School Safety Agent Tests

School Safety Agent Exam Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a correspondence assistant at a school safety agency. A member of the public wrote in three weeks ago, and a colleague replied promising a full written answer by Friday. You now know the answer cannot be prepared before the middle of next month, and the colleague who made that reply has left for two weeks. The person has already rearranged a meeting of their own so that they can act on the answer on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Wait until Friday morning and then telephone the person with the news, so that there is a chance the answer is further along by the time you have to explain the delay.
   2. Write to the person today, say the answer cannot come before the middle of next month, apologise, and offer what Friday allows, since they can still put their own meeting back.
   3. Let Friday pass without telling the person anything, since the answer is genuinely not ready, and wait until the middle of next month when there is something real to send.
   4. Send the person a short note today saying their enquiry is still being worked on, and leave the date alone so that nobody has to explain a promise somebody else made.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Write to the person today, say the answer cannot come before the middle of next month, apologise, and offer what Friday allows, since they can still put their own meeting back.

   Least effective: C. Let Friday pass without telling the person anything, since the answer is genuinely not ready, and wait until the middle of next month when there is something real to send.

   A: Delays the difficult message: the meeting they moved is on Friday, so news that arrives that morning reaches them too late to be worth anything to them.

   C: Silent deadline slip: they rearranged a meeting on the strength of a date this organisation gave them, and the first thing they will learn is that Friday came and nothing arrived.

   D: Answers without correcting the expectation: a note that does not touch Friday leaves them still planning around it, which is the one thing they needed changing.

   The most effective response is to write to the person today, say the answer cannot come before the middle of next month, apologise for the reply they were given and offer what can be provided by Friday: they rearranged a meeting around a date that will not hold, and today is the last point at which they can rearrange it back. It is stronger than telephoning on Friday morning, because by then the meeting they moved is upon them and the information has lost the only value it had. It is stronger than sending a note that says the enquiry is still being worked on, because that leaves the wrong date standing and the wrong date is the whole problem. The least effective response is to let Friday pass without telling them anything and wait until there is something real to send: a late call at least reaches them, and a holding note at least shows somebody is there, whereas silence means the first thing they learn is that a date they were given passed unremarked. The principle: when a commitment made to somebody outside the organisation cannot be kept, tell them while they can still act on the news.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a selection centre assistant at a school safety agency. The room booked for Thursday’s selection day is no longer available and the whole day has to start two hours later in a different building. Fourteen candidates have already been given the original time and several are travelling the night before. The rule is that a change to a selection date or time goes to candidates in one standard message, sent by the person who runs the selection centre, so that every candidate is told the same thing. That person is in the office this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hold the news until the new building is confirmed in writing, so that the fourteen candidates are not given a second time that changes again before Thursday.
   2. Take the change to the person who runs the selection centre this afternoon, with the fourteen names and the time given, so the standard message can go out today.
   3. Ring the fourteen candidates yourself this evening from the numbers on their forms and tell each of them the new time in your own words, so that nobody travels early.
   4. Email the person who runs the selection centre about the new building and the new time, and let them pick it up whenever they next work through their inbox.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Take the change to the person who runs the selection centre this afternoon, with the fourteen names and the time given, so the standard message can go out today.

   Least effective: C. Ring the fourteen candidates yourself this evening from the numbers on their forms and tell each of them the new time in your own words, so that nobody travels early.

   A: Delays the decision: several candidates travel the night before, so a confirmation that lands on Thursday morning reaches them after they have already set off on the old time.

   C: Breaches the stated way changes are sent: fourteen candidates get fourteen versions of one change, none of it written down, and the rule exists so that no candidate can be told less than another.

   D: Passes responsibility without the urgency: the right person is in the office now, and an email that waits its turn spends the afternoon in which the message could still reach everybody.

