Inspection requirements for safeguarding in UK schools

How are safeguarding and child protection practices assessed?

Each regulatory body in the UK follows its own inspection framework. Evidence is collected to assess how well a school meets the required standards.

England

In September 2024, Ofsted published its response to the Big Listen consultation.¹ The response set out a number of planned changes to the way in which Ofsted carries out its inspections.

The below information reflects Ofsted’s current process for assessing safeguarding and child protection practices. It will be updated when the guidance outlining the new process is published.

Ofsted uses the education inspection framework (EIF)¹ following guidance set out in the school inspection handbook² and specific guidance around safeguarding.³

Schools are inspected in five key areas:

• overall effectiveness
• quality of education
• behaviour and attitudes
• personal development
• leadership and management

Safeguarding is assessed as part of the leadership and management key area, which requires schools to demonstrate that they are meeting their statutory safeguarding responsibilities. Schools are evaluated on the effectiveness of their safeguarding procedures and policies, and the wellbeing, behaviour, and personal development of their pupils.

Northern Ireland

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) uses the inspection and self-evaluation framework (ISEF).⁴

Schools are evaluated on a set of key indicators:

• overall effectiveness
• outcomes for learners
• quality of provision
• leadership and management
• governance
• care and welfare
• safeguarding.

The ETI inspects schools with the view that safeguarding and child protection should be a core part of how the school operates. The safeguarding key indicator focuses on how the school follows policy and procedures and if the children feel safe and secure.

The care and welfare key indicator looks at evidence of effective practice in areas such as supporting children to overcome barriers to learning and monitoring of attendance and engagement. It also includes the inspection of the statutory curriculum around relationships and sexuality education.

Scotland

Schools in Scotland are assessed using Education Scotland’s How good is our school? self-evaluation framework.⁵

The framework focuses on a school’s capacity to improve:

• leadership and management
• learning provision
• successes and achievements.

Each of these three areas has its own set of quality indicators (QIs). The safeguarding and child protection QI comes under the heading of learning provision. It looks at:

• school policies for safeguarding and child protection
• strategies to support children who have unexplained, regular, or long-term absence
• the standard of safeguarding record keeping
• how staff respond to any child protection or safeguarding issue
• if children are safe and feel safe in school
• if children feel that they have trusted adults to talk to when they need help.

Wales

Estyn’s approach to inspections is set out in its What we inspect guidance.⁶ Inspectors evaluate Welsh schools using five inspection areas (IAs):

• learning
• wellbeing and attitudes to learning
• teaching and learning experiences
• care, support and guidance
• leadership and management.

Safeguarding and personal development come under the IA of care, support and guidance which covers:

• the school’s approach to safeguarding
• the degree to which leaders promote and support a culture of safety and wellbeing within the school
• how well pupils believe that the school’s leaders will take seriously any concerns they have about their safety
• the general security of the school buildings and setting.

How does the inspection process work?

Each nation uses a combination of pre-prepared information and inspection visits to assess a school’s ability to safeguard their pupils.

England

In September 2024, Ofsted published its response to the Big Listen consultation.¹ The response included a number of planned changes to its inspection process, including the removal of the overall effectiveness grade and a reformed inspection framework.

The below information will be updated when the guidance outlining the new inspection process is published.

Schools in England are evaluated using information provided by the school, feedback from questionnaires and an inspection visit. The inspection process is set out in Ofsted’s education inspection framework (EIF)² and school inspection handbook.³

Schools judged by Ofsted as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ are inspected around every 4 years.

Most schools judged as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ are re-visited within 30 months of the previous inspection. However, schools that are found ‘good’ or ‘better’ in every other aspect but are found ‘inadequate’ due to ineffective safeguarding will be revisited within 3 months of the inspection report being published to carry out a monitoring inspection.⁴

Ofsted has set out further information for schools on when they can expect their next inspection.

Ofsted will normally contact a school the day before an inspection. The school will then have until 8am the next morning to put together the documentation the inspectors need to review. Requested safeguarding information includes:

• the single central record, summarising the checks and vetting of all staff working with pupils
• a list of concerns that have been shared with the designated safeguarding lead
• a list of pupils who have open cases with children’s services and for whom there is a multi-agency plan
• records and analysis of incidents such as exclusions, sexual harassment, and bullying or discriminatory behaviour.

During the evaluation, the inspectors will observe pupils to evaluate aspects of personal development and welfare. Inspectors will ask pupils about their experiences of behaviour in the school, including how the school deals with any form of harassment and violence.

Ofsted will also gather further feedback from pupils, parents, staff, and other stakeholders, through questionnaires and informal meetings during the inspection.

Northern Ireland

Schools in Northern Ireland self-evaluate their safeguarding practices using questions from the inspection and self-evaluation framework (ISEF).⁵ This self-evaluation is then reviewed alongside findings from the inspection visit, as set out in the Education and Training Inspectorate’s (ETI’s) overview of the inspection process.⁶

Educational settings are inspected at least once every 3 years. If an inspection identifies important areas for improvement, a follow-up inspection will take place within 1-2 years.

