A risk assessment links to the live policy.
The safety operation references the current canonical policy version — not a copy that drifted out of date in someone’s downloads folder.
Ark HQ — School services group
The school services group
Built around how schools actually work.
SafeSchool, Ark Academy, Giraft and AskArk — four products and one expert team, built for the way Irish schools really run.
Ark HQMeet the products
The school services group
Built for Irish schools.
SafeSchool. Ark Academy. Giraft. AskArk. Four products built around how schools really work — compliance, training, policy, productivity — backed by ten years of expert practice.
Maria O'ConnorPrincipal"The whole programme just runs."
Trusted by
350schools
Across Ireland and the UK, since 2014. Most schools renew each year; the bars show active engagements, 2023–25.
Four products. One family. Designed to be used together.
John AherneCompliance LeadRunning two Ark products, we stopped keeping the same compliance records in two places. That is most of the saving right there.
Growth
2014–2026
15K
Trainees / yr
2014
Since
02 · The products
Four kinds of school load. A product built for each.
Three of these carry the compliance weight — the daily safety operation, the policies, the staff training. The fourth helps every member of staff do the daily work, safely, within them. Each stands alone. Together they remove the duplication that costs a school the most.
The load
The daily safety operation — calendars, risk assessments, walkround checklists, incidents.
The answerSafeSchool
Run expert-led by a programme manager, or as a standalone platform your own team drives. Aligned to the HSA Guidelines for Post-Primary Schools.
An Ark HQ programmeThe load
Policies — hundreds of them. Drafting, board approval, review cycles, version control.
The answerGiraft
Policy-lifecycle software. Every policy has an owner, an approving board, an expiry, and a successor. One canonical version, never in doubt.
An Ark HQ productThe load
Staff training — every member, every year, evidenced for the inspectorate.
The answerArk Academy
Short, accountable e-learning built for school staff by school compliance experts. Three delivery modes, completion the inspectorate accepts.
An Ark HQ programmeThe load
Burnout — every teacher, SNA and administrator drowning in admin: planning, marking, reports, letters, SEN paperwork.
The answerAskArk
A safe, compliant, human-led AI co-pilot for the whole staff team — onboarded and supported year-round, trained on Irish education law and curriculum. It lifts the admin that burns staff out and helps everyone navigate the curriculum and the policies the other three set.
An Ark HQ product03 · Better together
One design. One team. One contract, if you want it.
In most schools these loops run separately — different folders, different reminders, different people. On one design, fed by one team, the seams disappear.
A policy update triggers the right training.
When a policy changes, the staff training that depends on it is flagged for refresh automatically. No manual cross-checking.
Giraft sets the policy. AskArk helps staff work within it.
Giraft holds the sealed, canonical policy; AskArk knows it. So when a teacher or SNA asks how to handle something, the answer is grounded in your school’s actual approved policy — not generic advice. A natural cross-sell in both directions.