What Should Safeguarding Monitoring Actually Involve?

It’s easy to fall into the habit of saying, “Yes, we’ve got that.”
Policy? In place. Logs? Completed. Single Central Record? Checked.

But meaningful safeguarding monitoring asks something more.

It asks whether those systems are not only in place, but working. Whether people understand them and whether children are safer because of them. Whether we, as leaders, are actively paying attention — not just once a term, but often enough to spot change, challenge assumptions and keep improving. It's a lot to think about, so let's break it down further...

What do Ofsted look for with safeguarding?

Ofsted inspectors aren’t just checking whether you have a safeguarding system. They’re looking at how well it works. That includes:

• Whether leaders know and fulfil their statutory responsibilities
  
• Whether staff are confident in the school's reporting systems
  
• Whether pupils feel safe and can name trusted adults
  
• Whether governors provide strategic oversight — and act on it
  
• Whether leaders keep safeguarding under regular review

Strong safeguarding monitoring is a key part of inspection readiness. More importantly, part of what keeps children safe day to day.

Start with the statutory foundations

Some aspects of monitoring are not optional. These are your core safeguarding compliance checks and they should be happening regularly, not just when prompted by inspection.

You should be monitoring:

• The Single Central Record, including whether issues are identified and followed up
  
• Safer recruitment, including pre-appointment checks, record-keeping and how you handle any gaps
  
• Referrals, case management and allegations, including consistency, timeliness and quality of record-keeping
  
• Staff knowledge, including whether everyone has read Part 1 of KCSIE, understands the indicators of concern and knows how to act
  

This is the backbone of safeguarding compliance. It’s also the first thing inspectors will want to discuss so ensure you have the figures to hand.

Go beyond the basics: how to monitor safeguarding effectively in schools

Monitoring doesn’t stop at statutory checks. Once the foundations are in place, the question becomes: how do you know whether your systems work?

That’s where deeper, more reflective monitoring comes in. Start with your logs and records and not only check whether they’re completed, but what they tell you.

• Are concerns increasing or decreasing?
  
• Do patterns emerge in certain cohorts or times of day?
  
• Are there types of concern that rarely appear — and might that mean they’re under-reported?
  
• Do records show consistent follow-up and escalation?
  

This kind of insight goes beyond compliance as it helps shape your strategic priorities and supports continuous improvement.

Review real cases — not just high-level trends

One of the most valuable safeguarding audit tools for DSLs is to select a single case and track it from start to finish.

This helps you to explore:

• When the concern was first raised
  
• What response was made and how quickly
  
• Who was informed, what was recorded and whether the action taken was proportionate
  
• What changed for the pupil over time
  

This kind of case review helps you check for consistency, follow-through and whether the system supports pupils with lower-level or emerging needs — not just those with the highest risk profile.

📋 Want a clearer structure for case sampling? It’s part of Honeyguide’s Safeguarding Audit Pack 

Walk the school. Talk to people. Listen to what’s not written down.

Effective safeguarding monitoring happens everywhere, not just in files. Try the following:

• Walk the site: What do children see? Are there clear signs of who they can talk to?
  
• Check informal spaces: Are there areas where pupils might be more vulnerable?
  
• Talk to staff: Can they describe what they’d do if a pupil made a disclosure? Are they confident in the school’s reporting routes?
  
• Seek pupil voice: Do children say they feel safe? Can they identify someone they trust?

Anonymous pupil or staff feedback can also offer a different kind of insight, especially where you want to check the impact of safeguarding CPD or build a whole-school picture.

Link monitoring to meaningful action

Knowing how to monitor safeguarding effectively in schools is only part of the job. The rest is what you do with what you find. Some key considerations include:

• Are there training gaps to address?
  
• Is your safeguarding training up to date?
• Are some staff unsure about recording expectations or escalation?
  
• Do posters or prompts need replacing or refreshing?
  
• Is a policy out of step with what’s actually happening?
  

This is where safeguarding monitoring becomes leadership — responsive, strategic and improvement-focused.

Safeguarding risks change. Your monitoring needs to keep up.

A termly checklist isn’t enough. Pupils’ needs will shift regularly. Risks will evolve over short spaces of time. Staff come and go. The systems that worked last term might not be working now. That’s why Ofsted wants to see safeguarding under continual review and it’s why monitoring should be an embedded habit, not an occasional exercise.

If you’re using a school inspection safeguarding checklist, logs, governor questions or audit tools to guide your monitoring, make sure they still reflect what’s happening now — not what was true six months ago.

Safeguarding isn’t static and neither is your responsibility to lead it well. Why not support your governing body in their role with the Safeguarding Link Governor Support Pack below, filled with questions for consideration, an audit and an overview of their key responsibilities.