Recommendation SP60: School safeguarding recording systems
From The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1, published 13 April 2026.
Recommendation
The Department for Education should ensure (either by direct guidance or through Ofsted) that all schools are required to record safeguarding information in a system that is fit for purpose.
In brief (written by this site)
HM Government stated in July 2026 that the Department for Education had completed the recommendation, explaining that schools are already required to record safeguarding information while retaining autonomy to choose their own systems (Home Office response, Jul 2026). It added in July 2026 that the department is considering additional support, which may include developing criteria to help schools assess suitable and secure recording systems (Home Office response, Jul 2026). The record holds no update since the department's response of July 2026 (Home Office response, Jul 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Department for Education (DfE is the lead department and has completed this recommendation. Progress and next steps:
- We already require schools and colleges to record safeguarding information, as set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education. Settings have autonomy to choose a system that best fits their context. Non-compliance with this guidance can be identified and picked up through a number of different mechanisms including Ofsted inspections, complaints, whistleblowing and information from local authorities and statutory partners.
- DfE is considering additional support for schools in selecting an effective and secure safeguarding recording system, this may include the development of criteria to support schools in assessing suitable systems.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The government's response to Phase 1 (CP 1623, 2 July 2026) agreed with all 67 recommendations in one sentence, and names only 39 of them individually. Where a recommendation is not named, the response shown is the passage the response gives for the group it belongs to (the recommendations for organisations outside central government, or the recommendations to policing bodies), which is not a response to that recommendation alone; the response does not list the members of any group. The 10 recommendations for Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider show no response: the response introduces them (paragraph 20) but answers none of them. The government accepts the recommendations that are for central government to deliver. Where a recommendation is for an organisation outside central government, the government's agreement is not that organisation's acceptance.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Department for Education has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 July 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Department for Education
Response