Three of the more than 4,000 schools inspected so far this year have failed safeguarding checks, raising some concerns that inspectors may be missing serious issues. While the number failing to meet the requirements has always been small, it has decreased markedly since the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in January 2023. What the data shows Twenty-seven schools out of more than 2,700 inspected in 2020 were judged to have safeguarding practices that were 鈥渘ot effective鈥 (1 per cent). After the pandemic, the proportion rose to about 1.6 per cent, last year dropping to 0.16 per cent and 0.07 this year. Ofsted has inspected more than 3,370 primary schools this year, but only one has 鈥渘ot met鈥 safeguarding requirements, equating to just 0.03 per cent. In 2020, 4.1 per cent of secondaries failed safeguarding, falling to 2.65 per cent in 2023. So far this year, two of 731 secondaries inspected have failed safeguarding (0.27 per cent). More generous inspectors? 鈥淚f inspection works at all you鈥檇 expect a gradual fall in how many schools fail safeguarding,鈥 said Adrian Gray, a former senior HMI. He said it was 鈥渞ational鈥 to 鈥渆xpect a peak after Covid鈥. 鈥 But I am not convinced 99.9 per cent of primary schools are great at safeguarding. Would you believe a garage that certified 99.9 per cent of cars it tested for MoT? No, you would conclude either there was something wrong with the test, or they were not being robust.鈥 Gray suggested that inspectors could 鈥渉ave lost their nerve鈥 following Perry鈥檚 suicide. A coroner ruled an Ofsted inspection contributed to her death. The drop in safeguarding failures also follows a similar shift on overall grades. In 2023-24, the final year before headline grades were abolished, just 16 per cent of schools were rated below 鈥榞ood鈥 鈥 the lowest ever, and down from 32 per cent in 2021-22. Perry鈥檚 school, Caversham Primary in Reading, was downgraded from 鈥済ood鈥 to 鈥渋nadequate鈥 after inspectors raised concerns over safeguarding. If a school failed safeguarding, it would be rated 鈥榠nadequate鈥 overall. Ofsted changes effect? Policy changes are another factor. As of mid-2023, schools graded 鈥榠nadequate鈥 overall because of ineffective safeguarding, but with 鈥榞ood鈥 or better in all other areas, were re-inspected within three months. Ofsted said this gave them a chance to make improvements, although this happened 鈥渞arely鈥. A new 鈥渟uspend and return鈥 policy introduced last September lets inspectors pause an inspection to allow a school to resolve safeguarding, 鈥渨here that is the only issue in the school鈥. But Ofsted told Schools Week it was 鈥渆xtremely rare鈥 that a school had ineffective safeguarding without any other issues and so this was unlikely to have a significant impact on figures. Perry case 鈥榬aised awareness鈥 Steven Isaacs, a school safeguarding consultant, said the Caversham case led to leaders being 鈥渕ore in tune with the expectations and the requirements. People have realised how serious it is, what kind of effect it can have if it does go horribly wrong.鈥 He witnessed a recent inspection where checks were 鈥渕ore rigorous than ever鈥. Pepe Di鈥橧asio, the general secretary of the leaders鈥 union ASCL, added the rarity of 鈥渋neffective鈥 safeguarding judgments was 鈥渢estament to the work of schools in getting right this vital area. It is not surprising few fail 鈥 [they] are sharply focused on making sure they keep pupils and students safe.鈥 鈥楽chools getting it right鈥 Ella Savell-Boss, a safeguarding trainer and consultant who works with schools, said there had been 鈥渁 real shift in recent years towards embedding safeguarding into everyday culture鈥, with many leaders having a 鈥渕uch more sophisticated understanding of what good safeguarding looks like in practice鈥. Gray also said schools could have just 鈥済ot better at giving inspectors what they want鈥. But Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said the previous Ofsted framework was 鈥渙verly punitive鈥. It was now 鈥渇ar more sensible and accurately reflects鈥 the sector. Grades 鈥榝luctuate year on year鈥 An Ofsted spokesperson said the grade profile of schools inspected 鈥渇luctuates year on year鈥. But the proportion of primaries failing was 鈥渓ow and always has been鈥. Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector, also said this week safeguarding was something schools 鈥減rioritise perhaps above everything else. Nothing infuriates me more than glib commentary about schools falling short on inspection because of duff paperwork 鈥 or schools pulling the wool over inspectors鈥 eyes because their paperwork is on point.鈥