it.
Above appetite
In the sector, a risk sits above appetite when its residual rating is higher than the level the board has said it will accept. In EthosOne a risk carries the status Above appetite when its residual rating exceeds the appetite set for its category, and the School Dashboard counts it as outside appetite until it is treated, escalated or formally accepted. Module: Risk Management, Entity Dashboard See: /iso-31000-risk-software-for-schools,
Action
An assigned unit of work with one owner, a due date and a source record that explains why it exists. Actions are created from risks, compliance items, resolutions, projects and reviews across EthosOne, and an action is complete only when its completion conditions are satisfied, not when someone ticks a box. Module: Actions See:
Activity
A deliverable unit of work inside a strategic initiative. Activities belong to the strategy and are distinct from global actions, which are assigned units of work anywhere in EthosOne. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Adopt
When an entity accepts a group policy under defined terms rather than copying it. Adoption keeps the link to the group version, so the entity inherits later changes under the same terms. Module: Policies See:
Agenda item
An ordered subject for a meeting. Each agenda item can carry papers, the files supplied for it that hold governance status, and can lead to a resolution. Module: Meetings See:
All entities
The group view with no entity focus applied, so totals and lists cover every entity in the group. Module: Group Overview, Organisation Context and Switching See:
Applicability
In the sector, the decision that a law, framework or requirement applies to your school, which is an accountable organisational judgement rather than legal advice. In EthosOne an applicability review records who made that decision, when and why, for both legislation and regulatory frameworks, and a requirement can be marked not applicable with a rationale. Module: Legislation, Regulation See: /legislation,
Approver
The authority who formally authorises a version, an assessment or a report. Approval is distinct from review: a reviewer checks content, an approver accepts it. Policies, procedures, risk assessments and board reports each name an approver. Module: Policies, Procedures, Risk Assessments, Board Reports See: /school-policy-software, /procedures, /school-risk-assessments,
Archive
Remove a file, department or committee from normal use while keeping its full history. Archive is not delete: EthosOne retains archived records and warns before archiving anything still in use, subject to retention or carrying open work. Module: File Vault, Organisation Structure See: /file-vault,
As at
The time at which report or group data was resolved. Every EthosOne report and group aggregation carries an as-at time so the reader knows exactly when the figures were true, and the product never labels stale data as current. Module: Reporting, Group Overview See: /reporting,
Assessor
The person who performs a risk assessment. The assessor is distinct from the risk owner who manages a register risk, and from the approver who accepts the assessment. Module: Risk Assessments See:
Assurance log
A configurable register for recording assurance activity such as inspections, checks, incidents or observations. An assurance log runs in one of two modes: an internal, authenticated Assurance Log, or a public Form for external submissions. Logs is the group-level navigation label for the module. Module: Assurance Logs See:
Attestation
An authorised declaration that a compliance requirement has been met. An attestation is a formal statement by a person with authority, distinct from an evidence review. Module: Compliance See:
Baseline
The approved scope and schedule a project is measured against. Setting a baseline fixes the reference; changing dates afterwards is a rebaseline, not an edit. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Board pack
The published set of papers and reports supplied for a board or committee meeting. In EthosOne a board pack is an immutable, board-readable version, not a working draft. Module: Board Reports, Meetings See: /school-board-governance-software,
Board report
A governed report for a reporting period, assembled from section owners' contributions and taken through review, approval and publication. A board report is not a dashboard: it has a scope, an as-at date and provenance. Module: Board Reports See:
Camp
An excursion involving an overnight stay. Camps follow the same lifecycle as excursions in EthosOne, with readiness requirements, consent, a departure check and a post-activity review. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
Carried and lost
In the sector, a motion is carried when it meets the approval threshold and lost when it does not. EthosOne records these as the formal outcomes of a resolution and uses the formal words rather than approved or rejected. Module: Resolutions See:
Cause
The condition that gives rise to a risk. EthosOne records each risk as cause, event and consequence so a risk title is never mistaken for its cause. Module: Risk Management See:
Chair
The person presiding over a board or committee. In EthosOne the chair is appointed to a committee for a dated term and is distinct from the owner of any work that committee creates. Module: Organisation Structure, Meetings See:
