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  Is your safeguarding practice inspection-ready? A practical guide for independent school leaders under the ISI inspection framework   Safeguarding is considered on every ISI inspection. ISI makes two overarching safeguarding judgements: whether the school’s arrangements safeguard and promote pupils’ welfare, and whether those arrangements have regard to relevant Secretary of State guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Inspectors consider safeguarding throughout the inspection, not only during a meeting with the DSL or a review of policies. What does ISI look for? ISI evaluates whether safeguarding arrangements work in practice and meet the relevant Independent School Standards (ISS). Evidence can arise across all four sections of the framework. Inspectors triangulate what they see, read and hear: leaders’ decisions, staff and pupil understanding, records, surveys, observations, and the school’s wo...

  Is your safeguarding culture inspection ready? Practical actions for school staff and leaders under Ofsted’s renewed 2026-27 framework   Ofsted’s renewed school inspection toolkit has been in use since 7 September 2026. Safeguarding is not simply a document check: inspectors consider whether leaders’ systems work in practice, whether staff respond confidently and consistently, and whether pupils are protected and know how to seek help. What has changed in the renewed approach? The updated toolkit makes clearer the expectation that safeguarding is a whole-school responsibility, with strategic oversight from leaders and governors. Inspectors look at the impact of arrangements, the response to pupils at risk of harm or who have been harmed, and whether leaders learn from incidents and take action. The toolkit also highlights issues including bullying and discriminatory or prejudiced behaviour going unnoticed or unchallenged. 1. Make safeguarding everyone’s responsib...

  Introduction   The Information Sharing Duty Statutory Guidance was issued following the introduction of the new information sharing duty within Section 16LA of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which amended the Children Act 2004. The guidance has been produced to address a long-standing problem identified by safeguarding practitioners: uncertainty about when information can legally and appropriately be shared to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.   For many years, safeguarding reviews repeatedly identified poor information sharing in many cases where children experienced significant harm. Practitioners often felt constrained by concerns about confidentiality, consent, data protection legislation, or uncertainty about thresholds for intervention.   This guidance seeks to remove those barriers by creating a clear expectation that relevant information should be shared when doing so may help another agency assess need, identify ris...