When you’re preparing for Ofsted, there’s no shortage of advice flying around.

“Update your policies”, “Do a mock deep dive", “Print everything three times and highlight it.”

But one thing that made a genuine, measurable difference to our inspection outcome?

We reviewed our safeguarding provision twice a year. Every year. Without fail.

Not just for the sake of it

Our bi-annual safeguarding reviews weren’t just “to be seen” doing safeguarding. They became one of our most useful tools for:

And when inspection came? It paid off.

Why twice a year works

Once a year is too long to spot meaningful patterns. Twice a year gives you:

• A short enough cycle to notice change

• A long enough window to do something about it

• And a reliable structure that feeds directly into your QIP

Each review helped us answer key questions:

• Are concerns being reported consistently?

• Is CPD landing well with staff?

• What do learners actually know about safeguarding?

• Are we responding quickly enough when issues arise?

It’s not just paperwork

These reviews also helped us prepare for the nominee role.
Because when the inspection starts, you’re going to get asked:

“How do you know safeguarding is effective?”

Not “do you have a policy?”
Not “when did you last train staff?”
But how do you know?

And thanks to regular reviews, we did know.
We had patterns. We had progress. We had stories.

Stronger leadership, too

Bi-annual reviews created a reflective rhythm. We didn’t wait for a concern to escalate. We looked at our provision proactively, asked tough questions, made changes, and saw those changes land.

They also encouraged joined-up leadership:

• Governance got insight before the annual SAR

• Staff felt involved, not just informed

• And we made safeguarding everyone’s responsibility; not just the DSL’s

And finally… Ofsted noticed

During inspection, the systems we’d built around these reviews were recognised, without us waving a flag. The evidence was in the culture, the paperwork, and the people.

It wasn’t performative.
It was prepared.

If you’re not yet building bi-annual safeguarding reviews into your cycle, here’s my honest advice:

• Start small.
• Talk to your staff.
• Track the themes.
• Act on what you find.

It’s not just for inspection, it’s for the learners you haven’t heard from yet.