Policies & Procedures 5 min read
Creating and publishing a policy
Folelse's policy module lets you create, edit, version, and distribute policies and procedures. Every policy has a lifecycle: Draft → In Review → Published → Archived.
How to create a new policy
- 1 Go to Dashboard → Policies.
- 2 Click + New Policy (bottom right).
- 3 Choose "Blank policy" or "From template" (see the NHS Templates article for template options).
- 4 Enter the Policy Title.
- 5 Select the Category: Data Protection, Information Security, Records Management, IG, Incidents, HR, or Other.
- 6 The policy editor opens. Write or paste your policy content using the rich text toolbar.
- 7 Use the toolbar to add headings, bullet points, numbered lists, tables, and formatting.
- 8 Fill in the Document Properties panel (right side): Version, Owner Name, Owner Email, Review Date, Summary.
- 9 Click Save Draft.
Publishing a policy
- 1 When your policy is ready, click Publish in the top bar.
- 2 A modal asks you to enter a Change Summary (e.g. "Initial publication" or "Updated to reflect new ICO guidance on cookies").
- 3 Click Confirm Publish.
- 4 The policy status changes to Published and the version is incremented.
- 5 Published policies are locked — you cannot edit them directly. To update, click "Edit Policy" which creates a new Draft version.
Setting a review date
Every published policy should have a Review Date. Folelse sends email reminders 30 days before the review date and flags overdue policies on your dashboard. Policies without a review date are flagged as incomplete.
For data protection policies, the ICO recommends annual review as a minimum. Policies affected by legislative changes (e.g. after an ICO guidance update) should be reviewed immediately.
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