Printable Policy Review Checklist

A free, condensed printable checklist for governors meetings. For the complete guide to which policies need reviewing and when, see the full UK school policy review checklist.

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1. Mandatory Policy Inventory

Confirm your policy register includes each of the following (list is not exhaustive — check against current DfE statutory guidance for your school type):

• Admissions policy
• Behaviour policy
• Anti-Bullying policy
• Child Protection and Safeguarding policy
• Health and Safety policy
• SEND policy
• Complaints policy
• Accessibility plan
• Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) policy
• Data protection / privacy notice

2. Review Cycle Checklist

Annual (statutory or strongly recommended)

• Child Protection and Safeguarding policy reviewed within the last 12 months (KCSIE — non-negotiable)
• Behaviour policy reviewed within the last 12–24 months

Every two years

• Health and Safety policy reviewed (or sooner after any significant incident)
• SEND policy reviewed

Every three years

• Accessibility plan reviewed
• Other non-statutory policies reviewed on a rolling three-year cycle

3. Governor Approval Checklist

For each policy, confirm the record shows:

• The date the policy was considered by the governing body (or properly delegated committee)
• The version of the policy that was approved
• A minute entry confirming approved / amended / deferred, with conditions noted
• The name of the governor or committee chair confirming the record

4. Public Accessibility Checklist

• All required policies are published and accessible without a login
• Published versions are current and match internally approved versions
• Safeguarding policy is clearly accessible from the homepage or a labelled policies section
• No broken links or password-protected policy files
• Complaints procedure is published and current

5. Sustainable Review Process Checklist

• A single, maintained policy register exists (statutory basis, current version, approval date, next review date, responsible governor/committee)
• Review dates are built into the governing body's annual calendar — not flagged reactively
• Each review follows a defined workflow: draft → circulate for comment → present to governing body with change summary → governor approval recorded → website updated
• An annual audit checks the policy register against published website versions and approval records, ahead of any likely inspection window

6. Common Gaps to Check For

Gap	Typical cause	Fix
Safeguarding policy not reviewed within 12 months	Not on the annual calendar	Add as fixed autumn term agenda item
No governor approval record	Reviewed by SLT only	Update delegation scheme; add to board pack template
Outdated version on school website	Website not updated after approval	Make website update the final step of every review
Missing policy from register	No central register maintained	Conduct a full policy audit against DfE statutory guidance

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This checklist is a practical readiness guide for governance self-review. It does not constitute legal advice or a guarantee of Ofsted compliance — always confirm current requirements against the latest DfE statutory guidance.

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Source article: UK School Policy Review Checklist: How to Keep Required Policies Current