Safeguarding Audit
Looking to review your school safeguarding policies, procedures and processes? Wondering how you could improve or evaluate your school's approach? Safeguarding is a crucial aspect of creating a safe and inclusive learning environment, and with the information and resources in this pack, you can feel confident and well-prepared to audit this area to assist your continuing school improvement journey.
Filled with useful points to consider, ways to move your thinking forward and covering the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) for safeguarding and evidence that the school is meeting the requirements set out in the statutory guidance document, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), this audit pack is useful for new and experienced leaders alike.
What?
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.
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.
Who?
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.
How long?
Utilise this pack and the accompanying templates at your own pace, or share it among your senior leadership team. We’ve split the pack into digestible chunks with you in mind. Don’t overload yourself as there’s a lot to take in but bring yourself up to speed with all of the elements that a senior needs to be aware of when conducting a safeguarding audit.
When?
Start as soon as you’ve downloaded the pack or at any time to suit your school demands and workload. This pack is useful when looking ahead to the next academic year as well as at the start of a new school year or when there have been changes to the safeguarding provision. This pack is written in line with the 2023 KCSIE.
Why?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)?
