Safeguarding Leadership Tools

🔒 Fully aligned to the Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2026

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 2026 and the 2026 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.

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). 

Navigating the complexities of IT systems can be challenging, especially with the renewed focus in Keeping Children Safe in Education on filtering and monitoring. Stay proactive with this Filtering and Monitoring Audit and Action Plan. Fully compliant with KCSIE 2025, you can assess where your school currently sits against the filtering and monitoring standards then create a plan to address any gaps or areas you’d like to improve.

Updated for 2026

This comprehensive audit will support you to assess your setting's current position against the DfE's Digital and Technology Standards for Schools and Colleges. Split into 11 sections that mirror the digital and technology standards and containing over 50 pages, this editable Word document walks you through what schools should have in place when it comes to ensuring they've got a safe, robust and sustainable digital infrastructure. 

The audit can be used flexibly by working through sections at different points and with different stakeholders. For example, you may wish to work with your ICT service provider or in-house IT staff on the more technical parts of the audit, such as the sections on broadband internet, cloud solutions, networks and servers. This will allow you to find out where you currently meet these standards so you can then focus on improving your IT and digital provision in other areas.

Part of the standards require schools to have a member of SLT who is the digital technology lead - if your setting does not have one yet, you may wish to start with the sections of digital leadership and governance before moving on to other aspects of the audit, such as laptops, desktops and tablets, and digital accessibility. You may also wish to work with your DSL when looking at safeguarding requirements and keeping children safe by using the sections on cyber security, and filtering and monitoring, which is also available from Honeyguide as an individual audit here: Filtering and Monitoring Audit and Action Plan.

School leaders may also find this audit helpful when looking to procure new IT equipment, infrastructure or services to ensure that any upgrades meet and exceed the digital and technology standards. This allows you to ensure you're making robust and carefully researched purchasing decisions.

Ensuring your school has safe and secure IT systems can be challenging, especially when it comes to the technical elements. This audit will support you by breaking down all of the complex digital and technological requirements into manageable chunks so that you focus on finding our your current position and any further improvements you need to make.

🔒 New for 2026 and fully aligned to the Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025