Girls’ Day School Trust successfully implements risk software across multiple schools

Kate Hailstone is the Head of Internal Audit at the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), where she plays a key role in embedding effective risk management practices across the organisation.

Kate began her career in auditing in 2007 and holds the CMIIA qualification from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA). Her introduction to risk management came naturally through risk-based auditing, a discipline that has shaped her career ever since.

What Kate enjoys most about her role is being at the heart of the business, contributing to both strategic and operational discussions. “It’s rewarding to have a role that influences decision-making,” she says.

Like many in the independent education sector, Kate notes that the introduction of VAT on school fees presents a significant challenge. At GDST, this is being addressed through transformation and growth strategies to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience.

Kate and her team have been using JCAD CORE since 2018 to strengthen their approach to risk management. “CORE provides me with live oversight of school and departmental risk registers,” she explains. “The reporting format is a vast improvement on spreadsheets and provides leadership with clear, consistent information for decision-making.”

Reflecting on her experience, Kate adds:

“JCAD has enabled a live, holistic oversight of risk and risk management across our multiple business sites.”