   The most effective response is taking the change to the person who runs the selection centre this afternoon with the fourteen names: they are in the building, the rule puts the message in their hands, and one message today reaches every candidate before anybody sets off. It is stronger than holding the news until the new building is confirmed in writing, because several candidates travel the night before and certainty on Thursday morning is a day too late for them. It is also stronger than emailing the problem and letting it be picked up in turn, since the person who can send the message is in the office and an email leaves the timing to chance. The least effective response is ringing the fourteen candidates yourself in your own words: fourteen separate accounts of one change go out with no record of what each candidate was told, which is exactly what the single standard message prevents. The principle: when one change has to reach several people, use the route that reaches all of them identically.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a shift team member at a school safety agency. You keep the swap list for your team, and the stated rule is that a swap has to be requested three days ahead so the person who runs the rota can check the cover. You have turned two people down this week for asking late. Now a colleague you get on with well asks for a swap tomorrow, says nobody will notice, and points out that the cover is obviously fine. The two you refused are on shift with you tonight. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put the swap through, and if the two you refused ask, assure them that this request came in within the three days, which is not what happened.
   2. Put the swap through quietly and say nothing to anybody, on the basis that the cover really is fine tomorrow and no harm is done by one late request.
   3. Refuse the swap and tell the colleague that you will report the request to the person who runs the rota, since they asked you to break a rule you have just enforced twice.
   4. Tell the colleague the same as the other two, that a swap tomorrow is outside the three days, and offer to put it to whoever runs the rota, since they check the cover.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell the colleague the same as the other two, that a swap tomorrow is outside the three days, and offer to put it to whoever runs the rota, since they check the cover.

   Least effective: A. Put the swap through, and if the two you refused ask, assure them that this request came in within the three days, which is not what happened.

   A: Gives an assurance you know is untrue: the favour is bad enough on its own, but defending it with a false account of the timing means the two people you turned down are lied to by the person who applied the rule to them.

   B: Breaches a stated rule for a quiet life: the rule exists so the cover is checked by the person who runs the rota, and two colleagues who accepted the same answer this week are now on a different footing from this one.

   C: Escalates prematurely: a late request from a colleague who has been told no is an ordinary exchange, and turning it into a report makes an incident out of something that ended the moment you said no.

   The most effective response is to tell the colleague the same as the other two and offer to put the request to the person who runs the rota to decide: the rule is applied consistently, the colleague is not simply shut down, and the person whose job it is to check the cover gets to make any exception rather than you. That is better than putting the swap through quietly on the basis that the cover is fine, because whether the cover holds is exactly the judgement the rule reserves for somebody else, and two colleagues have already been held to it this week. It is also better than refusing and telling the colleague you will report the request, since a late ask is an ordinary thing to try and reporting it makes an incident out of a conversation that ended with your answer. The least effective response is to put the swap through and then assure the two you refused that it came in within the three days: on top of an inconsistent decision, the people who accepted your answer are told something untrue by the person who gave it. The principle: apply the rule the same way to everybody, and push any exception to the person who owns it rather than inventing cover for your own.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a public liaison assistant at a school safety agency. A volunteer from a community group has come back to you for the third time this week about a room booking for the group’s meeting on Friday: two other teams have each told the volunteer it is not theirs to sort. The stated rule is that enquiries about another team’s work go through the shared enquiry inbox, and that individual contact details for staff are not given out. The volunteer says they cannot keep chasing this. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put the enquiry into the shared inbox on the volunteer's behalf and say somebody will be in touch, then move on to the next thing in your own queue of work.
   2. Take the volunteer's details, then find out yourself today which team holds Friday's room diary, and ring back before you leave with the name of that team and an answer about the booking.
   3. Give the volunteer the internal contact list for the three teams so the group can chase whoever holds the room diary, although the stated rule is that individual contact details are not given out.
   4. Forward the volunteer straight to the team you think most likely holds the room diary and leave it with them, since a direct approach is harder to put off than an inbox.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Take the volunteer's details, then find out yourself today which team holds Friday's room diary, and ring back before you leave with the name of that team and an answer about the booking.

   Least effective: C. Give the volunteer the internal contact list for the three teams so the group can chase whoever holds the room diary, although the stated rule is that individual contact details are not given out.

   A: Repeats a route that has already failed twice: the inbox is what produced two dead ends, and Friday arrives without anybody having owned the room booking.

   C: Breaches a stated rule: the rule on individual contact details is stated in plain words, and the volunteer is handed the organisation's own internal problem to solve three days before the meeting.

   D: Passes the volunteer on a fourth time: your guess about who owns the diary is the same guess that produced the first three transfers, and Friday is unchanged by it.

