DSL Ofsted Inspection Preparation Bundle

🔒 Fully aligned to the 2025 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit

Ofsted inspection can feel daunting when you're a designated safeguarding lead, especially if you're new to the role or haven't experienced an inspection under the current framework. 

Designed specifically for DSLs, this focused preparation pack translates the 2025 School Inspection Toolkit into practical guidance about your role during inspection. You'll understand when and how you'll engage with inspectors, what questions they're likely to explore and how to demonstrate the excellent safeguarding work you're already doing day-to-day.

You'll get:

☑️ DSL Inspection Role Guidance – clear explanation of when you'll be involved during inspection, what happens during the safeguarding meeting and SCR review, and what inspectors want to understand from you

☑️ Example Ofsted DSL Questions – realistic questions you might be asked during your safeguarding meeting, helping you practise articulating your approach and identify any areas to strengthen

☑️ Further supporting documents – including a leader action checklist to build your inspection knowledge, an inspection readiness tool to evaluate your current practice against toolkit statements, and editable grade descriptor grids highlighting safeguarding across the framework

This Ofsted DSL resources pack helps to build your confidence to articulate your work clearly and supports you to prepare effectively without creating unnecessary workload. All templates are fully editable so you can adapt them for your school's specific context and use them as part of your ongoing safeguarding leadership, not just for inspection preparation.

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

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DSL Ofsted Inspection Preparation Bundle

DSL Ofsted Inspection Preparation Bundle

£7.50 £5.00
£7.50 £5.00
CONTENTS
WHO IT'S FOR
HOW IT CAN HELP
WHAT ELSE?
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What's in this DSL Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack?

This pack provides everything you need to understand your role as DSL during inspection and prepare confidently for your safeguarding meeting and other interactions with Ofsted inspectors. The pack is fully aligned with the 2025 School Inspection Toolkit.

You'll get:

☑️ DSL Inspection Role Guidance PDF covering when and how you'll engage with inspectors, what happens during the safeguarding meeting and single central record review, what inspectors want to understand from you and how safeguarding connects across all evaluation areas. The guidance includes common questions DSLs have about inspection and practical advice for feeling confident and prepared.

☑️ Example Ofsted DSL Questions template featuring realistic questions you might be asked during your safeguarding meeting to help you practise articulating your approach and identify any areas to strengthen your evidence base

☑️ Safeguarding Leader Action Checklist with prompts for key actions to build your knowledge of the inspection framework and prepare yourself and your team

☑️ Safeguarding Inspection Readiness Tool allowing you to compare your current practice against toolkit statements, identify strengths and any areas to address, and document what evidence demonstrates your provision

☑️ Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids giving you an editable version of the School Inspection Toolkit grading statements so you can use the safeguarding evaluation area and see where it connects to other areas such as inclusion, attendance and behaviour, personal development and leadership and governance

All templates are fully editable so you can adapt them for your school's specific context.

Who should use this DSL Inspection Preparation Pack?

This pack is for designated safeguarding leads in all phases who want to feel confident and prepared for Ofsted inspection. It's particularly valuable if you're new to the DSL role, if you haven't experienced an inspection under the current framework or if you simply want to understand your specific responsibilities during the inspection process.

Deputy DSLs, headteachers with DSL responsibilities, child protection leads and safeguarding governors will also find this pack useful for understanding how safeguarding leadership is evaluated during inspection and what inspectors want to explore during the safeguarding meeting.

How can this pack help DSLs prepare for Ofsted inspection?

This focused pack helps you tackle the most common concerns DSLs have when preparing for inspection:

"What exactly will inspectors ask me during the safeguarding meeting?"
The Example Ofsted DSL Questions resource explores the key themes inspectors investigate, from how you've established safeguarding culture to how you manage child-on-child violence and work with multi-agency partners. Use these to practise articulating your approach and ensure you can explain the thinking behind your safeguarding leadership.

"How do I know if our safeguarding provision meets the inspection framework?"
The Safeguarding Inspection Readiness Tool helps you compare your current practice against each toolkit statement, identifying what evidence demonstrates your provision, who can speak to it and what specific examples you have. This systematic approach ensures you're confident about where you stand.

"What do I need to do to get myself and my team ready?"
The Safeguarding Leader Action Checklist provides clear prompts for building your knowledge of how safeguarding is inspected, from understanding case sampling to knowing which evaluation areas you contribute to beyond safeguarding itself.

"Where does safeguarding fit within the wider inspection framework?"
The Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids give you the complete toolkit in an editable format, highlighting not just the safeguarding evaluation area but also where your work connects to inclusion, attendance and behaviour, personal development and leadership and governance.

Want to build on your Ofsted preparation work?

The following resources can help you if Ofsted preparation is on your mind.

Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack - this focused DSL guide already forms part of the comprehensive preparation pack, which also contains support for many other school leadership roles as well as providing in-depth support for across all nine evaluation areas and other pre-inspection tasks.

Safeguarding Audit Pack – take your safeguarding evaluation deeper with comprehensive audit questions that go beyond inspection readiness to help you continuously improve your provision, identify gaps and strengthen your systems throughout the year.

Single Central Record Compliance Bundle – ensure your SCR meets all requirements in Part 3 of KCSIE with comprehensive guidance, compliance checklists and spot-check tools to help you maintain an inspection-ready record and address any administrative gaps before inspectors review it.

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