Developed for Derby and Derbyshire schools and colleges to support them to complete their annual safeguarding audit and planning.
The audit tool also helps schools and colleges provide evidence of their safeguarding processes and practice for Ofsted inspection.
The audit tool is sent directly to schools and colleges. All schools and colleges are expected to confirm completion of their annual audit for 2022-2023 to the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership by 30 June 2023 at the latest. To fulfil its statutory functions, the DDSCP has agreed with Derby and Derbyshire Education subgroup members that all education settings will:
- Complete an annual safeguarding audit for the 2022-2023 academic year, and
- Confirm completion of their annual audit by 30 June 2023 at the latest by completing a short survey.
Information on annual safeguarding audit
The audit tool has been developed to support establishments to effectively complete their annual safeguarding review. The safeguarding audit tool enables you to:
- Assess your establishment’s safeguarding processes and practice, identify any gaps, and move on to develop an action plan and a review process to address these
- Ensure that key people within the school/college, including the governing body/trustees, know how the school/college is working to keep children safe. This will support strategic challenge to help test and provide assurance that policies, procedures and processes are effective and support the delivery of a robust whole school/college approach to safeguarding
- Demonstrate that you have taken appropriate steps to audit your safeguarding arrangements and taken action to safeguard children and young people
- Assemble your evidence of impact of safeguarding processes and practice ready for any Ofsted inspection.
In the tool you are provided with the following
- Introduction to the audit tool which explains how the tool is to be used; this is also incorporated into the audit tool itself
- An Excel safeguarding children audit tool, split into 10 sections, along with a summary action plan
- Confirmation of audit completion, for the designated safeguarding lead, headteacher/ principal, designated governor/trustee and chair of governors/trustees, to confirm that they agree the contents; this is also incorporated in the audit tool itself.
The headteacher/principal, designated safeguarding lead and designated child protection governor/trustee should work on this audit together to consider and agree for each section and the associated questions, the evidence, RAG rating (red, amber, green) and any actions required.
The audit tool will pull together a summary of the identified RAG ratings and an action plan to support the safeguarding planning process and review cycle.
The findings of the completed audit must be discussed at senior management meetings as well as a full governing body/trustee meeting; any further actions and their timescales must be formally recorded in the minutes. The governing body/trustees must also ensure that audit completion is confirmed with the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (DDSCP).
Derbyshire Schools, please complete the survey Derbyshire Schools. If you have used an alternative annual safeguarding audit, confirmation is still required.
If you have not received a copy of the audit please contact DDSCP@derby.gov.uk
Please note a copy of the completed audit is not required.