The Luca Safe Concussion Framework.

A clinician-led standard for concussion identification, management, and graduated return to play - now in two editions, one written for schools and one for community sports clubs.

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Clinical Lead
Prof Bill Ribbans, CMO
Editions
Schools & Clubs

Most organisations are doing something. Very few are doing everything.


Awareness around concussion has grown considerably in recent years. Governing bodies have published guidance. Schools have added it to their safeguarding policies. Clubs have appointed welfare officers. But awareness and action aren't the same thing, and in our experience, most schools and clubs are still navigating a fragmented landscape of protocols, tools, and recommendations that don't quite join up.

The Luca Safe Concussion Framework (LSCF) exists to change that. Developed under the clinical governance of Prof Bill Ribbans - Orthopaedic Surgeon, Professor of Sports Medicine at the University of Northampton, and Luca's Chief Medical Officer - the LSCF brings existing clinical guidance together into a single, coherent standard for concussion identification, management, and graduated return to play.

One framework. Two editions.


The LSCF is a comprehensive, evidence-based framework built for the settings where most concussions actually happen. Both editions share one clinical spine - recognise and remove, review by a healthcare professional, and a documented graduated return - and then diverge where the organisations genuinely differ.

A school is an institution with a standing duty of care, staff on payroll, and a classroom to return to. A club is volunteer-run, often spread across several sites and age groups, and shares its players with schools, universities and representative squads. So the clubs edition adds two domains the schools edition has no need for: pitch-side provision and emergency preparedness, and cross-organisation duty of care.

Neither edition asks an organisation to reinvent its approach. Each gives you a structure to assess where you are, understand where the gaps might be, and implement consistent, best-in-class care.

Two editions. Pick the one that fits.

Both are free to download, published under a Creative Commons licence, and written under the same clinical governance.

LSCF for Schools

7 domains

Version 1.0.1 · May 2025

Safeguarding-led and sport-agnostic, covering the classroom as closely as the pitch.

Written for school leadership teams, safeguarding officers, medical personnel and policymakers. It sets clear, actionable standards across every stage of concussion prevention, assessment and recovery, and treats return-to-learn as seriously as return-to-play.

Built around

  • National safeguarding regulations and school duty of care
  • Board-approved policy and governance
  • Return-to-learn and return-to-play protocols
Download the Schools edition

LSCF for Clubs

8 domains

Version 1.0.1 · August 2026

Written for volunteer-run community clubs working across multiple sites and age groups.

Written for club committees, welfare leads, safeguarding officers, first aiders, coaches and team managers. It addresses the things that make club concussion management harder than school concussion management: volunteer turnover, multiple sites, and players who turn out for someone else next weekend.

Aligned with

  • RFU Regulation 9 (Player Safety) and the RugbySafe programme
  • The RFU HEADCASE programme and the Graduated Return to Activity and Sport (GRAS) protocol
  • The UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport
  • The RFU Pitch Side Care Standards (PSCS)

Where a club's national governing body sets a higher standard than this framework, the NGB standard takes precedence.

Download the Clubs edition

What each edition covers.

The seven domains of the schools edition.

1

Governance & Legal Compliance

The policies, responsibilities, and legal obligations that every organisation needs to have in place, clearly defined and properly documented.

2

Education & Training

Ensuring that athletes, parents, staff, and coaches understand what concussion is, how to recognise it, and what to do when it happens.

3

Reporting & Communication

Structured processes for logging incidents, keeping stakeholders informed, and maintaining a clear record throughout the management pathway.

4

Clinical Management

The clinical pathway from concussion identification and initial assessment, through symptom monitoring, to graduated return to play - including when to escalate, how to monitor recovery, and who signs off clearance.

5

Academic Support

Recognising that concussion affects more than sport and that pupils returning to the classroom need as much consideration as those returning to the pitch.

6

Technology & Innovation

Leveraging digital tools to make concussion management consistent, efficient, and evidence-based, from incident logging to clinical consultations.

7

Quality Assurance

Ongoing oversight, review, and improvement so that concussion management doesn't become a box-ticking exercise but a genuinely embedded part of organisational culture.

Who the schools edition is for.

  • Senior Leadership Teams
  • School Boards, Governors and Trustees
  • Designated Safeguarding Leads
  • Directors of Sport and PE staff
  • Medical and nursing staff
  • First aiders
  • SENDCOs
  • Bursars

Concussion care doesn't begin or end with diagnosis.


The most common failure in concussion management isn't a lack of judgement at the moment of impact. It's everything that comes before and after. The absence of a clear policy, the inconsistent record-keeping, the athlete who slips back into training without anyone signing off, the parent who was never informed.

The LSCF addresses the full picture. It is the clinical and operational foundation on which the Luca platform is built, and a standalone resource for any organisation that wants to understand what best-in-class concussion management looks like.

Download the Luca Safe Concussion Framework.

Both editions are available as a free download. Use them to assess where your organisation currently stands, identify gaps, and understand what a complete concussion management system looks like.

Schools editionClubs edition

Want the framework built into your process?

The LSCF isn't just a document, it's the foundation of the Luca platform. Every feature, every step of the pathway, every piece of documentation is designed around its domains. If you want to move from reading the framework to living it, Luca is how you get there.

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ISO 27001 CertifiedEvidence-basedDeveloped with clinical advisorsFree to download