Safeguarding Audit

A comprehensive guidance pack with accompanying templates to help you audit the safeguarding practices, policies and procedures in your setting. This audit pack is designed to help you identify areas of strength and weakness in the school’s safeguarding provision and to provide recommendations for improvement.  

When you make your purchase, you'll receive a ZIP file containing the whole pack, including:

• A 22-page PDF in full colour containing all the guidance, research and information you need.
• A low-colour, print-friendly version of the same PDF.
• 16 fully editable and easy-to-use templates that can be adapted for your setting. These include:

1. Safeguarding Audit
2. Safeguarding Action Plan
3. Safeguarding Document Checklist
4. Safeguarding Question Bank
5. Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids
6. Safeguarding Referrals
7. Open Cases with Social Care or Children’s Services
8. Sexual Harassment and/or Violence Records
9. Physical Intervention Records
10. Annual Safeguarding Report to Governors
11. Headteachers Report to Governors
12. Looked-After Children Information Log
13. Pupil Premium Information Log
14. Single Central Record Checklist
15. Safer Recruitment Checklist 
16. Pre-employment Checklist

Throughout the pack, we’ll explain concepts, guide your thinking and provide scaffolds if you need them so you can focus on adapting everything to the needs of your pupils and staff, allowing you to be confident and well-prepared before, during and after conducting an audit.

Headteachers, deputy headteachers, assistant headteachers, pastoral and welfare leaders, designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) and members of the senior leadership team wishing to develop their understanding of Ofsted’s safeguarding requirements and seeking to assess, evaluate and improve safeguarding in the setting. This pack is suitable for new and experienced school leaders.

Have you conducted a safeguarding audit before? Wondering where to begin or wanting to ensure you cover all areas of safeguarding as outlined in the Education Inspection Framework (EIF)?  

A safeguarding audit aims to ensure that the school is fulfilling its legal and statutory responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The audit helps to identify any areas of concern or potential risks, which can then be addressed to improve the school’s safeguarding arrangements.

It provides a comprehensive evaluation of the school’s educational practices, identifies areas for improvement, and establishes a clear roadmap for continuous improvement. Gather the views from all stakeholders, including staff, pupils, parents, carers and governors, as well as evaluating your staff awareness and training, communication, record keeping and reporting, recruitment and selection and site management. 

If completed honestly, conducting an audit in this area can be a useful tool while collecting evidence from a variety of sources, so you can gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of safeguarding  in your setting.

Key questions answered in this pack: 

• What is a safeguarding audit?
• What sources of evidence can be used in a safeguarding audit?
• Why is a safeguarding audit useful?
• How will Ofsted inspect safeguarding?
• What safeguarding records will Ofsted inspect?
• What sort of judgement will inspectors make about safeguarding?
• What will the inspectors ask pupils and staff about safeguarding arrangements?
• How do I conduct a safeguarding audit?
• How can I use a safeguarding audit to inform next steps?
• How can I ensure governors are kept up to date regarding safeguarding procedures?
• What information will Ofsted gather about pupil premium?
• What will Ofsted gather about looked-after children (LAC)?

The resources in this pack are also available in other packs we've got on site. We’ve done this with school leaders in mind so you can pick the ones to best suit your needs and context.

If you’re not sure if this pack is for you, see if any of the following options suit you better:

Need all of the support available, including everything linked to Ofsted?

• Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack

Want to focus on auditing other areas?

• Audits, Website Compliance and Recruitment Pack - this contains all of the audits we have available, including this one and the following list.
• Curriculum and Quality of Education Audit
• Mental Health and Wellbeing Audit
• Behaviour and Attitudes Audit
• Personal Development Audit
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Audit
• Safeguarding Audit
• SEND Audit

Want to look at school improvement?

• School Evaluation and Improvement Pack

Need support with the Ofsted phone call?

• Ofsted Phone Call Preparation Pack