   The most effective response is finding out yourself today which team holds Friday’s room diary and ringing back with the name of that team and an answer. The meeting is on Friday, the volunteer has been turned away twice already, and the only thing that ends the loop is one person taking the question and coming back with it. It beats putting the enquiry into the shared inbox and saying somebody will be in touch, because that is the route that has already produced two dead ends and no date. It beats forwarding the volunteer straight to the team you think most likely holds the diary, because a guess about ownership is what created the passing around in the first place and it makes you the fourth person to move the problem on. The least effective response is handing over the internal contact list so the group can chase the teams itself: it breaks a rule the stem states in plain words, and unlike either of the other two it leaves a person who has come three times doing the organisation’s chasing for it. It is worse than the shared inbox route because that at least keeps the work inside the organisation, and worse than the forward on because that at least ends with a named team rather than a list of strangers. The principle: when somebody has been passed around, own the answer yourself rather than finding them a new route to try.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an enquiry desk assistant at a school safety agency. The written desk rule is that a caller is read something from their own record only after giving two pieces of information that match it. For the last month everybody on the desk has been accepting one, because the queue is long and the second question adds time to every call. Nobody has raised it. Your supervisor is working on the desk all this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Go back to asking for both pieces on your own calls, and say nothing to anybody about what the rest of the desk is doing, so that at least your calls follow the rule.
   2. Send a note to the person who wrote the desk rule asking for it to be rewritten around the queue, and keep taking one piece until a new rule comes back.
   3. Carry on taking one piece of information like everybody else, reading callers what is on their record after a single answer, and say nothing to your supervisor this week.
   4. Ask your supervisor on the desk this week whether the second question stands, and say plainly that the desk has taken one piece for a month, since one answer covers everybody.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask your supervisor on the desk this week whether the second question stands, and say plainly that the desk has taken one piece for a month, since one answer covers everybody.

   Least effective: C. Carry on taking one piece of information like everybody else, reading callers what is on their record after a single answer, and say nothing to your supervisor this week.

   A: Fixes it for yourself only: your own calls were never the problem, and a month-old drift across the whole desk carries on beside you with nobody any the wiser.

   B: Delays the decision: a rewrite takes weeks, and every caller in the meantime is read their own record on one piece of information while the request sits in somebody's tray.

   C: Breaches a stated rule because everybody else does: the rule governs who gets told what is on their record, and a month of collective drift is the reason to raise it rather than the reason not to.

   The most effective response is asking your supervisor this week whether the second question still stands, and saying plainly that the desk has been taking one piece for a month: the rule is written, the whole desk has drifted from it, and one decision covers everybody instead of leaving each person to choose. It beats going back to asking for both pieces on your own calls while saying nothing about the rest of the desk, because your own calls were never the problem and the drift carries on beside you. It beats sending a note asking for the rule to be rewritten around the queue, since that leaves a month of callers being read their records on one piece while a rewrite is considered. The least effective response is carrying on taking one piece like everybody else: it is a written rule about who is told what is on their record, and the fact that everybody has been ignoring it is what makes raising it necessary. The principle: a rule everybody is quietly ignoring is exactly the rule somebody has to name out loud.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a contact handling assistant at a school safety agency. Replies to public enquiries are read by a second person before they are posted, which is the stated rule, because the addresses are typed by hand and letters have gone to the wrong homes. Yesterday you posted twelve replies without that second read, having forgotten it entirely. Nobody has noticed. This morning a member of the public rings to ask whether her reply has gone out and whether it was checked, because her last letter went astray. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say that you will look into it and ring her back this afternoon, then decide once you have thought about it whether to mention the missed second read.
   2. Check the twelve addresses yourself now against the enquiry records, and tell her only that her reply went out yesterday, since by then the fault will be fixed.
   3. Assure her that every one of yesterday's replies went through the second read before posting, because it almost always does, and be more careful with the next batch.
   4. Tell her that her reply went out yesterday and that the second read was missed, and tell the person who owns the letters now, since eleven other people are in the same batch.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell her that her reply went out yesterday and that the second read was missed, and tell the person who owns the letters now, since eleven other people are in the same batch.

   Least effective: C. Assure her that every one of yesterday's replies went through the second read before posting, because it almost always does, and be more careful with the next batch.

   A: Delays the decision: she asked a direct question you can already answer, and buying an afternoon changes nothing about the twelve replies except that eleven other people wait longer to be told.

   B: Repairs the fault without telling the person relying on it: your own second look is the very check the rule says one person cannot do, and she asked whether it happened and is answered with silence on the point.

   C: Asserts as fact something you know to be untrue: you skipped the read yourself yesterday, she is asking because a letter of hers has already gone astray, and the answer closes off the one question that would have caught it.

