The hazard assessment that connects controls to consequences
A hazard register lists what could go wrong. A bowtie shows, for the most serious ones, what causes it, what prevents it, and what limits the harm if prevention fails.
EthosOne's free Hazard Assessment Pack pairs a hazard identification register with a bowtie analysis worksheet, so a school can move from a long list of hazards to a clear picture of the controls that matter most for its highest-consequence risks. ISO 31000 aligned.
What is a bowtie analysis, and why use it for a school?
A bowtie puts a single serious event in the middle, its causes on the left with the preventive controls between them, and its consequences on the right with the mitigating controls between them. For a school it is the clearest way to show a board that the controls around child safety, excursions or critical incidents are real and owned, not assumed.
The worksheet in the pack walks through one bowtie end to end with a worked school example, so you can build your own for the handful of risks that warrant it.
Hazard identification register
The structured list of what could cause harm, by area.
Bowtie worksheet
Causes, preventive controls, consequences and mitigations on one view.
ISO 31000 aligned
Consistent with the risk standard schools and auditors expect.
How does this fit with a risk register?
The risk register is the breadth, every risk tracked with its rating and owner. The bowtie is the depth, applied to the few risks where a board needs to see the control logic in full. You use both: the register to govern the whole, the bowtie to interrogate the most serious.
In EthosOne hazards, controls and bowties live alongside the risk register, so the depth view and the breadth view share the same data and the same owners.
Frequently asked questions
Is the hazard assessment pack free?
Yes. The Hazard Assessment Pack is a free download for independent schools.
Do I need this if I already have a risk register?
They do different jobs. The register tracks every risk; the bowtie gives you the control logic for your most serious few. Most schools want both.
Is it hard to build a bowtie?
The worksheet includes a worked school example and a step-by-step structure, so a business manager can build one without specialist training.
The living risk register independent schools actually maintain
Download the Risk Register and Hazard Assessment Pack: a living risk register, a hazard assessment register and a bowtie worksheet, scored the same way every time and aligned to ISO 31000. Built for independent schools. Free.