Safeguarding Self-Assessment: Mock Inspection Conversation Prep

This exercise is designed to help you reflect on safeguarding practice in your school and feel confident discussing it in an inspection-style conversation. There are no right or wrong answers — it’s about understanding what you do well, and what might need strengthening.

Headteacher / Principal

Section 1: Leadership and Oversight

1. How do you ensure your DSL and safeguarding team have protected time to carry out their roles effectively?

2. What arrangements are in place for supervision of the DSL and wider safeguarding team?

3. How do you ensure that governors understand and fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities? (e.g. training, briefings, reports, link governor visits)

4. How well do you understand your LADO arrangements and when to make a referral?

5. What systems do you have in place for out-of-school activities (clubs, trips, lettings) to ensure safeguarding checks and risk assessments are robust?

Section 2: Safeguarding Culture and Communication

6. How do you ensure there is a strong safeguarding culture across the whole school?

7. How do you and the DSL make sure all staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities?

8. What do you do to engage pupils and parents in safeguarding and promote their voice?

Section 3: Governance and Systems

9. How is your Single Central Record managed, checked and quality assured?

10. Where does the DSL sit within the senior leadership team, and how is safeguarding represented in strategic decision-making?

Section 4: Reflective Practice

11. Tell us about a safeguarding incident that challenged your team — what went well, and what did you learn? (You don’t need to give identifiable details.)

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Safeguarding Team

Section 1: Role and Support

1. What support do you receive from the headteacher, SLT and colleagues?

2. How do you make your role and responsibilities visible to staff, pupils and parents?

3. How do you ensure safeguarding responsibilities are shared and not seen as ‘just the DSL’s job’?

4. Do you feel you are effectively support in this by the SLT?

6. How much protected time do you have, and is it sufficient?

5. How do you maintain your own supervision and wellbeing?

Section 2: Systems and Oversight

6. How is the Single Central Record managed to ensure compliance and what oversite do you have?

7. How do you quality-assure referrals, chronologies and records?

8. How do you use data (e.g. CPOMS or MyConcern) to spot patterns and inform preventative work and how is it used to develop staff knowledge?

Section 3: Voice and Engagement

9. How do you listen to children’s voices and act on their concerns?

10. Do you have a process for including the child's voice when reviewing or developing safeguarding policy and practice?

11. How do you work with parents and carers when concerns arise?

12. Tell us about a challenging safeguarding case and what you learned from it and How was this learning used to develop policy and practice?

Support Staff (including HR, Admin, Site, IT, Catering, etc.)

Section 1: Safer Recruitment and Record-Keeping

1. Talk us through the recruitment process — what checks are made and by whom?

2. Do you have a risk assessment procedure in place to manage DBS disclosure?

3. How do you ensure the Single Central Record is accurate and up to date? | When do you add or remove staff? | How often is it checked and by whom?

Section 2: Data and Confidentiality

4. How do you ensure confidential information about children or staff is stored and shared appropriately?

5. How are you trained and supported to meet data protection requirements?

Section 3: IT and Online Safety

6. How do your filtering and monitoring systems work in practice? | Who reviews the alerts and how often? | What kind of issues are flagged most often?

Section 4: Training and Reporting

7. What did you learn from this year’s safeguarding training? | How was it delivered? | Did it feel relevant to your role?

8. If you had a concern about a pupil, who would you go to and what would you do?

Students

1. How safe do you feel at school?

2. Is there anywhere in school you don’t feel safe, and why?

3. Where in school do you feel most happy and safe?

4. If you were worried about something, who would you go to for help?

5. If you have ever been had a worry about yourself or a friend and shared this with a teacher, did you feel supported?

6. What do you understand by the term “safeguarding”?

7. How does your school teach you about online safety?

8. Do you have a school council or student voice group? | Tell us about a time your ideas or views led to change (e.g. lunch options, uniform, activities, rules).

Governors

Section 1: Strategic Oversight

1. How does the governing body monitor and evaluate safeguarding strategically?

2. How do you know safeguarding arrangements are effective in practice?

3. Who is the link governor for safeguarding, and how do they work with the DSL?

Section 2: Compliance and Assurance

4. Who is responsible for safer recruitment and oversight of the Single Central Record?

5. How does the governing body assure itself that filtering and monitoring meet statutory requirements?

Section 3: Reflection and Challenge

6. What are your main concerns or priorities in relation to keeping children safe?

7. What would you do if there was an allegation about the headteacher?

8. How do you ensure all governors receive up-to-date safeguarding training?