Change event
A detected change to a legislative source or version that needs review. EthosOne raises a change event rather than updating silently, so an accountable person reviews what changed and whether any obligation moves. Module: Legislation See:
Child Safe Standards
In the sector, the standards each Australian state and territory sets for how organisations keep children safe, which schools must implement and be able to evidence. In EthosOne the obligations that flow from these standards are tracked as compliance items with owners and accepted evidence, and the related policies are held as controlled versions. Module: Compliance, Policies, Legislation See: /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools, /school-policy-software,
Classification
The access and sensitivity category of a file in the File Vault. Classification governs who can see a file; it is not the file type. Module: File Vault See:
Committee
A governed group with a mandate (its purpose and authority), dated membership, a chair, a secretary who administers the record, and a quorum rule. Committees are distinct from departments, which are operational units. Module: Organisation Structure See:
Company Settings and Group Settings
Company Settings are the entity-level settings for one school or organisation, including its icon (the square brandmark), logo (the horizontal lockup), dashboard cover photo and the six-colour palette. Group Settings are the equivalent at group level. Reset to EthosOne defaults replaces the scoped values with the platform defaults. Module: Settings See:
Compliance calendar
In the sector, the schedule of recurring obligations a school must meet through the year, such as registrations, returns, checks and reviews. In EthosOne the Calendar is a time view of compliance items, and the Table view is the source-of-truth register that the calendar and the dashboard reconcile to. Module: Compliance See:
Compliance item
A scheduled occurrence of compliance work generated from an obligation. Each item identifies its obligation, its owner, its due date or recurrence, the evidence required and the review rule. Module: Compliance See:
Compliant
The status of a compliance item whose requirements have been accepted after evidence review. Compliant is never applied by ticking a box: where evidence is required, it is reviewed first. Module: Compliance See:
Conflict of interest
In the sector, an interest declared by a board or committee member that affects their participation in a decision. EthosOne records declared conflicts against the meeting and uses them to determine who is an eligible voter on a resolution. Module: Meetings, Resolutions See:
Consent
The required permission record from a participant or guardian for an excursion or camp. Consent is a readiness requirement for the activity, not approval of the plan. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
Consequence
The potential outcome if a risk occurs. Consequence is recorded separately from cause so that ratings can be explained. Module: Risk Management See:
Control
In the sector, an existing measure that reduces the school's inherent exposure to a risk, such as a policy, a check, a rule or a physical safeguard. In EthosOne each control has an owner, a status and evidence, and its state (actively controlled, passively controlled, in progress or not effective) supports the residual rating. A control is something already in place; planned work is a treatment. Module: Risk Management, Entity Dashboard See: /iso-31000-risk-software-for-schools,
Controlled version
An identified, approved revision of a policy. EthosOne treats the controlled version as the policy, not the latest file someone uploaded. Module: Policies See:
Coordinator
The person preparing and coordinating an excursion or camp plan. The coordinator is distinct from the approver. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
Course
Versioned learning content with a completion rule and, where required, an assessment (a knowledge or competency check). Completion evidence is the persisted proof that the criteria were met, and a completion stays current until its valid-until date. Module: Training See:
Deactivate
Remove a user's future access while keeping their history. Before deactivation EthosOne prompts for a responsibility transfer of any open work the person owns. Module: Users and Access See:
Department
An operational unit within an entity. Departments are distinct from committees, which are governed groups with a mandate. Module: Organisation Structure See:
Departure check
The final confirmation before an excursion or camp begins. It is a live check on the day, not an approval snapshot. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
Dependency
A required predecessor relationship between milestones or tasks in a project. EthosOne rejects a dependency that would create a cycle. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Due soon
An open action or compliance item whose due date falls inside the configured forward window. Due soon is distinct from overdue. Module: Actions, Compliance, Entity Dashboard See: /actions, /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools,
Effective date
The date a version of an Act, regulation or framework begins to operate. This is the date that matters for applicability, not the date it was uploaded. Module: Legislation, Regulation See: /legislation,
