Ofsted and Safeguarding

1
Ofsted and Safeguarding
2
Safeguarding

• Inspectors perspective
• Mechanistic
• Single central record

3
Key changes

• Limiting judgement - If the school is judged to
  be inadequate in this strand of the evaluation
  schedule, its overall effectiveness is likely to
  be judged to be inadequate.
• Early in the inspection

4
What has happened so far?

• Good or satisfactory early indications
• Do not meet regulations and duties for the single
  central record
• For example, 4.55. The record must also show the
  date on which each check was completed.
• Notice to improve
• Retracted
• Further guidance

5
Ofsted Safeguarding Briefing October
2009www.ofsted.gov.uk

• single central register
• all regulations and duties for the purposes of
  the safeguarding judgement
• Evaluation schedule for schools.
• early in the inspection
• single central register will be complete.

6
Administrative error

• minor administrative error in the single central
  record
• e.g. absence of a missing date on the register
• easily rectified before the final team meeting,
• chance to resolve the issue.

7
Ofsted Safeguarding Briefing October
2009Administrative Error

• a definition for administrative errors in
  relation to the single central register.
• No allowance will be made, for example, for
  breaches to the requirements for CRB disclosures.
• Administrative errors may be defined as follows
• failure to record one or two dates
• failure to record the name/s of the person/s that
  carried out the checks
• individual entries that are illegible
• one or two omissions where it is clear that the
  information is already held by the school but the
  school has failed to transfer over the
  information in full to the single central
  register

8
Current situation

• Initial leeway HMIs
• Tighten up
• Additional inspectors
• Disparity between overall safeguarding judgement
  and errors in SCR
• Disparity between overall effectiveness judgement
  and errors in SCR

9
Ofsted Safeguarding Briefing October
2009www.ofsted.gov.uk

• single central register
• all regulations and duties for the purposes of
  the safeguarding judgement
• Evaluation schedule for schools.
• early in the inspection
• single central register will be complete.

10
Ofsted Safeguarding Briefing October
2009www.ofsted.gov.uk
Single central record
11
Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in
education DfES, 2006, www.teachernet.gov.uk

• cites the duties and regulations for the single
  central record, from paragraph 4.49

12
Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in
education DfES, 2006, p48
13
Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in
education DfES, 2006,

• 4.54. The central record must indicate
• whether or not the following have been
• completed
• Identity checks
• Qualification checks for any
• qualifications legally required for the job
• e.g. those posts where a person must
• have QTS, NPQH, or, in FE colleges,
• another accepted qualification such as
• PGCE, Cert Ed. Additionally, for those
• applying for teaching posts, registration
• check with the GTC where appropriate

• Checks of right to work in the United
• Kingdom
• List 99 checks
• CRB Enhanced Disclosure (in FE colleges
• only for those staff providing education
• and who regularly care for, train,
• supervise or have sole charge of persons
• aged under 18) and
• Further overseas records checks where
  appropriate (see paragraphs 4.65 to 4.71

14
The evaluation schedule for schoolsGuidance and
grade descriptors for inspecting schools in
England under section 5 of the Education Act
2005, from September 2009

• Safeguarding regulations and duties are not met.
• or
• Arrangements for safeguarding are not robust and
  there is no system to maintain and update them,
  or the systems that are in place are ineffective.

15
Best Practice

• Fit for purpose
• SCR consistent
• Ownership

16
Key Issues

• Leadership Management
• Administrative staff
• Data matches the headings