Safeguarding Leadership Tools

🔒 Fully aligned to the final Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025

New for 2025, this comprehensive safeguarding audit pack provides DSLs, child protection leads and SLT with everything needed to review safeguarding culture, systems and compliance across the eight key areas that matter most to inspectors.

☑️ Complete 46-page safeguarding audit document covering strategic leadership, operational management, staff training, safer recruitment, child-on-child violence, site safety and continuous improvement, with structured questions and evidence prompts to evaluate current provision and identify next steps

☑️ 18-page step-by-step audit guidance explaining how to conduct effective safeguarding audits, triangulate evidence, and avoid common pitfalls when reviewing school provision

☑️ Ready-to-use templates and tools including action plan template, safeguarding evidence checklist, stakeholder question bank for staff, pupils, parents and governors, plus one-page summary template for SLT and governing body reporting

Ideal for DSLs, deputy DSLs, headteachers and safeguarding leaders reviewing statutory compliance, preparing for inspection or strengthening safeguarding practice.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the audit pack🔗 

👉 This audit pack is part of our Complete School Leadership Audit Set, which includes eleven audits in one purchase, saving you money whilst ensuring you can evaluate your entire school provision across all Ofsted evaluation areas plus three essential good practice audits.

🔒 Fully in line with KCSIE 2025 and the 2025 Education Inspection Framework

This Single Central Record (SCR) Compliance Bundle gives DSLs, headteachers and school leaders a practical toolkit for checking safer recruitment and record-keeping processes against Part 3 of Keeping Children Safe in Education. Whether you're preparing for inspection or conducting routine compliance checks, these templates help you identify gaps quickly and document your findings clearly.

You'll get:

☑️ Single Central Record (SCR) Overview Checklist – conduct whole-record checks to verify you're recording information about the correct people (staff members, trainee teachers, agency and third-party workers, volunteers and contractors), confirm the right checks have been completed for each role (enhanced DBS checks, children's barred list checks, Section 128 checks, right to work in the UK checks and other statutory and recommended checks), and identify any missing dates or information

☑️ Single Central Record (SCR) Spot Check Template – triangulate your SCR evidence by comparing records against personnel files, identify discrepancies between your SCR and actual documentation, and document your findings clearly for governors and inspectors

All templates are fully editable Word documents so you can adapt them for your school's specific context and reuse them throughout the year to maintain compliance.

👉 Looking for further support on preparing for inspection? These resources are also available as part of the full Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack too.

Looking to boost key messages about safeguarding and remind staff, volunteers and governors about the indicators of abuse, neglect and exploitation? This digital download bundle of eleven safeguarding posters is an ideal way to share reminders about common signs and indicators you might see for different safeguarding issues, including:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse 
• Emotional abuse
• Neglect
• Domestic abuse
• Child-on-child abuse
• Bullying and cyberbullying
• Child sexual exploitation (CSE)
• Child criminal exploitation (CCE)
• County lines
• Sexual harassment and violence

Each poster is in PDF format, so can be printed and displayed or sent as part of your safeguarding newsletters, e-bulletins and communication. The posters are an ideal way to get staff thinking about what they notice about the children in their care as well as publicly broadcasting your commitment to keeping children safe.

Please note this is a digital download - you won't receive physical copies of the posters. These posters are also available as part of much more comprehensive pack to support school leaders with safeguarding: Safeguarding Training Pack - Full Academic Year

🔄 Updated for 2026

Safeguarding governors need to do more than review data at termly meetings – they also have a role in checking, in the moment, that safeguarding culture, policy and practice are working as they should day to day. These spot check questions give safeguarding link governors a practical tool for doing exactly that.

Whether dipping into a specific area of practice, having a quick conversation with a member of staff or checking that procedures are being followed on the ground, this template provides ready-to-use questions for governors to use during informal visits and spot checks in school.

You'll get:

☑️ Safeguarding Spot Check Questions – a focused set of questions for safeguarding link governors to use during school visits, covering the key areas of safeguarding culture, policy and day-to-day practice

Fully editable so you can adapt it to reflect your school's context and priorities.

👉 This set of questions is also available in the larger Safeguarding Link Governor Support Pack, which has a set of deeper, more strategic set of safeguarding questions, a safeguarding report to governors template and a roles and responsibilities document.