Eligible voter
A member allowed to vote on a resolution once conflicts of interest have been applied. Eligibility is settled before the vote, and attendance alone does not make someone eligible. Module: Resolutions See:
Entity scope
A group-level filter that focuses the group view on one entity. It is a reversible viewing filter (the product says viewing, not working in) and it does not grant write access to that entity. Module: Organisation Context and Switching, Group Overview See:
Entity view
The full operational application for one organisation. Enter entity leaves the group view and activates that entity's application; Exit to Group view returns. Module: Organisation Context and Switching See:
Evidence
Material that demonstrates a requirement has been performed or a control operates. Evidence is more than an attachment: it is linked to the item, reviewed and accepted, and it carries a decision history. Module: Compliance, Regulation, Risk Management See: /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools, /school-registration-and-review,
Exception
A time-bound, authorised departure from a compliance requirement, approved by someone with authority and recorded with its rationale. An exception is not called an exemption unless that is the legally accurate word. Module: Compliance See:
Exceptions and escalations
The School Dashboard list of items that need leadership attention: risks above appetite, overdue work and escalated matters. Each row links to its source record. Module: Entity Dashboard See:
Excursion
An off-site school activity, planned through readiness requirements, consent, approval, a departure check and a post-activity review. An excursion with an overnight stay is a camp. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
File record and file version
A file record is the stable identity and metadata of a file across all its versions; a file version is one immutable uploaded revision. Uploading a new version never overwrites the old one, and linked usage shows every record that references the file. Module: File Vault See:
File Vault
The governed organisational file store in EthosOne. Files carry a classification, versions, linked usage and a status (uploading, processing, available, quarantined or archived). Module: File Vault See:
Framework
A structured set of regulatory or accreditation requirements, such as the registration standards for a school, ELC, RTO or nonprofit. EthosOne activates a sector-specific framework so different frameworks are never conflated. Module: Regulation See:
Group overview
The portfolio-level summary across every entity in a group, showing status as at an aggregation time. If any entity's data is unavailable, the overview shows partial data rather than a zero. Module: Group Overview See:
Group view
The boardroom altitude across all entities in a group. Group view is for oversight; operational work happens in the entity view. Module: Organisation Context and Switching See:
Hazard
In the sector, a source or situation with the potential to cause harm. In an EthosOne risk assessment each hazard is recorded with the responses that address it, and hazards are kept distinct from the risk categories used in the register. Module: Risk Assessments See:
Inherent risk
In the sector, the exposure to a risk before any controls are considered. EthosOne records inherent risk with defined likelihood and impact scales so the movement to residual risk can be explained. Module: Risk Management See:
Initiative type
The classification of a strategic initiative: strategic, ICT, capital, operational, house or other. It is not the same as a risk category. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Inspection
A scheduled review event conducted by a regulator. EthosOne records inspections against the framework and registration so readiness can be prepared for a known date. Module: Regulation See:
Jurisdiction
The legal authority or place in which an instrument applies. Legislation and frameworks in EthosOne carry their jurisdiction so a school is only mapped to the law that applies to it. Module: Legislation, Regulation See: /legislation,
Knowledge Centre
The in-product help and guidance experience. It offers versioned help articles, contextual help filtered to the current module, and product guidance on using EthosOne, with a source reference wherever guidance touches sensitive matters. It is not legal advice. Module: Knowledge Centre See:
KPI card
A School Dashboard tile that shows one measure with its state. Where there is nothing to report, the card says no data rather than showing zero or failing. Module: Entity Dashboard See:
Learning assignment
A requirement for a learner to complete a course; the enrolment is the learner's progress record against it. Statuses run from assigned through in progress and assessment required to complete, expired or withdrawn. Module: Training See:
Legislation
An Act, regulation or other legal instrument. EthosOne holds legislation with its jurisdiction, authoritative source, effective date and status (draft, current, review required, superseded, repealed, not applicable or source unavailable) and maps obligations from it. Module: Legislation See:
Log entry
