KATE ATKINSON
NAHT HEAD OF ADVICE
Kate Atkinson looks at what you can do to help your governor/trustee give a clear account of safeguarding during an Ofsted inspection.
All NAHT members take safeguarding seriously – keeping children safe is at the heart of what good leaders do.
For many, this article will be a helpful refresher on one area of an Ofsted inspection and won’t change anything you currently do in school. However, we have been alerted by NAHT members that Ofsted is taking a keen interest in safeguarding matters and has been working closely with governors/trustees on this. We have become aware that, in some instances, the responses on safeguarding from governors/trustees when speaking with inspectors have caused difficulties in relation to the inspection. As such, this article seeks to address what school leaders can proactively do in advance to empower their governors/trustees to give a good account of safeguarding when speaking to an Ofsted inspector.
All NAHT members take safeguarding seriously – keeping children safe is at the heart of what good leaders do.
For many, this article will be a helpful refresher on one area of an Ofsted inspection and won’t change anything you currently do in school. However, we have been alerted by NAHT members that Ofsted is taking a keen interest in safeguarding matters and has been working closely with governors/trustees on this. We have become aware that, in some instances, the responses on safeguarding from governors/trustees when speaking with inspectors have caused difficulties in relation to the inspection. As such, this article seeks to address what school leaders can proactively do in advance to empower their governors/trustees to give a good account of safeguarding when speaking to an Ofsted inspector.
As part of an Ofsted inspection, schools are judged on the effectiveness of their safeguarding arrangements and need to demonstrate they’re meeting their statutory responsibilities. The first thing to note is that there isn’t a separate graded judgement for safeguarding. Safeguarding is looked at in the context of the inspection as a whole; however, inspectors will judge whether safeguarding arrangements are 'effective'.
If safeguarding is found to be ineffective, this will likely lead to an 'inadequate' judgement for 'leadership and management'. Even where there are slight weaknesses in arrangements that can easily be put right and, importantly, don’t leave pupils at risk of harm, Ofsted inspectors might still provide a judgement of ‘requires improvement’. Making sure your school’s safeguarding arrangements are as good as they can be and governors and leaders can clearly articulate these robust arrangements will keep your children safe and help avoid a negative inspection outcome.
Here, we’ll look at the role of governors/trustees in relation to safeguarding. This article isn’t an exhaustive examination of the topic, but it is a good starting point for discussions with your governors/trustees to help them understand their role and feel empowered to take hold of their strategic responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.
As part of an Ofsted inspection, schools are judged on the effectiveness of their safeguarding arrangements and need to demonstrate they’re meeting their statutory responsibilities. The first thing to note is that there isn’t a separate graded judgement for safeguarding. Safeguarding is looked at in the context of the inspection as a whole; however, inspectors will judge whether safeguarding arrangements are 'effective'.
If safeguarding is found to be ineffective, this will likely lead to an 'inadequate' judgement for 'leadership and management'. Even where there are slight weaknesses in arrangements that can easily be put right and, importantly, don’t leave pupils at risk of harm, Ofsted inspectors might still provide a judgement of ‘requires improvement’. Making sure your school’s safeguarding arrangements are as good as they can be and governors and leaders can clearly articulate these robust arrangements will keep your children safe and help avoid a negative inspection outcome.
Here, we’ll look at the role of governors/trustees in relation to safeguarding. This article isn’t an exhaustive examination of the topic, but it is a good starting point for discussions with your governors/trustees to help them understand their role and feel empowered to take hold of their strategic responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.
Governing bodies should ensure they facilitate a whole-school approach to safeguarding. This means ensuring that safeguarding and child protection are at the forefront of everything done in a school, and consequently, they underpin all relevant aspects of process and policy development. Ultimately, all systems, processes and policies should operate with the child's best interests at heart.
To take the lead in facilitating this whole-school approach, governing bodies should have a senior board level (or equivalent) lead to take leadership responsibility for their school’s safeguarding arrangement. This is often referred to as the safeguarding governor/trustee in the context of an academy. We recommend NAHT members revisit this basic principle with their governing/trustee board to remind it of the need for this whole-school approach, which includes all governors, not just the safeguarding governor/trustee.