   The most effective response is telling her that the second read was missed on that batch and telling the person who owns the letters so the twelve can be checked. She has already had one letter go astray and eleven other people are in the same batch, so the honest answer to her and a check of all twelve are the same action. It beats saying you will look into it and ringing back this afternoon, because you already know the answer and the delay leaves eleven others unwarned. It is also better than checking the twelve addresses yourself and telling her only that her reply went out, since one person reading their own work is exactly what the rule forbids. The least effective response is assuring her that every one of yesterday’s replies went through the second read: unlike the delay, which at least keeps the question open, and unlike the private recheck, which at least looks at the addresses, this states as fact something you know did not happen, to the one person who had a reason to ask. The principle: when a stated check was skipped and the work has gone out, say so to the person asking and to whoever can put it right.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a correspondence assistant at a school safety agency. You book the meeting rooms for your floor. The large room booked for Wednesday’s records training has been taken back for a fixed commitment, and the only room left seats twelve. Fourteen people have accepted, three are travelling in for it, and the person running the training has built the day around the large room’s layout. You found out ten minutes ago. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email all fourteen attendees straight away with the new room number, so everybody has the change in writing before they make travel plans for Wednesday.
   2. Spend the next hour ringing round for a bigger room before you tell anybody, so that the person running the training hears the problem and the answer together.
   3. Ring the person running the training, say the alternative seats twelve, and ask how they want the fourteen handled, since they built the day around it.
   4. Pass the room problem to your supervisor with a note of what happened, and leave it with them to decide who needs telling and when.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ring the person running the training, say the alternative seats twelve, and ask how they want the fourteen handled, since they built the day around it.

   Least effective: D. Pass the room problem to your supervisor with a note of what happened, and leave it with them to decide who needs telling and when.

   A: Tells the wrong audience first: fourteen people learn of a room that seats twelve before the person who built the day around the old layout has had any say in what happens.

   B: Delays the news to arrive with a fix: the search may come to nothing, and the hour spent on it belongs to the person who has to decide what happens to the fourteen.

   D: Passes responsibility to others: the bookings are yours, you are the only person who knows yet, and handing it upwards adds a day to a situation in which three people are travelling on Wednesday.

   The most effective response is to ring the person running the training now and ask how they want the fourteen handled: they own the day, only they can decide whether to split the group or move the date, and they need the two facts you hold before anybody else is told anything. That is better than emailing all fourteen attendees with the new room number, because fourteen people would be told about a room that seats twelve while the person who owns the training is still unaware. It is also better than spending the next hour ringing round for somewhere bigger before telling anybody, since the search may come to nothing and that hour belongs to the person deciding what happens to the fourteen. The least effective response is to pass the room problem to your supervisor and leave the telling to them: the bookings are your own work, you are the only person who knows, and putting it in somebody else’s queue costs a day the travellers do not have. The principle: take a change straight to the person whose plans it breaks, and keep ownership of the part that is yours.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a duty team member at a school safety agency, working the desk that keeps the team’s duty diary. The stated rule is that a change to the diary is made only after the person who runs the team has approved it. That person is out of the office until four but can be reached by phone. A colleague asks you to move her name to tomorrow morning so that she can keep a family appointment, and says the person who runs the team will not mind. The diary is circulated at three. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your colleague it is arranged and put the change into the diary before three, without checking with the person who runs the team, whose view you are sure of.
   2. Ring the person who runs the team with the one request before three, explain the appointment and the timing, and tell your colleague you will confirm once you have an answer.
   3. Leave the diary as it stands, put the request to the person who runs the team when they are back at four, and reissue the diary tomorrow with the change in it.
   4. Tell your colleague the rule does not allow the change and leave it there, so that she can take the appointment up with the person who runs the team herself.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring the person who runs the team with the one request before three, explain the appointment and the timing, and tell your colleague you will confirm once you have an answer.

   Least effective: A. Tell your colleague it is arranged and put the change into the diary before three, without checking with the person who runs the team, whose view you are sure of.

   A: Gives an assurance you have not got: the rule names one approver, that approver is a phone call away, and the diary that goes out at three then carries a change nobody agreed to.

   C: Delays the decision: the diary people work from goes out at three, so a change made after four reaches everybody on the morning it was supposed to cover.

   D: Treats the rule as the whole answer: the rule says who decides, not that the answer is no, and your colleague has no way of reaching that person before three while you have.

