School Online-Safety Governance Review Checklist

Use this review as a framework for supporting school leaders to keep children safe online. Confirm which online-safety arrangements, policies, activities, and groups of users will be considered.

Record the names or roles of governors, trustees, school leaders, staff, or other contributors involved in the review.

Review the policies that the school uses for online safety and record the policy titles, version or review information where available, and any points requiring clarification or action.

Ask how relevant online-safety policies and expectations are made available to staff, pupils, parents or carers, and other users. Record any groups or arrangements not covered by the school's current approach.

If a policy requires clarification, updating, approval, or communication, record the specific action and the reason for it.

Ask how pupils, staff, parents or carers, and other relevant users can obtain help with online-safety concerns. Record the available routes, responsible roles, and any conditional arrangements for different types of concern.

Ask how online-safety concerns can be reported, including concerns raised by pupils, staff, parents or carers, and other users where relevant. Confirm how reports are received, recorded, reviewed, and escalated within the school's arrangements.

Check that the relevant reporting information is available to the groups who need it. If access or communication differs by group, record the applicable arrangement and any gap identified.

Ask what online-safety training or briefing is provided to staff and relevant volunteers, how new or changing needs are identified, and how participation or completion is recorded where the school keeps such records.

Record any identified training need, the staff group or role affected, and the proposed response. If no need is identified, record the basis for that conclusion.

Ask how online-safety education is included in teaching and learning for the school's pupils. Consider how the approach reflects the school's phase, age groups, curriculum, and identified needs, where applicable.

Ask how pupils' experiences, questions, or feedback about online safety inform teaching, support, reporting arrangements, or other school actions, where the school uses such information.

Ask how the school engages parents or carers and the wider school community in online-safety education and awareness. Record the activities or communication routes used and any groups not currently reached.

Where the school has different arrangements for primary and secondary phases, particular pupil groups, staff groups, parents or carers, or other users, review each arrangement separately and record why the distinction applies.

Ask what information the governing board or trustees receive to support oversight of online-safety provision, such as policy information, themes from concerns or reports, training information, teaching activity, or community engagement, where available.

List the documents, records, meetings, discussions, or other sources considered during this review. Do not add evidence that was not actually examined.

For each identified gap, uncertainty, or improvement, record a specific action, the intended outcome, and any dependency or condition that must be met before the action applies.

Record the person, role, committee, or other accountable owner for each action. If ownership is not yet agreed, record that it remains to be assigned.

Record how and when the governing board or trustees will review progress on the actions, using the school's existing governance arrangements where applicable.

Summarise the main findings, unresolved questions, actions, owners, and any conditional applicability identified during the review. Do not describe an action as completed unless evidence of completion has been reviewed.