Governing bodies should ensure they facilitate a whole-school approach to safeguarding. This means ensuring that safeguarding and child protection are at the forefront of everything done in a school, and consequently, they underpin all relevant aspects of process and policy development. Ultimately, all systems, processes and policies should operate with the child's best interests at heart.
To take the lead in facilitating this whole-school approach, governing bodies should have a senior board level (or equivalent) lead to take leadership responsibility for their school’s safeguarding arrangement. This is often referred to as the safeguarding governor/trustee in the context of an academy. We recommend NAHT members revisit this basic principle with their governing/trustee board to remind it of the need for this whole-school approach, which includes all governors, not just the safeguarding governor/trustee.
The safeguarding governor/trustee should work directly with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The DSL will do a large amount of the safeguarding work, but regular meetings should be held between the DSL and the safeguarding governor/trustee to share important information, organise staff training and remain up-to-date with current government legislation. These ‘ongoing’ conversations will also allow the safeguarding governor/trustee to give a good account of the safeguarding work in the school if they discuss this with an Ofsted inspector. The frequency of discussion with the DSL will give them a rich and in-depth understanding of what’s happening in the school and the ability to test the approach regularly.
We would also recommend regular safeguarding visits are put in the diary, at least termly, to allow the safeguarding governor/trustee to check the areas where they need more reassurance or evidence; these may be areas identified by their work with the DSL or concerns arising due to outside factors, such as safeguarding during the pandemic. This step is key. Ofsted will want to understand how the governors are reassuring themselves that safeguarding is taking place as expected. Having safeguarding as a standing item at governing body meetings – where the rest of the governing body members can also seek any further reassurance or evidence and satisfy themselves that safeguarding is working as expected – will provide good evidence of how the governing body deals with safeguarding.
The safeguarding governor/trustee needs to be responsive. If concern over the leadership of safeguarding comes up, how is the governing body tackling it? Clear actions between meetings need to be agreed on, and follow-ups should be diarised to ensure any issues are closed off quickly. There should also be a clear plan for pupils’ and staff members’ voices to be heard by relevant stakeholders regularly; this will ensure any issues are picked up speedily and that the school's ethos in terms of the seriousness with which safeguarding is treated is clear.
The safeguarding governor/trustee should work directly with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The DSL will do a large amount of the safeguarding work, but regular meetings should be held between the DSL and the safeguarding governor/trustee to share important information, organise staff training and remain up-to-date with current government legislation. These ‘ongoing’ conversations will also allow the safeguarding governor/trustee to give a good account of the safeguarding work in the school if they discuss this with an Ofsted inspector. The frequency of discussion with the DSL will give them a rich and in-depth understanding of what’s happening in the school and the ability to test the approach regularly.
We would also recommend regular safeguarding visits are put in the diary, at least termly, to allow the safeguarding governor/trustee to check the areas where they need more reassurance or evidence; these may be areas identified by their work with the DSL or concerns arising due to outside factors, such as safeguarding during the pandemic. This step is key. Ofsted will want to understand how the governors are reassuring themselves that safeguarding is taking place as expected. Having safeguarding as a standing item at governing body meetings – where the rest of the governing body members can also seek any further reassurance or evidence and satisfy themselves that safeguarding is working as expected – will provide good evidence of how the governing body deals with safeguarding.
The safeguarding governor/trustee needs to be responsive. If concern over the leadership of safeguarding comes up, how is the governing body tackling it? Clear actions between meetings need to be agreed on, and follow-ups should be diarised to ensure any issues are closed off quickly. There should also be a clear plan for pupils’ and staff members’ voices to be heard by relevant stakeholders regularly; this will ensure any issues are picked up speedily and that the school's ethos in terms of the seriousness with which safeguarding is treated is clear.