🔄 Updated for 2026

Supporting your safeguarding link governor effectively takes structure, clarity and the right tools. This pack gives you this with four fully editable resources designed to strengthen safeguarding governance in your school, whether your link governor is new to role or needs more support to be highly effective.

You'll get:

☑️ Safeguarding Questions for Governors and Trustees – 13 pages of structured questions to support meaningful collaboration between the safeguarding link governor and key school staff such as the DSL or headteacher, plus a triangulating evidence section and an action plan template to document next steps

☑️ Safeguarding Spot Check Questions for Governors – a focused set of questions that can be asked of teaching staff, support staff and further roles for safeguarding link governors to use during school visits, covering the key areas of safeguarding culture, policy and day-to-day practice

☑️ Safeguarding Report to Governors Template – a clear, structured template covering safeguarding data and commentary, giving the full governing board the insight they need

☑️ Safeguarding Link Governor Roles and Responsibilities – an editable outline of the safeguarding governor's key responsibilities, ideal for onboarding a new governor or bringing clarity to an existing role

All resources are fully editable so you can adapt them to reflect your school's context and needs.

If you need to use alterative provision (AP) to support any of your pupils, you'll also need to check that the AP is a suitable setting, not only because of Ofsted requirements of using an AP but also to ensure the continued safeguarding and quality of education for your pupil(s).

This checklist is designed to support school leaders to consider how the potential alternative provision approaches the following key areas:

• Safeguarding
• Health and Safety
• Curriculum and Quality of Education
• Behaviour and Attendance
• Pupil Support and Transition
• Communication and Information Sharing
• Ofsted Requirements

You may find it beneficial to work through this checklist with the headteacher of the alternative provision (AP) so that you can agree to any arrangements and adjustments to support your pupil. It also offers guidance around where you may find the information you need to evaluate whether the AP is suitable.

The checklist should be used before a decision is made about sending a pupil to an alternative provision but it can also be used for existing APs that you work with to ensure that your pupils are in a setting that keeps them safe and helps them to thrive. By working through this checklist - which can be used as many times as needed - you can make informed decisions and assure yourself that the AP you choose will meet the needs of your pupil(s). 

Looking for ways to make staff safeguarding training more consistent and engaging? Our Safeguarding Snapshots are the perfect solution. Designed in line with KCSIE 2025 guidance, these one-page safeguarding resources give staff a clear and accessible overview of specific safeguarding issues.

Use them as eye-catching posters in staff rooms or share them in your safeguarding e-bulletins to keep safeguarding knowledge fresh and relevant throughout the year. By making safeguarding training more regular and visible, you’ll strengthen staff awareness and create a safer environment for children and young people.

For DSLs and headteachers who need a structured, comprehensive way to report on safeguarding across the school to their governing board.

You'll get:

☑️ Annual Safeguarding Report to Governors – a fully editable 13-page Word document covering:

• safeguarding overview and culture
• safeguarding governor visit overview
• DSL and deputy DSL details and training
• safer recruitment information
• staff safeguarding training including Prevent duty
• induction procedures for new starters, volunteers and visitors
• alternative provision safeguarding arrangements
• Single Central Record (SCR) summary and compliance
• curriculum provision and safeguarding teaching
• space for narrative on pupil voice on safety and help-seeking, child-on-child abuse and whole-school culture, online safety filtering and monitoring including AI tools and cyber security
• referrals and cases including numbers of children in need plans, child protection plans, CME, LADO and Prevent/Channel referrals
•  allegations against staff and low-level concerns
• specific safeguarding risks covering a comprehensive range of risk areas
• multi-agency and external partnerships
• vulnerable groups oversight
• safeguarding-related policies and procedures
• KCSIE implementation
• a structured evaluation and improvement section including governor questions and challenges.

All sections are fully editable so you can adapt the template to your school's context and reporting cycle.

Ideal for designated safeguarding leads, headteachers and deputy headteachers preparing an annual safeguarding reports to governors. The template could be used termly as well.

👉 Ensuring that your governors know your school well - especially when it comes to safeguarding pupils - is a vital part of the leadership and governance of any setting. As such, this template can also be found as part of our Reports to Governors Template Bundle. A separate Headteacher's Report to Governors Template is also available to help you to work effectively with your governing board.