   The most effective response is ringing the person who runs the team with the one request before three: they are reachable, the rule puts the decision with them, and asking costs a single phone call. It is stronger than leaving the diary as it stands and reissuing it tomorrow, because the diary people work from goes out at three and a later correction arrives on the morning it was meant to cover. It is also stronger than telling your colleague the rule does not allow it and leaving her to raise it herself, since she cannot reach the approver before the diary is circulated and you can. The least effective response is telling your colleague the change is arranged and entering it in the diary without checking: it puts a statement you have not verified in front of a colleague and an unapproved change in front of the whole team, and both are harder to unpick than the question you skipped. The principle: when the rule points at somebody else’s decision and that person can still be reached, get the decision rather than supply one.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a trainee at a school safety agency, three weeks into your course. The person who runs the course asks you to tell the rest of the group that Thursday’s session has moved to Monday. You think this is wrong: the timetable you were all given puts the written assessment on Monday, and two weeks look as though they have been mixed up. The group will book travel and swap shifts tonight on what you tell them. The person who runs the course is still in the building. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Pass the message on exactly as you were given it, since it is not your place to question the person who runs the course, and email them afterwards to ask about the assessment date.
   2. Go to the person who runs the course before telling anybody, since the group books travel tonight, show them the timetable and ask which day, then pass that on.
   3. Tell the group the session may have moved but that you are not certain, and suggest they hold off booking travel until somebody confirms which day it is.
   4. Pass the message on and say in front of the group that you think the person who runs the course has muddled two weeks, so that nobody blames you if the date is wrong.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Go to the person who runs the course before telling anybody, since the group books travel tonight, show them the timetable and ask which day, then pass that on.

   Least effective: D. Pass the message on and say in front of the group that you think the person who runs the course has muddled two weeks, so that nobody blames you if the date is wrong.

   A: Passes on a message you already doubt: repeating it faithfully does not make it right, and the group books travel tonight on something you believe is a mistake.

   C: Hands on your own uncertainty: the whole group is left holding a doubt that one question would have settled, and the shifts they need to swap have to be swapped tonight.

   D: Undermines the person who gave you the message: it makes somebody who is not in the room the problem, and the group is still no clearer about which day to book for.

   The most effective response is going back to the person who runs the course with the timetable and asking which day they mean before telling anybody: they are still in the building, the group commits money and shifts tonight, and one question settles it either way. It is stronger than passing the message on exactly as given on the grounds that it is not your place to question it, since a message you believe is wrong does not become right by being repeated faithfully. It is also stronger than telling the group the session may have moved and asking them to hold off, because that leaves the whole group managing your doubt when one person could have resolved it. The least effective response is passing the message on while telling the group the person who runs the course has muddled the weeks: it puts the blame somewhere before the facts are known, in front of people who cannot check it, and nobody is any clearer about the date. The principle: take a doubt to the person who can resolve it, not to the people who cannot.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a candidate liaison assistant at a school safety agency. An applicant telephones to ask why she was not put through to the next stage and how she was scored. The stated rule is that scores are released only in the written feedback the selection team sends, which takes ten working days. She says she has another application closing on Friday and needs to know what to work on. Her scores are on the screen in front of you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Take her number and offer to ring her back once the written feedback has been sent in ten working days, which is the point at which you will be able to talk her through the scores line by line.
    2. Tell her there is nothing on file beyond the written feedback she will be sent, and that everybody at her stage receives the same, so that she stops asking about the scores.
    3. Explain the ten working day rule and that it applies to every applicant, say you cannot help further, and end the call politely, since the rule is clear and the selection team is the only route to her scores.
    4. Explain that the scores come only in the written feedback and when it is due, ask the selection team today whether anything can be given sooner given her Friday date, and ring her back either way.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Explain that the scores come only in the written feedback and when it is due, ask the selection team today whether anything can be given sooner given her Friday date, and ring her back either way.

    Least effective: B. Tell her there is nothing on file beyond the written feedback she will be sent, and that everybody at her stage receives the same, so that she stops asking about the scores.

    A: Ignores the deadline she has told you about: ten working days lands well after Friday, so the call she is offered arrives when it can no longer help her.

    B: Denies information you are holding: her scores are on the screen as you speak, and she is being told they do not exist in order to end an awkward call.

    C: Stops at the rule: it is true and it is not the whole answer, because nobody has asked the selection team whether her Friday date changes anything.

    The most effective response is to explain when the written feedback is due, ask the selection team today whether anything can be given sooner in light of her Friday date, and ring her back either way: it keeps the release rule where it belongs, with the team that owns it, and still puts her actual deadline in front of somebody who could act on it. It is stronger than taking her number and offering a call after the feedback is sent, because ten working days lands after Friday and the offer is worth nothing to her. It is stronger than explaining the rule and ending the call, because that is accurate and incurious: nobody has been asked whether her date makes any difference. The least effective response is to tell her there is nothing on file beyond the written feedback and that everybody at her stage receives the same: the delayed callback at least keeps the door open, and the polite refusal at least tells her the truth about the rule, whereas denying that the scores exist while looking at them is untrue and leaves her working on the wrong thing before Friday. The principle: a rule you cannot bend is still explained honestly, and somebody else’s deadline is worth one question to the people who own the decision.