Join the risk protection arrangement (RPA) for schools

Question

Accepted Answer

This page is for schools that are interested in joining the RPA.聽There is further information on membership rules, levels of cover summary and how to make a claim if you are already a member.

About the RPA

The RPA provides comprehensive risk protection for public sector schools and is an alternative to commercial insurance for the education sector. Under RPA, the UK government covers the losses instead of commercial insurance.

It covers risks normally included in a standard school鈥檚 insurance policy and is priced per pupil or placement regardless of any claims.

Schools may join at any time of year. Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are permitted to join the RPA in a phased manner, where some academies in the MAT still have commercial insurance contracts in place.

The cost is reviewed annually to ensure breadth of cover and value for money are balanced. More information about the RPA can be found in this pre-recorded webinar.

Benefits of membership

Risk management is a continuous cycle that helps ensure strategic priorities and improvements plans for schools and trusts are maintained or met. RPA membership brings many benefits that can help protect your school and staff, including:

financial protection: the RPA will cover the cost of any losses that your school suffers, within the scope and up to the limits of your membership
peace of mind: knowing that your school is financially protected within the scope and up to the limits of your membership, so you can focus on teaching and learning
access to support: the RPA offers a range of support services to its members, including risk management advice and training

Join the RPA

Public sector schools

If your school is classified as a public sector school, you can join the RPA using your DfE Sign-in account.

Converter academies and church schools

If your school is a converter academy, it will have been signed up to the RPA automatically, but you can opt out if you want to.

If your school is a church school and a church organisation allows the school to occupy their property, under RPA membership rules, its trustees:

are covered for losses and liabilities they may incur through you occupying their property
can make claims on your behalf for those losses and liabilities
can have those claims paid directly to them
can use the complaints and arbitration procedures with regard to those claims

Follow the steps in this section. Each step also includes a video tutorial.

You can sign in to DfE as a local authority or MAT to manage your RPA membership and that of your schools. This will enable you to see all the schools linked to your organisation.

You can sign up these schools or download their certificates from your account. Trusts can also access their trust-level certificate.

Go to create a DfE Sign-in account and enter your name and work email address.
Copy the code we have emailed you and paste it into the box on the verification page.
Create a memorable password.

If you need further help, you can watch a video tutorial.

DfE Sign-in.

Step 2: Request access to the RPA

Request access to your organisation and the RPA form.
Ask your approver to approve your access to the RPA and the online collection service.

You can view who your organisation鈥檚 approvers are after you鈥檝e added your organisation to your DfE Sign-in account. There鈥檚 more information about what approvers need to do in step 3.

If you need further help, you can watch a video tutorial.

Step 3: Give access to the RPA form (for approvers)

Add the RPA to the online collections service.
Go to the 鈥榤anage users鈥� page and add a role to each user鈥檚 account.
Choose 鈥榓dd services鈥� from the right-hand list. If a user already has access to the online collections service, choose this on the user鈥檚 page and add the role 鈥榎u003cabbr title="risk protection arrangement">RPA鈥�.
Choose the services, roles and forms you want the user to have access to and save your changes.

If you need further help, you can watch a video tutorial.

Annual costs

Academies

The annual costs are:

拢25 per pupil
拢25 per place for special and alternative provision academies, special schools and pupil referral units

For academies, this covers the school for the current academic year, 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025. The cost for the next academic year, 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026, will increase to 拢27.

Local authority maintained schools

The annual costs are:

拢27 per pupil
拢27 per place for special and alternative provision academies, special schools and pupil referral units

For local authority maintained schools, this covers the school for the current financial year, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Additional cover and buying help

If there鈥檚 something you need cover for that鈥檚 not included in the RPA, use the Get help buying for schools free and impartial procurement service.

The Get help buying for schools blog is a useful source of information for school buyers who want to:

get the best value for money
add extra cover not included in the RPA
comply with procurement regulations

Independent reports

We have published RPA summary provisioning analyses since 2014. From 2023, the March and August provisioning timeline has been revised to June and December. This allows DfE additional time to review findings prior to the new membership year.

Contact

If you have any queries, including about opting in or opting out of the RPA, email RPA.DFE@education.gov.uk.

188体育