How Ofsted inspects safeguarding

Understand what Ofsted expects to see in your safeguarding arrangements, and what evidence inspectors will collect during an inspection. Download our list of questions Ofsted might ask about child protection, including how you handle sexual harassment and abuse in your school.

Last reviewed on 1 August 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 11106
Contents
  1. Inspectors will look at how you handle harmful sexual behaviour
  2. Safeguarding inspection impacts your 'leadership and management' judgement
  3. What 'effective' vs 'ineffective' safeguarding looks like
  4. Safeguarding evidence you must give inspectors
  5. Evidence inspectors will look for
  6. Download our template of questions inspectors might ask

Inspectors will look at how you handle harmful sexual behaviour

Ofsted updated its school inspection handbook in 2021 to include considerations around managing sexism, sexual harassment and abuse in school.

We worked with our associate expert Sara Alston to develop new questions that inspectors might ask based on the changes to the handbook and Ofsted's review of sexual abuse in schools. We don't know that inspectors will ask these exact questions - instead, the questions are meant to give you an idea of the kinds of things inspectors may focus on. 

See the list of questions and prompts for what a good answer might include in our download below.

Safeguarding inspection impacts your 'leadership and management' judgement

There's no separate graded judgement for safeguarding, but inspectors will judge whether safeguarding arrangements are 'effective'. 

However, if there are

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