One submitted record under an assurance log profile. Each entry has a stable identifier and a history of creation and edit events, so the current value is never the only record. Module: Assurance Logs See:
Log profile
The reusable definition of an assurance log: its schema of typed dynamic fields and whether it runs as an internal Assurance Log or a public Form. A profile's fields must be configured before the log can be activated. Module: Assurance Logs See:
Measure
A KPI or OKR attached to a strategic initiative or activity. Measures track progress against the strategy; they are distinct from dashboard KPI cards. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Meeting
A governed session of a board or committee with an agenda, papers, quorum, declared conflicts, minutes and resolutions. Statuses run from draft and scheduled through agenda published, in session and minutes draft to complete. Module: Meetings See:
Milestone
A dated delivery checkpoint in a project. Milestones are not actions, and a project cannot show complete while required milestones remain open. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Minutes
The formal record of attendance, discussion and decisions at a meeting. Minutes are submitted and approved in EthosOne; they are not a transcript. Module: Meetings See:
Mover and seconder
In the sector, the mover is the eligible person who proposes a motion and the seconder is the eligible person who supports its consideration. EthosOne captures both, with the governing body, before a resolution goes to a vote. Module: Resolutions See:
No data
The state a dashboard card or report shows when a source has nothing to report. EthosOne never shows a bare dash, a zero or a failing mark where the difference between missing and not applicable matters. Module: Entity Dashboard, Reporting See: /school-dashboard,
Not applicable
An applicability decision, with rationale, that a requirement, obligation or instrument does not apply to the entity. Not applicable is a recorded decision, never a deletion. Module: Compliance, Legislation, Regulation See: /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools, /legislation,
Notification
A product event directed to a recipient, always linked to the exact source record that caused it. Notifications are read or unread, and notification preferences set how each user receives them by channel. A notification is not an action. Module: Notifications See:
Obligation
In the sector, a requirement your school must meet, derived from a source such as an Act, a regulation, a framework or a contract. In EthosOne an obligation is mapped from its source and generates compliance items, the scheduled occurrences of work. Module: Compliance, Legislation See: /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools,
Obligation register
In the sector, the organised list of every obligation a school has identified, with its source, its owner and how it is met. In EthosOne the register is the population of obligations mapped from legislation and frameworks, and the compliance Table view is the source-of-truth register of the occurrences they generate. Module: Compliance, Legislation See: /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools,
Overdue
An open action or compliance item whose due date is before today. A late but completed action is not overdue. Module: Actions, Compliance, Entity Dashboard See: /actions, /school-compliance-software-australia-for-independent-schools,
Owner
The person accountable for completing an action or compliance item. Owner is a stronger word than assignee: the owner answers for completion, and delegated by records who assigned the work. Risk owners, policy owners and section owners are named separately. Module: Actions, Compliance See: /actions,
Ownership scoreboard
The School Dashboard view of who owns what and how it is tracking. It exists to make accountability visible; it is not a leaderboard. Module: Entity Dashboard See:
Paper
A file supplied for an agenda item that carries governance status. A paper is more than an attachment: it is part of the meeting record. Module: Meetings See:
Partial data
The state shown when at least one source is unavailable for a report or a group aggregation. EthosOne says the totals may be incomplete rather than presenting a partial result as complete. Module: Group Overview, Reporting See: /multi-entity-governance,
Permission
One allowed operation in a scope. Roles are named bundles of permissions, and a user's membership of an organisation carries the roles that apply there. Module: Users and Access See:
Policy
An authoritative statement of organisational intent and rules, held as controlled versions with an owner, a reviewer and an approver. A policy says what and why; a procedure says how. Module: Policies See:
Policy owner
The person accountable for a policy's currency and operation. Being the author does not make someone the owner. Module: Policies See:
Post-activity review
The close-out of an excursion or camp, recording outcomes, incidents and variations from the plan. It is a review, not a completion tick. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
Procedure
Controlled instructions for carrying out work, made of ordered steps, each with a role, inputs and outputs, and an exception path for when the normal flow cannot proceed. A procedure is linked to the policy that gives it authority. Module: Procedures See:
Project
