How to Audit an Irish School Website for Publication Readiness

A school website review should answer three questions: is the right information available, does it match the approved record, and can families use it? A file in the website's media library answers none of those questions on its own. A practical audit follows the public route, compares the result with the school record and gives each possible gap an owner.

This guide helps Irish principals, school administrators and Boards of Management (BOMs) organise that review. It supports publication readiness rather than providing a legal assessment. Start with the Irish school website checklist for the topics to consider, then use the steps below to test them and record follow-up.

Agree the scope and responsibilities

Name a coordinator who can obtain approved documents and ask colleagues to resolve discrepancies. The principal might coordinate the review, with the school secretary testing links, policy owners checking content and a nominated BOM member reviewing the action summary. Agree these responsibilities locally; an audit does not transfer the school's decision-making authority to its website provider.

Record the school's sector, patron and management arrangements before assembling the checklist. For an ETB school, identify which information is maintained centrally and who can authorise changes. For a voluntary secondary school, confirm the relevant patron or trust arrangements. Do not assume that a centrally published policy describes every local contact or process correctly.

Set a review date and identify the public pages, downloads and externally hosted forms in scope. Include links to centrally managed services where families rely on them. Record anything excluded and why, so the eventual report does not imply that the entire website was examined when only the policy library was checked.

Connect each item to a current source

Use current Department of Education and Youth guidance, including relevant circulars sometimes referred to as DES circulars, alongside applicable patron or ETB direction. Record the source and the date checked. Distinguish an identified publication requirement from a useful communication improvement, and mark uncertain applicability for confirmation.

Admissions is a concrete starting point. The Department's school admissions guidance describes website publication of the admission policy and annual publication of the admission notice. Compare the live documents with the correct intake year and approved arrangements. Check the current official timetable when scheduling publication, rather than carrying forward an old calendar reminder.

For safeguarding, anti-bullying and other policies, ask the responsible lead to confirm the current procedure, applicable public documents and approved version. Do not treat a downloaded template as proof that the school's own review or approval has happened. Keep internal case information and confidential deliberations outside the public publication pack.

Follow the route a parent would use

Begin at the homepage in a browser where you are not signed into the website editor. Follow the navigation to admissions, safeguarding and policies. Open each relevant download and check the document itself, not just its link label. Repeat important journeys on a phone, where menus and long filenames can be harder to use.

Compare the school name, document title, approval reference, effective date and contact route with the approved source. Search the website for the same policy title to find duplicate versions. Note whether an older document is clearly labelled as historical or still appears to describe current arrangements.

Separate missing content from inaccurate content and difficult navigation. A working link to an obsolete notice needs a different correction from a current notice hidden behind a broken menu. Describe the finding precisely enough that the publisher can act without reconstructing the whole review.

Review data protection information and forms

The Data Protection Commission's school toolkit provides a school-specific starting point for reviewing privacy information. Ask the responsible data protection contact to compare the public privacy notice or statement with the school's actual processing, including website forms and services supplied by external providers. A generic statement may leave important questions unanswered.

The DPC explains that information about processing must be accessible and understandable. Check where visitors encounter privacy information when providing details, and whether the contact route works. Ask the DPO or appropriate adviser to resolve substantive questions about purposes, legal bases or retention; the website reviewer should not invent these answers.

Use a visual review or an authorised test process for forms. Avoid entering real pupil information merely to test a public journey. Keep screenshots and audit notes free of personal information that is unnecessary for the publication review.

Check accessibility and the statement

The National Disability Authority explains the accessibility statement requirements for public bodies under Ireland's 2020 web accessibility regulations. Confirm the rules and scope applying to the school's website and services with the appropriate school, patron or ETB adviser. Do not assume that another country's school exemptions apply in Ireland.

Where required, review the statement against the actual website, including known limitations, the feedback route and how visitors can request assistance. A copied statement claiming a level of accessibility that nobody has assessed is a possible gap. Ask the provider for evidence supporting technical assertions and record any further assessment needed.

As practical checks, try keyboard navigation, clear link labels, readable headings and document text selection. Check whether a scanned policy has an accessible alternative. These checks can reveal barriers, but they do not establish conformance with an accessibility standard. Record the limits of the review alongside the findings.

Keep an evidence register that supports action

Use one row per public item. Record the source, approved version, live URL, reviewer, date checked, result, action owner and target date. Add a screenshot or saved public copy when it helps explain the finding. Connect the entry to the Irish school policy tracker so approval, review and publication records stay linked.

Useful outcomes include checked against source, needs correction, missing and awaiting specialist confirmation. For example: “Admissions page links to last year's notice; secretary to obtain the approved current notice and replace the link.” Avoid a single overall compliance score that conceals uncertainty about individual items.

Prioritise misleading contacts, time-sensitive notices and inaccessible essential information for prompt attention through the school's process. Give lower-impact presentation issues an owner too. If an action is delayed, record the reason, escalation and next check instead of silently moving its deadline.

Report and verify completion

Give the BOM a short summary of the review scope, significant findings, overdue actions and decisions needed. Link the detailed register for follow-up. Keep the report factual: a completed review shows what was examined and corrected, not that every possible obligation has been satisfied.

Close an action only after someone checks the live result against the agreed correction. Retain unresolved questions visibly. Then connect the audit to the workflow for keeping the website current after updates, so the next policy approval or admissions change triggers a fresh publication check rather than waiting for another full audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this school website audit a legal compliance assessment?

No. It is a practical publication-readiness review. Confirm applicable requirements using current official sources and seek appropriate advice on legal, data protection or accessibility questions.

Who should coordinate an Irish school website audit?

Name a coordinator, often the principal or a delegated administrator, with policy owners confirming content and the BOM receiving an appropriate oversight summary. Include the ETB or patron contact where information is managed centrally.

Does a working policy link mean the item is complete?

No. Open the document and compare its version, dates and contact details with the approved source. Check that families can find and use it, and record any uncertainty separately.

What evidence should the school keep?

Record the source, approved version, live URL, reviewer, date checked, finding, action owner and target date. Recheck corrections on the live website before closing the action.