Guidance

Safeguarding concerns: guidance for inspectors

Updated 7 November 2025

Applies to England

Safeguarding concerns raised during inspection  

Occasionally, you may learn that a child at the provider you are inspecting, or another child, is either being harmed or at risk of harm. This may be because a child makes a disclosure to you. These cases are rare, but it is important that you know what you should and should not do if it happens.

You may also come across an adult who is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect. There are separate processes for responding to concerns about adults at risk, set out below.  An adult is any person who has reached 18 years old. A child is anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. 

Referring safeguarding concerns about a child

It is not your role as an inspector to investigate a child protection concern or an allegation against a member of staff. Any attempt to investigate the concern could jeopardise a subsequent investigation by the local authority or the police.

Read Ofsted’s safeguarding policy.

You should, however, satisfy yourself that concerns about a child’s safety are referred on, as appropriate, to the children’s services department of the relevant local authority and, if necessary, to the police. This will usually be the local authority for the area where the child lives. If the concern raised is about a member of staff at the provider, then the referral should be made to the local authority designated officer for the area where the provider is located. 

The referral to the local authority will normally be made by the person at the provider who acts as the designated safeguarding lead. In the case of a concern about a member of staff or volunteer in a provider you are inspecting, the referral will normally be made by a senior leader at the provider. Concerns about a senior leader are normally referred by those responsible for governance and/or oversight of the provision.

Your response 

If a child tells you something that suggests that they are, or another child is, being harmed or are at risk of harm, you should:

• stop other activity so that you can focus on what the child is telling you
• let them make the disclosure at their own pace and in their own way
• avoid interrupting, asking leading questions or probing for more information than the child wants to give you
• ensure that the child is referred to services in line with this policy 

Do not promise to keep the information confidential. Explain to the child that you cannot investigate what they have told you, but that you will need to discuss the issue with someone in authority at the provider. Be aware that this may cause them some distress and/or anxiety.

Do not leave the child alone. Make sure that a member of staff (not implicated in the disclosure) stays with them.

If you are a team inspector, ensure that you inform the lead inspector of the disclosure as soon as possible. The lead inspector or team inspector will share the information disclosed by the child with the designated safeguarding lead, responsible person for the provider, the relevant senior leader (unless the allegation is related to them), and confirm whether they will make a referral to the local authority.^{[footnote 1]}

On an education inspection, the lead inspector will contact the National Duty Desk to inform them of the concerns and action taken.

It is important to keep a written record of all the information you receive from and about the child and the nature of the concerns, as well as the action that you (and the lead inspector, if you are not the lead inspector) take, including the conversation with the designated lead or relevant senior leader (below). Ensure that all events are recorded, dated and timed. You must also refer to the internal guidance about evidence recording for further information.

If the designated lead, responsible person or relevant senior leader at the provider agrees to make a referral, you should make a note of this agreement in your record.

If the designated lead, responsible person or relevant senior leader does not agree with you that a referral to the local authority is needed, or in the exceptional circumstance where you are not confident a referral will be made, but you believe that it is needed, then the lead inspector should arrange for an urgent referral by Ofsted.

On an education inspection, the lead inspector will need to speak with the National Duty Desk to discuss making a referral. On all inspections, the lead inspector will need to contact the children’s services department where the child lives and give them the information that they have, including the child’s name, address and date of birth; the nature of the concerns; and their own contact details. They should be able to find the telephone number for urgent direct referral on the relevant local authority’s website.

In any instance where you have a safeguarding concern about the actions of another inspector, you should always contact your line manager and the Director of People, who will be responsible for making the appropriate referral to the local authority.   

Your record of events should be retained with the evidence base, unless the record relates to concerns raised about another inspector. The People team will be able to advise you on the action to take in these instances.

If at any point you are unsure of what to do, or you have concerns about discussing the referral with the designated safeguarding lead, responsible person or relevant senior leader, you should seek advice from your line manager or the National Duty Desk.

Referring concerns about adults  

The legal and policy basis for responding to concerns regarding the safeguarding and welfare of adults at risk is different from that for children under 18. You can find more information in Ofsted’s safeguarding policy.

If you have reasonable cause to suspect that an adult is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect, you should alert senior leaders at the provider you are inspecting, and consider raising a safeguarding concern.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s care and support statutory guidance makes clear that it is the responsibility of everyone to act on any suspicion or evidence of abuse or neglect and to pass on their concerns to an appropriate person or agency.

If you are considering raising a concern, you should contact the National Duty Desk.

Following that discussion, if you decide to proceed in consultation with the desk, you can raise a concern by contacting the local authority adult safeguarding team where the abuse or neglect is occurring or where the adult lives. If the adult is in immediate danger, call emergency services (999).

If the concern meets the legal threshold set out in section 42 of the Care Act 2014, the local authority will have a duty to make safeguarding enquiries. Before doing so, they will usually seek the adult’s consent and involve them in decisions wherever possible, unless there are specific reasons to act without consent (for example, serious risk to others, or if the adult lacks mental capacity).

1. Some education providers may use the term ‘responsible person’ to describe the designated member of staff who has overall responsibility for safeguarding within the organisation. This is usually the designated safeguarding lead or an equivalent role. ↩