For full and follow-up inspections, the ETI notifies the school or education setting by telephone and email 2 weeks before the visit. Sustaining improvement or monitoring inspections are scheduled in between full inspections, with 2 days’ notice. Inspections can take anywhere from 1 to 4 days depending on the education setting.

In preparation for the visit, schools are required to provide the following safeguarding information:

• a questionnaire, known as the safeguarding proforma, reviewing the school’s safeguarding practice
• a safeguarding policy that reflects the guidance of the Department of Education

During the visit, inspectors will assess how well the content of the safeguarding proforma is understood and implemented.

Inspectors obtain information from pupils, parents, staff and governors, through conversations and questionnaires which take place before and during the inspection. Inspectors also examine lessons and examples of pupils’ work.

Scotland

Schools in Scotland evaluate their own work through the quality indicators (QIs) set out in the How good is our school? framework.⁷ This self-evaluation provides the basis of inspections, which focus on a subset of the QIs. All inspections include a focus on safeguarding.

Education Scotland selects an annual sample of schools to evaluate. Each school is notified of an upcoming inspection by email, which is followed up with a phone call. Inspections can take up to a week to complete.

Before the inspection, schools in Scotland are asked to gather information including:

• a self-evaluation summary
• a pre-inspection questionnaire and survey for pupils, parents, staff, and partners
• a child protection and safeguarding self-evaluation form.

During the visit inspectors may visit classes, read key documents, look at pupil’s work and have discussions with groups of children and staff.

Inspectors evaluate the school’s safeguarding procedures and how they are linked to locally agreed multi-agency procedures. As part of this they will meet with the school’s child protection coordinator to sign off the completed child protection and safeguarding self-evaluation form.

Further information on the inspection process is set out in Education Scotland’s guidance on inspections for heads of education settings (PDF).⁸

Wales

Estyn uses target outcomes that focus on strengths and required improvements to inspect schools in Wales.

Safeguarding practices are evaluated using the school’s own assessment of their safeguarding policy and any actions taken to address inadequacies, alongside the inspector’s assessment of the school during their visit. The inspection process is set out in detail in Estyn’s How we inspect⁹ and What we inspect (PDF)¹⁰ guidance for inspectors.

Estyn visits schools at least once in an 8-year-period¹¹ and will make more regular visits to schools that require additional support.

Schools will be notified 10 working days before the inspection. They will then receive a follow-up phone call and be given further information about pre-inspection questionnaires. The length of the inspection is determined by the size of the education setting.

The inspection team will gather evidence through a range of means including:

• the pre-inspection questionnaires
• discussions with pupils, parents, and staff
• observing lessons and the children’s behaviour during the school day.

Estyn assesses the culture of safety and wellbeing in a school by looking at:

• the culture of safety and wellbeing
• the effectiveness of the school’s own evaluation
• the record keeping processes
• the security of school buildings and site
• child protection arrangements.

How do inspectors respond to safeguarding concerns?

If immediate or serious safeguarding concerns are found, these are raised during inspections. The guidance for responding to concerns differs in each nation. A summary of the guidance is shared below.

England

Ofsted is currently reviewing how it responds to safeguarding concerns identified during inspections.¹ The below information will be updated when the guidance outlining the new process is published.

A school’s overall effectiveness will be judged as inadequate if safeguarding is found to be ineffective. If weaknesses are identified in safeguarding which are easily rectified and there are no serious failings that leave pupils either being harmed or at risk of harm, a school will be judged as requiring improvement.²

If a school has been found inadequate in its safeguarding but good or outstanding otherwise, inspectors will carry out a monitoring inspection within 3 months of the original report’s publication. After the monitoring inspection, if the school’s safeguarding has improved and any concerns resolved, a new inspection report and grading will take place.

If a child protection or safeguarding concern arises during any inspection, the lead inspector should discuss the matter with the relevant senior manager at the setting and verify that a referral to the local authority’s children’s services will be made.³

Northern Ireland

If the school is described as ‘unsatisfactory’ for children’s care, welfare and safeguarding, the ETI will return within 6 working weeks to re-assess the progress on these issues.⁴

The ETI’s code of conduct for inspecting states that there should be prompt and appropriate action on any safeguarding or health and safety issues.⁵

Scotland

If a QI is found to be unsatisfactory, senior managers based within the school (such as headteachers) and staff from relevant agencies will support the school to take immediate steps to improve.⁶

If safeguarding concerns arise during the visit, inspection team members will discuss these with senior leaders as appropriate.⁷

Wales

Where safeguarding plans don’t meet requirements, inspectors will alert managers at the school, record the concern, and recommend strategies for improvement. After the inspection a ‘wellbeing letter’ is issued to the school and local authority to ensure that progress is being made. If inspectors find significant risks to pupils, the school will normally be assessed as needing special measures and senior leaders in the school will be notified.⁸

If safeguarding concerns arise during the visit, inspectors should alert the managers at the provision, and follow Estyn’s policy and procedures for safeguarding.⁹