This form must be completed by Schools (Specialist Inclusive Learning Centres, Free Schools, Academies, Community, Voluntary Aided and Independent), Pupil Referral Units and Further Education Colleges in order to monitor their compliance with Sections 157 & 175 of the Education Act 2002. The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015, and the Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Act 2021.
The purpose of this audit is to enable the Local Authority to carry out its statutory responsibility and report back to the Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership under S11 of the Children Act 2004 in relation to the safeguarding compliance of educational settings in Leeds. In particular the existence and operation of appropriate safeguarding policies, procedures that promote a safer working culture within the organisation, and the training of staff, including the senior person with designated responsibility for child protection.
Creating an account
All accounts are deleted each year after the submission deadline, so you will need to create a new account before you can start completing your audit.
- Click on ‘Create new account’
- Complete all the fields
- Select the name of your school in the drop down menu.
If your school does not appear in the drop down menu notify the Education Safeguarding Team and wait for them to respond before continuing to create your account.
- Click on the ‘Create New Account’ button.
- An email will be sent to the email address that you have used on the form. [Check your inbox including your spam or junk email folders.]
- Click on the link in the email
- Choose a password (make sure the password is in line with your organisation’s IT policy)
- Repeat the password
- Click ‘Submit’. Your account is now set up.
You will only need to set up your account once at the start of the audit year.
Logging on
Click on the large Section 175 button. (DO NOT click on the button Organisational Safeguarding Assessment)
Type in your email address in the “Username” box and your chosen password. Then press the Log in button which will take you to the ‘Welcome’ screen. Click on the “Complete your Section 175 audit” button.
You will then be taken to the beginning of the audit.
Completing your audit
Your audit should be completed by the senior designated safeguarding lead/head teacher within your setting.
Please answer each question by selecting the most appropriate response for your organisation. Please ensure that where narrative is requested (i.e contact details, specific details requested) that all boxes are fully completed.
If a question is not applicable, please add N/A into the text box provided and explain the reason for this not being applicable, if appropriate.
Complete each field and then click ‘next’ to move onto the next set of questions.
You can complete the audit in any order that you wish by clicking on the toggled circles in the line at the top of the screen. The numbers 1-18 correspond to the number of sections within the audit. Remember to press the SAVE button at the bottom of the screen before moving on to the next section.
The toggled circles change colour to help show you your progress:
- Green = completed section
- Red = needs completing
- Black = where you are up to
Saving your responses
Make sure that you always click on the ‘save draft’ button at the bottom of the screen before logging out to ensure that all your responses have been captured.
Submitting your audit
When you have answered all the questions and are ready to submit your audit, please click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of Section 18.
A copy of your audit will then be sent to the Education Safeguarding Team.
Please note that you should answer all the questions prior to submission.
The data submitted will be used to inform city wide reporting of the safeguarding arrangements across the education sector, and to identify emerging issues and themes that can inform the planning strategy of the Education Safeguarding Reference Group, in relation to future training and policy development. The return will be used to inform any related LA investigations and queries from regulatory bodies relating to safeguarding practice/compliance within your organisation.
It is important to ensure that the information provided is an accurate reflection of school/college practice. Once completed, the author of the return must share a copy of their final submission with the Chair of the Governing Body. It is the responsibility of the Governing Body (preferably the safeguarding governor) to independently verify that the data submitted is accurate. Once this has been done, the 's175 ARM form' must be formally noted by the Governing Body as an accurate reflection of school practice in Governing Body minutes. Governors should work with the designated safeguarding lead and senior leaders to ensure that areas of practice improvement are addressed in a timely fashion.
To download your Section 175 as a word document:
Click on the "My Submissions" tab on the top right hand side of the screen.
The ‘My Submissions’ page shows you your most recent version of the audit. If this is empty it means that you have not yet filled out any part of your s175 audit.
In the drop down menu select "download submission for Section 175"
Check the box ‘apply to selected items' then press the button "apply to selected items"
The document will automatically download a ‘Word’ version of your audit with your completed responses.
You can then save this onto your computer.
If you lose your password
Please use the lost password function to create a new one.
You will be sent an email to the email address that you used to register with. Please check your spam or junk email folders.
Queries
If you have any questions or queries in relation to completing this submission please email: ESTconsultation@leeds.gov.uk
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