Ofsted inspections: What is safeguarding - and how do inspectors check for it in schools?

• Safeguarding policies are one of the things Ofsted inspectors check for when evaluating state-funded schools in England.
• There are some key documents inspectors need to look over.
• They will also speak to staff and students, and the school’s designated safeguarding leader.
• Children spend a lot of time at school, so staff can sometimes be the first to notice when something is wrong.

Ofsted inspectors look at a lot of important things at schools, from the quality of the education they provide to student behaviour.

But perhaps one of the most important things they evaluate is a school’s safeguarding practices, or how they keep the often vulnerable young people in their care safe from abuse, neglect or exploitation. Safeguarding has a lot of sway in inspections, and before overall grades were recently dropped, it was often a determining factor in a school being deemed ‘inadequate’.

Of schools inspected in the 2022/23 academic year, Ofsted says about 99% had effective safeguarding in place. But what exactly do inspectors look out for when it comes to a school’s safeguarding policies, and why are they so important?

Here’s what you need to know:

How do Ofsted inspectors check safeguarding?

In a blog post, Ofsted says schools have told them talking about safeguarding can feel “quite pressurised” during inspections. But they say that their inspectors are just looking at whether schools have made the right decisions to keep children safe, not trying to catch them out on technicalities.

The watchdog says it expects all schools to have “an open and positive culture around safeguarding” that puts pupils’ interests first. Inspectors will focus on the school’s general safeguarding culture and arrangements to protect students when making a judgement, taking into account a wide range of evidence - with it being very rare for it to hinge on a single issue.

Schools are usually given a heads up the day before an Ofsted inspection, and in terms of safeguarding, they are asked to get some key documents ready. These include the school’s single central record (SCR), which contains details on all the checks done on school staff to make sure they are able to work with children; a list of all referrals the school has made to the local authority (with details on how concerns were followed up, and any outcomes); and a list of all open cases with children’s services or social care - and all pupils who have a multi-agency plan.

On the day, the Ofsted inspector will usually check over the SCR first - and might ask some questions about how new staff are recruited and inducted, and what training the school’s recruiters have. “We do it at the start so that if there are any minor safeguarding improvements that can be rectified during the inspection, schools have the opportunity to do so,” it writes.

Inspectors will also meet with the school’s designated safeguarding lead. They will ask whether there have been any safeguarding incidents or allegations since the last inspection, and if there have been, how the school responded. Inspectors will check whether school staff followed official guidance, and worked with the right agencies and people in a timely way. They’ll also check how school staff and leaders are trained to recognise indicators of abuse, and that they know what to do if they have concerns about a child, “no matter how minor those concerns might be”.

Finally, inspectors will speak to staff and pupils. With staff, they will double check they know what to do if concerned about a child. With children, inspectors will ask if they feel that there are people at the school who they can talk to if they have a concern, who will help them. “We’ll do this in an age-appropriate way,” the department says. “We’ll be very careful not to jump to any conclusions and will be mindful of confidentiality.”

If the inspector is happy with the school’s safeguarding policies or only finds minor issues (like small admin errors on paperwork), it won’t interfere with their judgement of the school. If a school is found to have more serious safeguarding issues, they will usually be re-inspected in three months time to make sure they have fixed them.

Why is safeguarding so important?

Safeguarding refers to the obligations services like the NHS and schools have to protect the health, human rights, and wellbeing of vulnerable people. For schools, this means being able to spot and take action if they believe children may be suffering from harm, abuse, exploitation or neglect at home.

While it usually comes down to local authorities, police, and care boards to intervene, teachers and other school staff spend a lot of time with pupils, and are more likely to notice if something might be wrong - or may even be told directly by a child. This is why the government says they need to know what to do if a child tells them they are being abused, and the processes to follow to get them the help they need.

Sometimes, children don’t know or understand they are being abused or neglected, and they rely on the adults in their lives to spot the signs as early as possible. These can be anything from poor hygiene, to missing educational milestones without a known medical reason, to being reluctant to go home after school - all of which educators are more likely to notice.

Local authorities typically have Early Help teams, which are able to help families stop problems that might interfere with a child’s education from escalating. This can include children who might have disabilities or other special educational needs, are showing signs of being drawn into criminal behaviour, are at risk of being radicalised, trafficked, or victim to ‘honour-based’ abuse like forced marriage, or are using drugs - or have family members that are. Schools can be invaluable in connecting children and families with these services.

Of course, threats to children don’t always come from the home. This is part of the reason school staff must be heavily vetted, and schools must have SCRs, Ofsted says. “Sadly, some predatory people do try to join the staff of schools. The SCR is an important safety mechanism.”

What role do you think schools and school staff should play in safeguarding? Have your say and make your voice heard by leaving a comment below.