You may be aware of a speech made by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) Amanda Spielman to the National Governors Association’s (NGA’s) national conference back in June 2019, where she provided reassurance about how Ofsted will inspect schools to understand whether governors'/trustees' responsibilities are being properly discharged. She made it clear that governors/trustees are responsible for making sure safeguarding arrangements are secure, and agreed policies and procedures are followed in schools in a meaningful (not just ‘tick box’) way. However, she also made it clear this does not mean that governors/trustees need to get into the detail of the daily management of safeguarding. For example, Ofsted doesn’t expect governors/trustees to go through the Single Central Record themselves or look into individual case files.
You may be aware of a speech made by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) Amanda Spielman to the National Governors Association’s (NGA’s) national conference back in June 2019, where she provided reassurance about how Ofsted will inspect schools to understand whether governors'/trustees' responsibilities are being properly discharged. She made it clear that governors/trustees are responsible for making sure safeguarding arrangements are secure, and agreed policies and procedures are followed in schools in a meaningful (not just ‘tick box’) way. However, she also made it clear this does not mean that governors/trustees need to get into the detail of the daily management of safeguarding. For example, Ofsted doesn’t expect governors/trustees to go through the Single Central Record themselves or look into individual case files.
As seen from the comments made by HMCI in 2019, it’s clear it's the job of governors/trustees to ensure the overarching culture is right, rather than digging into the detail, and as such, their role is a strategic one. For example, this means governors/trustees need to ask what the school is doing to identify the children that may be at risk of harm and how the school is helping those children, rather than reviewing the detailed steps to identify these children. Governors/trustees and senior leaders should then ask themselves how successful they are at helping the children identified and how they can be certain this has been successful. When you have those sorts of answers in relation to safeguarding issues (including the answers to the testing/reassurance questions), safeguarding governors/trustees can articulate them clearly to an Ofsted inspector.
As seen from the comments made by HMCI in 2019, it’s clear it's the job of governors/trustees to ensure the overarching culture is right, rather than digging into the detail, and as such, their role is a strategic one. For example, this means governors/trustees need to ask what the school is doing to identify the children that may be at risk of harm and how the school is helping those children, rather than reviewing the detailed steps to identify these children. Governors/trustees and senior leaders should then ask themselves how successful they are at helping the children identified and how they can be certain this has been successful. When you have those sorts of answers in relation to safeguarding issues (including the answers to the testing/reassurance questions), safeguarding governors/trustees can articulate them clearly to an Ofsted inspector.
Where there is doubt, always come back to safeguarding culture, as set out in the statutory guidance, Keeping children safe in education, which is that: “Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure they facilitate a whole-school or college approach to safeguarding. This means ensuring safeguarding and child protection are at the forefront and underpin all relevant process and policy development aspects. Ultimately, all systems, processes and policies should operate with the best interests of the child at their heart.”
The breadth of this principle means that from an inspection perspective, evaluating safeguarding arrangements can’t be successfully done by a tick-box approach. Inspectors need to connect information and evidence about safeguarding carefully, and the role of governors/trustees is part of that connected approach.
Ofsted has said “there is no magic formula: safeguarding children in schools is about fostering a culture where children come first”.
While there is no doubt that this statement is true, taking the time to reflect on some of the steps set out above and, perhaps more importantly, holding a refresher session with governors/trustees about their approach to safeguarding (possibly using this article as a basis for that conversation) can only help foster such a culture.
Where there is doubt, always come back to safeguarding culture, as set out in the statutory guidance, Keeping children safe in education, which is that: “Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure they facilitate a whole-school or college approach to safeguarding. This means ensuring safeguarding and child protection are at the forefront and underpin all relevant process and policy development aspects. Ultimately, all systems, processes and policies should operate with the best interests of the child at their heart.”
The breadth of this principle means that from an inspection perspective, evaluating safeguarding arrangements can’t be successfully done by a tick-box approach. Inspectors need to connect information and evidence about safeguarding carefully, and the role of governors/trustees is part of that connected approach.
Ofsted has said “there is no magic formula: safeguarding children in schools is about fostering a culture where children come first”.
While there is no doubt that this statement is true, taking the time to reflect on some of the steps set out above and, perhaps more importantly, holding a refresher session with governors/trustees about their approach to safeguarding (possibly using this article as a basis for that conversation) can only help foster such a culture.
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