How Ofsted inspect safeguarding in schools

Ofsted have recently published an update to their safeguarding inspection handbook, explaining how they inspect safeguarding. In addition to the published blog post, OFSTED have also released a webinar.

OFSTED say that safeguarding is a binary judgement: either effective or ineffective. In the academic year 2022/23, only 1% of schools inspected had judgement of ineffective safeguarding. It is unlikely that a school would be judged inadequate for safeguarding on only one issue.

OFSTED say that effective safeguarding doesn't mean that it is necessarily perfect and might require minor improvements. These are aspects that do not have an immediate impact on the safety of pupils. This means that where a school has effective safeguarding, albeit needing minor improvements, a judgement of good or outstanding may still be given.

Where safeguarding is effective there will be no further information given in the report. OFSTED say that 'this is because they do not want schools to feel that they have to do anything based on what they might read in another school support as this might add to workload'. However, where safeguarding is ineffective, the judgement will be explained further in the report, so that the issues are clear.

Inspectors speaking on the webinar are clear that schools are only a part of the systems that are in place to keep children safe: 'schools cannot be everything to everyone'. For example, they recognise that school leaders are not trained social workers. OFSTED are clear that they have no intention of trying to 'catch schools out on technicalities'. OFSTED does not expect anything from schools beyond that which is set out in KCSIE and their handbooks.

As has been made clear in the past, OFSTED are very much looking for a culture of safeguarding. They have updated the definition to make it much clearer that they 'expect all schools to have an open and positive culture around safeguarding that put pupils' interests first'. This definition can be found in the school inspection handbook, paragraph 367. Inspectors will use a range of evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements. OFSTED say that an important aspect of inspection and safeguarding is to be assured that the school is 'reflective and receptive to challenge' and that staff understand that safeguarding is a 'ongoing endeavour'.

OFSTED have taken this opportunity to clarify that the results of an inspection may be shared with whoever leaders feel is appropriate, 'ensuring that the information is not made public or shared with parents' on the understanding that grades are provisional and subject to quality assurance and moderation.

It is well worth reading the blog post and watching the webinar; links are below.

The school safeguarding handbook (paragraph 107) states that inspectors will need some specific information before inspection:

• The single central record
• A list of referrals made to the local authority
• Any referrals made to the local authority designated officer regarding staff or other adults
• A list of all open cases with children services or social care and all pupils who have a multi agency plan

The chief HMI has previously said that the there is no expectation the governors go through the single central record the themselves. The role is to ensure that mechanisms are in place to make sure this has been dealt with correctly.

The key guidance for the SCR is contained in Keeping Children Safe in Education. OFSTED are keen to reiterate that they are using this information to check the schools SCR. The DfE published an extremely useful webinar about the Single Central Record, presented by Louis Donald. Inspectors in their training, I've been directed to watch this webinar themselves. You can find the webinar here:

When reviewing case files inspectors should have enough detail for them to understand the overall concerns that have been identified and the support and help that is in place. The level of required detail in safeguarding records is set out in KCSIE (paragraph 68). Invite update, OFSTED have raised the profile of information sharing. I imagine this is because serious case reviews have long illustrated the importance of information sharing and how often it is in effective.

OFSTED have no expectations on how training is carried out; they are concerned about the impact of that training. Inspectors will aim to ensure that staff have the relevant knowledge and skills to safeguard children effectively, particularly in their own context.

Find the Ofsted update here: https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2023/11/09/how-we-inspect-safeguarding-in-schools/

Find the School Inspection Handbook here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023

Find the Ofsted webinar here: https://youtu.be/OTJYYNP9AEc?si=q7RRMvBVjuWLouze

The OFSTED webinar includes two very useful scenarios which pose the question: ineffective or effective safeguarding. These scenarios can be found at the timestamp 39 minutes 1 second. (https://youtu.be/OTJYYNP9AEc?si=mKQU9tONaizJsYBk&t=2341)

Find the Single Central Record (DfE) webinar here: https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/dfescr

Download a FAQ about the SCR here: https://6282.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/FAQs+KCSIE+Series+Webinar+2+-+Single+Central+Record.pdf

Download a transcript of the scenarios here: https://6282.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/How+Ofsted+inspects+safeguarding+in+schools.pdf