A time-bounded, governed delivery effort with a sponsor, a project manager, milestones, dependencies and a baseline. Not every strategic initiative is a project. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Project type
The classification of a project: capital, ICT, operational, regulatory or other. It is not a risk category. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Provenance
The source IDs, filters and generation metadata behind a report, so every figure can be traced to the record it came from. Provenance is a property of the report, not a footnote. Module: Reporting See:
Public item
Content explicitly selected as safe for public display in the Trust Centre. Only selected items are published; the source records behind them stay private. Module: Trust Centre See:
Publish
Create an immutable, readable version: a board pack for the board, a current version of a policy or procedure, or a live release of the Trust Centre. Publish is a formal act, distinct from save or upload. Module: Board Reports, Policies, Procedures, Trust Centre See: /school-board-governance-software, /school-policy-software, /procedures,
Quarantined
A file that is unavailable because a scan or policy check has flagged it. Quarantine is a status, not a failed upload. Module: File Vault See:
Quorum
In the sector, the minimum eligible attendance required before a board or committee can make formal decisions. Each committee in EthosOne has a quorum rule, and a meeting cannot open formal voting until quorum is established. Module: Meetings, Organisation Structure See:
RASCI
Responsible, Accountable, Support, Consulted and Informed: the roles assigned on a strategic initiative. EthosOne uses RASCI rather than RACI because Support is available, and it requires one Accountable person before an initiative is activated. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Readiness
The traceable posture of preparation for a registration review or inspection, built from linked evidence and compliance work. Readiness is never a guarantee of compliance. Module: Regulation See:
Readiness requirement
A verifiable prerequisite an excursion or camp must satisfy before it can proceed, each with an owner. Critical requirements block approval until they are resolved. Module: Camps and Excursions See:
Readiness runway
In the sector, the time between today and a school's next registration review, and what has to happen inside it. In EthosOne the runway is calculated from the exact review date (year, month and day) set in Regulation settings, and the Readiness Dashboard shows the days remaining alongside the state of each criterion and the material gaps. Module: Regulation See:
Rebaseline
Approve a new project baseline while preserving the history of the old one. Editing dates without a rebaseline is not how EthosOne changes a schedule. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Registration
In the sector, the formal recognised status that allows a school, ELC or RTO to operate, with an identifier and dates. EthosOne records registration details and renewal dates against the framework, so the review date drives the readiness runway. Module: Regulation See:
Registration review
In the sector, the periodic review by a state or territory regulator of whether a school continues to meet its registration standards, often called reregistration. In EthosOne the review date is set in Regulation settings and drives the readiness runway, the criteria browser and the evidence linked to each criterion. Module: Regulation, Compliance See: /school-registration-and-review,
Regulator
The external authority that oversees a framework and conducts inspections. A regulator is not a legislator. Module: Regulation See:
Renewal
In Regulation, the process that extends or replaces a registration before it expires. In Training, a new learning assignment issued before or after a completion expires. Neither is a simple edit of an expiry date. Module: Regulation, Training See: /school-registration-and-review,
Repealed
The status of legislation that has formally ceased. Repealed instruments stay in the record with their history; they are not deleted. Module: Legislation See:
Reporting scope
The organisation altitude, entities and filters a report covers. Every report identifies its scope, its included entities and its as-at time. Module: Reporting See:
Requirement
One expectation within a regulatory framework, often expressed as a criterion or standard. Requirements are mapped to compliance work and evidence; they are distinct from compliance items. Module: Regulation See:
Rescinded
In the sector, a resolution revoked by a later formal resolution. EthosOne keeps both the rescinded resolution and the one that rescinded it, so the decision history is never deleted. Module: Resolutions See:
Residual risk
In the sector, the exposure to a risk after existing controls are taken into account. In EthosOne the residual rating is compared with appetite, and a residual risk above appetite needs a treatment, an escalation or a formal acceptance. Module: Risk Management See:
Resolution
In the sector, a formal decision of a board or committee, recorded with its exact wording and outcome. In EthosOne a resolution holds the proposition, mover, seconder, governing body, vote and outcome (carried, lost, withdrawn or rescinded) and can create governed actions. It is not a decision note. Module: Resolutions, Meetings See:
