Important: Sec 175 Safeguarding Audit 2022 portal is now open

This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Education Safeguarding Professional, Jatinder Matharu, for the attention of all Schools.

Ref: Sec 175 Safeguarding Audit 2022

The annual statutory Sec 175 Safeguarding Audit is now open on the portal here: https://sloughboroughcouncil.vc-enable.co.uk/

Please open using Google Chrome as the function works better on this browser. You will also receive an alert straight from the audit provider Enable inviting you to complete the audit.

There is a 18 week window for completion which will allow sufficient time to complete the audit.

The completion date for the audits is Friday 11th November 2022.

The audit has been refreshed with the latest guidance (though at the point of sending this audit out we are still using KCSIE 2021). All COVID related questions have been removed from the audit this year. You will also receive an invitation from the portal asking you to complete the audit.

I have attached the 2021 full report and the infographic to feedback from the last report for your information.

The 2022 audit tool has some refreshed questions and some questions have remained the same. Including links to the guidance and toolkits so you can check and answer the questions in more detail.

Where the questions have not changed your 2021 data will be pulled through. You will need to review and refresh accordingly. If there are no changes you simply review and confirm to the next question. You will need to do that for the whole audit to ensure you have had an opportunity to review all areas.

Section 2 will be significant different as it is the data section and it requires refreshed data for the year. The data section will include data from 01.09.2021 to 31.08.2022. I hope this will be more useful for your school to look at more recent trends. I have added descriptions of definitions for the different areas of concerns e.g. young carers, private fostering etc. so it is much clearer when completing with the data what falls into the categories.

Please ensure you give access to all the relevant leaders in your organisation such as Headteachers and Safeguarding Governors. The final audit must be signed off by your SLT and Governing body prior to submission. Some new people will receive an email inviting you to register to help complete the audit from Enable. Please accept email and set up your account.

If you have any changes in your DSL, Head teacher and have not yet notified me please can you do so as soon as possible so I can set them up an account.

I have attached a self-help guide if you get stuck and need some assistance or you can use the support on hand below:

For any password resets or navigation issues around the system including any changes in Head teachers, DSL’s, Governors who may need access to the portal (post Sept 2022) please contact the Business Support team at Egress@slough.gov.uk or call 01753 690744