Inspection Preparation for New Headteachers
Stepping into headship is demanding enough on its own. Doing it while knowing an inspection could land at any time - and that you are accountable for governance evidence you did not create - adds pressure that is easy to underestimate.
Most new headteachers inherit a school where some things are in good order and others have quietly slipped: a policy overdue for review, governor minutes filed inconsistently, a safeguarding file nobody has fully explained yet. This does not mean the school is in crisis. It means you need a fast, clear way to find out where things actually stand.
This guide sets out what to check in your first 90 days, how to make sense of what you have inherited, and how to build an inspection access pack that shows inspectors - and your governing board - that you know your school's governance position, even if you have only just arrived.
Your first 90 days: what to audit immediately
You cannot fix everything in your first term, but you can find out what needs fixing. Four areas deserve immediate attention.
Safeguarding. Confirm who the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is, whether this is documented, and whether the Single Central Record is current. Check when governors last received their annual safeguarding update, and whether your Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy is aligned with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and dated within the current or last academic year.
Policy register. Find out what policies exist, which ones were formally approved by governors, when that happened, and when each is next due for review. If there is no policy register at all, this is one of the most useful things you can build in your first month - it becomes the foundation for almost everything else in this guide.
Governing board. Check when the board last met, whether minutes are filed and accessible, and whether actions from previous meetings were followed up or left open. Identify who the chair is and who the clerk is - both will be central to your first few weeks.
Website. Check your school's published pages against the DfE's statutory publication requirements. Note anything missing, anything outdated, and anything that does not match the version your governors actually approved.
Understanding what you have inherited
Most new headteachers inherit some gaps. This is normal, not a sign of a badly run school - governance evidence can slip when there has been a period of transition, staff absence, or simply competing priorities. The real risk is not having gaps. It is not knowing where they are.
A basic governance audit does not need to be elaborate. Pull together:
- The current policy register, or the beginnings of one
- The date and outcome of the last inspection, plus the published report
- The last three sets of governor minutes
- The safeguarding file, including DSL records and the Single Central Record
- A quick check of what is currently published on the website
With these five things in front of you, you will have a far clearer picture than most new headteachers have in their first month.
The clerk to governors is one of your most valuable early conversations. Clerks often hold the institutional memory of the board - what has been discussed, what was agreed, where records are kept, and what has fallen behind. Meeting the clerk in your first two weeks, not your first two months, will save you time later. For a fuller framework on organising this evidence, see the school governance evidence checklist.
Safeguarding: the non-negotiable first priority
Everything else in this guide can wait a few weeks. Safeguarding cannot.
Confirm the DSL appointment is current, that their training is up to date, and that this is properly documented. Confirm the Single Central Record is complete and current for all staff and volunteers. Confirm your Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy reflects KCSIE and has been reviewed within the current or last academic year - KCSIE is updated periodically, so checking alignment and review dates matters even where nothing else has changed locally.
Confirm governor safeguarding oversight is active: is there a named link governor, when did governors last receive a safeguarding report, and is their own safeguarding training current? If the annual safeguarding update to governors has not happened, schedule it before anything else on this list. It is the single most visible sign of active oversight that inspectors look for.
Policy governance: know what you are responsible for
You are accountable for your school's policies whether or not you wrote them, approved them, or even knew they existed before you arrived - that is simply how headship works.
Some policies matter more urgently than others. Prioritise these first:
- Safeguarding/Child Protection
- Behaviour
- Admissions
- SEND
- Health and Safety
- Equality, including the accessibility plan
Identify anything that is significantly overdue for review and flag it for the next governor meeting rather than trying to rewrite everything alone in week one. Brief the chair on the policy position as early as you reasonably can - this is far better received as an early, factual update than as a problem discovered later. For guidance on building sustainable review cycles, see policy governance best practice for school boards.
Governing board readiness
Your governing board is not there to test you. Treat your early governance audit as something to share with the chair, not something to quietly manage alone.
Confirm the meeting schedule for the year, who the clerk is, and where minutes are filed and stored. If you find significant gaps - no recent minutes, overdue governor training, lapsed safeguarding oversight - raise these with the chair directly and address them as a shared priority, not something absorbed silently into your own workload.
Boards that can evidence how they check and challenge the school's performance tend to be viewed favourably by inspectors. If you want a fuller picture of what strong oversight looks like in practice, see how governors can demonstrate effective oversight.
Website and publication compliance
DfE publication requirements for maintained schools and academies are specific, and can be checked against a public checklist rather than guessed at. This is one of the fastest wins available to a new headteacher, because it does not depend on anyone else's memory - you can simply look at the site.
