Safeguarding

All children deserve to feel safe, supported, and valued. Every successful education journey begins with effective safeguarding. When children feel protected and cared for, they can develop confidence, build trusting relationships, and fully engage in learning. For this reason, safeguarding sits at the very heart of everything we do across the Kedleston Group.

A robust, system‑led approach to safeguarding

Safeguarding across the Kedleston Group is underpinned by clear structures, defined responsibilities, and consistent processes that operate across all schools. This ensures that safeguarding practice is not reliant on any one individual, but is embedded securely within the organisation at every level.

Each school has a Designated Safeguarding Lead who holds day‑to‑day responsibility for safeguarding within their setting. This role is supported and overseen through a Group‑wide safeguarding framework that ensures consistency, compliance, and continuous improvement.

At Group level, overall strategic oversight of safeguarding is provided through the role of Group Safeguarding Lead. This role ensures that robust safeguarding arrangements are in place across all schools, that statutory and regulatory requirements are met, and that safeguarding remains central to daily practice, decision making, and organisational culture.

Assurance, oversight and continuous improvement

To maintain the highest standards of safeguarding practice, a comprehensive safeguarding audit is undertaken annually across all schools within the Group. This audit reviews safeguarding systems, procedures, training, reporting processes, and the safeguarding culture within each setting. Its purpose is both to assure compliance and to identify opportunities to strengthen practice and improve outcomes for children.

In addition to the annual audit, regular safeguarding committee meetings take place within each school. These meetings provide professional support and appropriate challenge to school‑based safeguarding leads. They enable safeguarding concerns to be reviewed, actions to be monitored, learning from cases to be reflected upon, and responses to be evaluated for effectiveness and timeliness. This approach also supports the sharing of best practice across the Kedleston Group.

Governance and accountability

Safeguarding is subject to strong governance and scrutiny through the Safeguarding Overview Committee, which operates as a dedicated subcommittee of the Kedleston Group Board of Directors. This ensures that safeguarding is monitored, challenged, and prioritised at the highest level of the organisation. The Safeguarding Overview Committee is made up of senior leaders and governance representatives, including a Non‑Executive Director as Chair, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, the Group Safeguarding Lead, and a Committee Secretary.

The Committee reviews safeguarding matters across the Group, including emerging risks, themes, trends, and areas for development. Where necessary, it issues recommendations or requirements to further strengthen safeguarding arrangements. The Committee meets monthly and provides regular updates to the Board, ensuring clear lines of accountability and oversight.

External scrutiny and inspection

Our schools are registered with the Department for Education and are subject to inspection by Ofsted. These inspections provide independent assurance that our schools meet required standards and provide safe, high‑quality learning environments for children and young people.

Ofsted inspection reports can be accessed on the individual page for each school or by visiting the Ofsted website.

Across the Kedleston Group, safeguarding is more than a policy or procedure. It is a shared responsibility and a deeply embedded commitment to ensuring that every child feels safe, respected, and supported so they can thrive both in education and in wider life.