Ofsted urges school safeguarding improvements

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Schools that fail to keep children from harm lack strong leadership, management and governance, according to a study.

A report from Ofsted, which examines how well schools protect children, suggested the majority of institutions are now getting safeguarding procedures right.

However, the 21 per cent of schools safeguarding rated no more than satisfactory must make "considerable improvements", the inspectors said.

And they warned that a further 2 per cent of schools were judged inadequate when it came to safeguarding.

The Ofsted Safeguarding in Schools: Best Practice study looked at the best ways that schools can ensure children are, and feel, safe.

The report looked at evidence from the 19 per cent of schools that had been judged "outstanding" for safeguarding, alongside a detailed analysis of a small sample of schools.

It concluded that almost all schools are taking "a careful and responsible approach to their safeguarding arrangements".

"On the other hand, safeguarding arrangements in 21 per cent of schools were only satisfactory overall, indicating the need for considerable improvement," the report said.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the teaching union NASUWT, said government plans to cut back on guidance and regulations relating to safeguarding in schools could jeopardise their progress on improving child protection.

"A real challenge is posed for the safety of children and young people by the reckless endangerment being driven through by the coalition government’s ‘slash and burn’ approach to cutting guidance and regulation, removing important advice, good practice and support for schools," she said.

Keates added that planned reforms to Ofsted inspections could also set back child protection.

She said: "It is ludicrous that safeguarding of children, which should be an essential requirement of any school inspection, will be removed as a statutory requirement for the inspection of schools as a result of the coalition government’s Education Bill, currently going through its parliamentary process."

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said schools that are rated "satisfactory" are doing what is expected of them.

He said: "It is seriously misleading that Ofsted continues to interpret the term satisfactory as the opposite of its dictionary definition. If they mean unsatisfactory they should say so.

"They cannot state that 21 per cent of schools were 'only satisfactory' and draw the conclusion that this indicates the need for 'considerable improvement'. While everyone would like all schools to be excellent or good, when a school is satisfactory it has reached the appropriate standard in terms of safeguarding."