Response
A safeguard or action that addresses a hazard in a risk assessment. Responses are the in-situ equivalent of controls and treatments and are kept separate from register treatment status. Module: Risk Assessments See:
Responsibility transfer
Reassigning a person's open owned work to someone else, typically before deactivation. It is a governed handover, not an ownership cleanup. Module: Users and Access, Actions See: /personnel,
Review required
The status of an approved record that needs reassessment: a procedure, a risk assessment, a legislation entry or a framework. Review required is not the same as expired. Module: Procedures, Risk Assessments, Legislation, Regulation See: /procedures, /school-risk-assessments, /legislation,
Reviewer
The person who assesses content before approval. A reviewer checks; an approver authorises. Module: Policies, Board Reports See: /school-policy-software,
Risk
In the sector, an uncertain event that would affect the school's objectives if it occurred. In EthosOne a risk is recorded as cause, event and consequence, with a category, an owner, an inherent rating, controls, a residual rating and treatments. Once a risk has occurred it is an issue or an incident, not a risk. Module: Risk Management See:
Risk appetite
In the sector, the amount and type of risk a school's board is willing to accept in pursuit of its objectives. In EthosOne appetite is recorded per risk category with a level and an approved statement, and every risk is compared against it. Module: Risk Management See:
Risk appetite statement
In the sector, the board-approved document that states, for each category of risk, how much exposure the school will accept and why. In EthosOne the statements are recorded in Risk Settings under Risk Appetite; the embedded helper can propose draft statements with rationale, and board authority applies them. Module: Risk Management See:
Risk assessment
In the sector, an in-situ assessment of a specific activity, place, item or event, such as an excursion, a science practical or a piece of equipment. In EthosOne a risk assessment records its context, hazards and responses, is performed by an assessor and accepted by an approver, and is kept deliberately separate from the board-reportable risk register. Module: Risk Assessments, Camps and Excursions See: /school-risk-assessments,
Risk category
The organisation-approved classification applied to every risk, for example reputation, finance, child safety, ICT or AI. Categories and impact descriptions are defined once in Risk Settings and apply to every register. Module: Risk Management See:
Risk matrix
In the sector, the scoring scale that combines likelihood and impact into a rating. EthosOne applies one organisation-approved matrix, with its levels and thresholds, to every register so each rating is reproducible. Module: Risk Management See:
Risk owner
The person accountable for managing a risk. The risk owner is distinct from the owners of the individual controls and treatments beneath it. Module: Risk Management See:
Risk rating
The severity assigned to a risk from the matrix: Extreme, High, Medium, Low or Very Low. Inherent and residual ratings are both held so movement can be explained. Module: Risk Management, Entity Dashboard See: /iso-31000-risk-software-for-schools,
Risk register
In the sector, the strategic, board-reportable list of a school's material risks with their ratings, owners, controls and treatments. In EthosOne (where the navigation says Risk Registers and each register is a Risk Plan) a school can keep separate board, ICT, AI, ELC or operational registers, each with a manager, a scope and snapshots, and none of them is used as an in-situ assessment. Module: Risk Management See:
Role
In Users and Access, a named bundle of permissions assigned through a membership, not a job title. In Procedures, the function that performs a step, so a procedure names roles rather than named people. Module: Users and Access, Procedures See: /personnel,
School Dashboard
The home view for one school or entity: Strategy, Assignments, Exceptions and escalations, KPI cards and the Ownership scoreboard. Every figure links back to its source record. Module: Entity Dashboard See:
Section owner
The person accountable for one section of a board report. Their contribution is the section content they author and submit, and a review may request changes before approval. Module: Board Reports See:
Setup step
One verifiable onboarding task. Required steps must be verified before the foundation is ready; optional steps enrich setup without blocking it. An import result reports created, skipped and failed records rather than calling a partial import a success. Module: Onboarding See:
Snapshot
An immutable record of a report result or a risk register at an as-at time. Snapshots preserve board baselines so a past exposure view can be reproduced and compared. Module: Reporting, Risk Management See: /reporting,
Source record
The canonical operational record behind an action, a notification, a dashboard figure or a report row. EthosOne links back to the source so a report row is never treated as the source itself. Module: Actions, Notifications, Reporting, Entity Dashboard See: /actions, /reporting,
Sponsor and project manager
