What do inspectors ask a DSL? Questions and the evidence

No scheme publishes a fixed list of questions for a designated safeguarding lead (DSL). Teams work from the standards and from what they find in your documents, so each visit differs.

The Council of International Schools (CIS) sends volunteer peer evaluators who hold professional dialogue, run learning walks and review evidence. The Council of British International Schools (COBIS) lists Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment as its first standard.

The British Schools Overseas (BSO) scheme is run by the United Kingdom's Department for Education. Accreditation depends on an inspection by an approved inspectorate every three years.

The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) writes its Expectations for School Communities for use by accrediting, evaluating and inspection bodies.

The questions below follow from those standards. They cannot predict your visit, so check the standards your scheme uses and ask your visit lead what the team will sample.

Evaluators start with you. They want to know whether the role has the time, authority and backup to work.

Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is English statutory guidance. Many British-style schools abroad use it as a benchmark, and it asks for extra time, funding, training and support for the DSL.

Teams test each answer against a second source. A cover rota means little if the deputy has never trained.

• How much time does the role get? Show the job description and your timetable.
• Who covers when you are away? Show the rota, a shared mailbox and your deputy's training dates.
• When did you last train? Show the certificate. KCSIE expects DSL training to be updated at least every two years.
• Who do you report to, and who challenges you? Show the line manager, the governor lead and any supervision notes.
• Do staff know who you are? Show the induction pack, the staff room notice and the website.

This is usually the longest conversation. The team asks you to take one real, anonymised concern from the first note to the close.

They look for dates, reasons and a clear line from what was reported to what you decided. A written chronology lets you answer in minutes.

A very low number of logged concerns can worry a team, because it may mean staff are not reporting.

Whenever a worry about a child comes up, follow your school's child protection procedure and tell the DSL the same day. If a child is in immediate danger, call local emergency services first.

• Talk me through a recent concern. Show one anonymised file with dates, actions and the outcome.
• How many concerns did you log this year? Show the anonymised log with last year's figures beside it.
• Why did you not refer that one? Show your written reasons and who you consulted.
• Who can read these files? Show where they are kept and who has access.
• What happens to a file when a student leaves? Show the transfer steps and a receipt from the new school.

In an international school, the referral route depends on the country. Evaluators ask which agency you would call, and they expect a name and a number.

Staff duties to report differ by country. Ask local counsel to check your reporting obligations and keep their note on file.

Allegations against adults get their own questions. The ITFCP governance pack asks whether the process is clear when the allegation is about the Head of School.

• Who do you call in this country? Show the contact list with the date you last checked it.
• When did you last refer, and what happened next? Show the anonymised referral and the follow-up.
• What happens if the concern is about the Head? Show the procedure and the board member who takes it.
• How do you handle smaller worries about adult behaviour? Show your low-level concerns policy and its log.

Teams pick names and trace them. They take a handful of staff from the list and follow each person through the recruitment file and the training log.

Your training records should link each person to a role, a date and the policy version they were taught. Where a check could not be done, write down what you did instead and who agreed.

• How do you check new staff before they meet children? Show the register entry for a recent hire.
• What did you do when a police certificate was not available? Show the note, the substitute check and the person who decided.
• How do you know every adult is trained? Show the log grouped by role, including drivers, kitchen and security staff.
• Do staff know this school's own reporting route? Show scenario practice built from your policy.
• How are contractors and volunteers briefed? Show the sign-in process and the briefing sheet.

A good team checks your answers with other people. It walks the site and asks similar questions in different places.

The ITFCP governance pack suggests the DSL reports to the board at least once a year, with numbers, trends and a risk register. A report to governors each term gives them something concrete to say when asked.

Short reminders at induction and each term keep the DSL's name, the route and the cover plan fresh for every adult.

• Staff: Who is the DSL? What would you do if a child told you something this afternoon?
• Students: Who would you tell if something felt wrong? How do you know them?
• Governors: What do you receive from the DSL, and what did you ask last time?
• Parents: Where can you find the child protection policy?

Set aside a week to find your gaps. Closing them can take a term, so write each one into your action plan.

• List every question above with the document that answers it and where it is stored.
• Pick two anonymised concerns of different types and walk each from first note to close.
• Ask your deputy to play the evaluator for 30 minutes, and note every hesitation.
• Ask three staff, two students and one governor the questions from the section above.
• Give each gap an owner and a date in your action plan.

A good answer is short and specific. It names a person, a date and a document, and it says what happens next if something is missing. These samples show the shape, so swap in your own facts.

On cover: "My deputy covers me. Staff can also use the safeguarding mailbox, which we both check. Here is the rota."

On a concern: "A teacher raised a worry on Monday. I logged it that day and spoke to my deputy. We referred on Wednesday, and here are the dates."

On a gap: "We have not tested the referral contact this year. I will do it this month, and it is in the action plan under my name."

No school has every answer ready. An honest gap with an owner and a date is easier to defend than a guess.