Business continuity or disaster recovery plan: guidance and template

Make sure you have plans in place to deal with any disruption to your normal activities. Find out what your plan should cover and use our template to help you. Also see examples from other schools and trusts.

Last reviewed on 24 April 2026See updates
Ref: 41690
Statutory/mandatory for:
Maintained schools
Academies
Free schools
Pupil referral units
Contents
  1. What is it?
  2. Your requirements
  3. What makes a good plan
  4. Include digital technology in your plan
  5. Download our template plan
  6. Take a look at template examples
  7. See examples from other schools

What is it?

business continuity plan should set out how your school will maintain 'business as usual' during and after a disruptive event that stops you opening the school as normal. For example, extreme weather or shortage of staff due to illness.

It should include the actions you'll take to make sure pupils continue to receive the same level of education and care they'd normally be entitled to.

A disaster recovery plan focusses more specifically on how your school will restore systems and data that could be lost due to a serious incident, such as a cyber attack or a fire.

These terms sometimes get used interchangeably. Ideally, your plans should cover both types of incident.

How is it different to an emergency plan?

Make sure emergency plans include your initial response to an