The sponsor is the executive accountable for a project's value; the project manager is the person coordinating its delivery. Both are named on every project. Module: Projects and Schedules See:
Step
An ordered unit of instruction in a procedure, performed by a role, with defined inputs and outputs. A step is not an action item. Module: Procedures See:
Strategic initiative
Coordinated strategic work that serves a strategic objective, with an initiative type, activities, measures and RASCI roles. Not every project is a strategic initiative, and not every initiative is a project. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Strategic objective
The outcome the school's strategy seeks. Objectives sit above initiatives, and an initiative exists to move an objective. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Strategy view and Gantt view
The Strategy view shows strategic initiatives only; the Gantt view shows all included initiative types on a timeline. Module: Strategic Planning See:
Submitted
The status of a compliance item whose evidence is awaiting a decision. Submitted is not compliant. Module: Compliance See:
Superseded
Replaced by a later published or approved version. Superseded policies, procedures, assessments, legislation and frameworks are retained with their history, not deleted. Module: Policies, Procedures, Risk Assessments, Legislation, Regulation See: /school-policy-software, /procedures, /school-risk-assessments, /legislation,
Treatment
In the sector, planned work that will further change a risk's exposure, as distinct from a control that already operates. In EthosOne a treatment has an owner, a status and a due date, and it projects into Actions so it is tracked to completion. Module: Risk Management See:
Trust Centre
The external, public-facing experience where a school shares selected governance information with its stakeholders. Only public items are shown, and each release is immutable once published. Module: Trust Centre See:
Trust Portal
The internal administration workspace for the Trust Centre. Here the school selects public items, previews a candidate release, publishes it, and can withdraw the portal from public view. Unpublished changes means the draft differs from the live release. Module: Trust Centre See:
User
An authenticated person in EthosOne, who may be staff, a board member or an external party. A user's membership is their relationship to one organisation, and a pending invitation is not yet an active user. Module: Users and Access See:
Verified
The state of a setup step whose downstream record has been saved and satisfies its condition. Verified means checked, not clicked; once the required steps are verified, the foundation is ready. Module: Onboarding See:
The six we are asked every time.
Still weighing something up? Thirty minutes with us, on your own registers, answers the rest.
Get in contact01What is a risk appetite statement for a school?
A risk appetite statement is the board-approved document that says, for each category of risk, how much exposure the school will accept and why. In EthosOne the statements are recorded in Risk Settings under Risk Appetite, one per category, and every risk's residual rating is compared against them. The embedded helper can propose draft statements with rationale; the board applies them.
02What is the difference between a control and a treatment?
A control is a measure already in place that reduces inherent exposure, such as a policy, a check or a safeguard, and it has an owner, a status and evidence. A treatment is planned work that will change exposure further, with an owner, a status and a due date. Controls explain today's residual rating; treatments explain how it will move.
03What is a board resolution?
A resolution is a formal decision of a board or committee, recorded with its exact wording and outcome. In EthosOne it holds the proposition, mover, seconder, governing body, vote and outcome (carried, lost, withdrawn or rescinded) and can create governed actions. It is a formal record, not a meeting note.
04What does as-at mean on a board report?
As at is the time at which the report's data was resolved. Every EthosOne report carries an as-at time with its scope and provenance, so the board knows exactly when the figures were true. If source data changes after that time, the report says so rather than passing stale figures off as current.
05What is an obligation register?
An obligation register is the organised list of every obligation a school has identified, with its source, its owner and how it is met. In EthosOne obligations are mapped from legislation and regulatory frameworks, each one generates compliance items, and the compliance Table view is the source-of-truth register of those occurrences.
06What is a readiness runway?
The readiness runway is the time between today and the school's next registration review, and what has to happen inside it. In EthosOne it is calculated from the exact review date set in Regulation settings, and the Readiness Dashboard shows the days remaining alongside the state of each criterion and the material gaps.
- Stored in AustraliaAWS Sydney and Melbourne, one database per school
- AI stays in the country tooAmazon Bedrock; never trained on your content
- Published, not describedTrust Centre · ISMS policy · How we handle your data
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