Assign one person - this could be you initially, but ideally a school business manager or office lead - to own the website audit. Confirm that every published policy matches the version your governors actually approved, not an earlier draft still sitting on a web page.
Outdated policies on a school website are visible to inspectors before they ever set foot on site, making this a high-value, low-effort early task.
Building an inspection access pack as a new head
Start your access pack early, even if you have only just arrived and feel you have little to show yet. It is not about pretending everything is finished - it demonstrates that you understand your school's governance position and are actively managing it.
At minimum, your access pack should include:
- The current policy register, with review dates
- The last three sets of governor minutes
- A short safeguarding evidence summary
- The current website publication status
- An action log showing what you have found and what you are doing about it
Organise these clearly rather than comprehensively - a well-structured pack with visible gaps and action points is more reassuring to inspectors than a disorganised pile of everything you could find. For a detailed walkthrough of what to include, see how to prepare an inspection access pack.
What to say if inspection arrives before you feel ready
If the call comes before you feel settled, you are not alone - many headteachers face their first inspection within months of starting. Inspectors understand that new leaders inherit situations they did not create.
Honesty about what you found on arrival and what you have done since is the right approach. What matters is evidence of a clear-eyed assessment and active follow-through - not that everything was perfect on day one. The audit trail you have built since arriving - the gaps identified, the actions taken, the conversations had with your chair - is itself governance evidence. It shows a school being actively led, which is exactly what inspection frameworks are designed to recognise.
Common mistakes new headteachers make in their first year
- Assuming the previous head left everything in order without checking
- Not meeting the clerk to governors in the first two weeks
- Leaving the website check until an inspection notification arrives
- Not briefing the governor chair about governance gaps early
- Not knowing exactly where safeguarding records are held or who manages them
Avoiding these five mistakes alone puts a new headteacher well ahead of where most start. For a broader view of where schools commonly fall short, see common inspection readiness gaps in schools.
FAQ
Do I need to fix everything before my first inspection? No. Inspectors are aware that new headteachers inherit existing situations. What matters more is that you have identified gaps, prioritised the most important ones - starting with safeguarding - and can show the action you have taken.
How soon after starting should I audit governance records? As early as possible, ideally within your first few weeks. A basic audit covering safeguarding, the policy register, recent governor minutes and the website can usually be pulled together quickly with help from your clerk and office team.
What is the single most urgent thing to check first? Safeguarding, without exception. Confirm the DSL appointment, the Single Central Record, the currency of your safeguarding policy, and whether governors have received their annual safeguarding update.
Should I tell my governing board about gaps I find, or handle them quietly myself? Tell your chair. Governance is a shared responsibility, and a chair who is briefed early can support you in addressing gaps at board level. Discovering serious issues later, without having flagged them, is a much harder position for both of you.
What if an inspection is announced before I have completed my audit? Use whatever evidence you have gathered so far, however incomplete. An organised, honest account of what you found and what you are doing about it is far more useful to inspectors - and to you - than no record at all.
How Edvance can help
Stepping into headship with an unclear governance picture is one of the most common pressures new leaders describe. Edvance helps new headteachers quickly audit what they have inherited, identify possible gaps in policy records, safeguarding evidence and board documentation, and build an organised evidence base - so you know where things stand and can work through what needs attention with your governors, rather than starting from a blank page under pressure.
Book a governance readiness demo to see how Edvance supports new headteachers building inspection-ready governance from day one.
This article is intended as general guidance for school leaders in England and does not constitute legal advice. Requirements vary by school type (maintained school or academy) and may be updated by the Department for Education or Ofsted. Always confirm current statutory requirements against official DfE and Ofsted guidance, and seek independent advice for your specific circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to fix everything before my first inspection?
No. What matters is that you have identified gaps, prioritised the most important ones and can show the action you have taken.
How soon after starting should I audit governance records?
As early as possible, ideally within your first few weeks. A basic audit can usually be pulled together quickly with help from your clerk and office team.
What is the single most urgent thing to check first?
Safeguarding, including the DSL appointment, Single Central Record, safeguarding policy currency and governor safeguarding oversight.
Should I tell my governing board about gaps I find?
Yes. Governance is a shared responsibility, and a chair who is briefed early can support you in addressing gaps at board level.
What if an inspection is announced before I have completed my audit?
Use whatever evidence you have gathered so far. An organised, honest account of what you found and what you are doing about it is better than no record.