The draft version of Keeping Children Safe In Education (KCSIE), due to come into effect in September 2026, has now been published.
It contains the long-awaited guidance on how to support gender questioning children in schools. Given the significance of this issue, we have reported on this separately – a link to our thoughts on the guidance for gender questioning children is available here.
This year’s changes are significant and lengthy, and we consider below what these mean for schools.
Changes to Part One
It has long been the case that all staff are required, as a minimum, to read and understand the information and processes set out in Part One of KCSIE. Part One has significantly expanded in the 2026 update, to include:
- The full range of statutory thresholds from the Children Act – this includes targeted Family Help, children in need, children at risk of significant harm, and care and supervision orders.
- Further indicators that a child may need additional support, including situations where a child is pregnant or a parent themselves; has exhibited early signs of abusive, violent and/or harmful behaviours; has been repeatedly removed from the classroom; is at risk of modern slavery or trafficking; is at risk of bring radicalised into terrorism; or is at risk of honour or faith-based abuse.
- Expanded guidance on modern slavery, including a new obligation to make a referral to the National Referral Mechanism, either via the police or children’s services, or wherever a school has any concerns regarding modern slavery.
- A widened scope of emotional abuse, now including verbal abuse, such as persistent criticism, belittling, or name-calling.
- Strengthened guidance on serious violence, with a focus on prevention. Schools now have a duty to explicitly protect children from violence. In addition, schools must implement early, evidence-based support for those considered at risk, as well as in “teachable moments”.
- More clearly defined obligations on headteachers regarding referrals to the LADO. This is coupled with an obligation to ensure that a decision to refer a matter to the LADO, or not to refer to the LADO, is recorded in writing.
Mental health
Mental health is given prominence in the updated guidance, with a clear link between mental health and safeguarding. Suicide or suicidal ideation is explicitly listed as a concern requiring prompt action. Eating disorders are also listed for the first time as a safeguarding concern that school staff are well placed to recognise. Specific warning signs that staff should watch out for are set out, together with a list of steps that staff should take if they identify a concern regarding a child’s mental health.
The guidance sets out four key roles that school staff can play in supporting children with their mental health – promoting good mental wellbeing; observing pupils to identify those who may be experiencing problems; ensuring early targeted support is provided; and liaising with specialist services. There is also a strengthened expectation on schools to appoint a mental health lead.
Child on child abuse
Five years on from the revelations of the Everyone’s Invited campaign, there are some significant updates to the guidance on managing child on child abuse, reflecting a more considered approach to this issue, and reinforcing the need to tackle harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) as part of a whole school culture issue. HSB is now described as existing on “a continuum”, with the potential for low-level inappropriate conduct and misogyny to escalate into sexual harassment and sexual violence. It is made explicitly clear that protective intervention is needed to tackle misogyny, as well as the need to look at online incidents of HSB as being no less serious than in-person incidents.
There are also updates to the process that staff should follow, when responding to a disclosure of child on child abuse. It is now made clear that staff should not take notes whilst a child is making a disclosure. Notes should be written up after a disclosure and should record only what the child says, without interpretation or personal opinion, and should be shared with the DSL as soon as practically possible.
It has always been crucial that a risk assessment follows a disclosure of HSB. However, the updated guidance emphasises that this must not merely focus on the risks that are posed, but also the needs of both the victim and the alleged perpetrator. The risks and needs assessment should also consider the wider school, including staff and students, and any actions that may protect them from the alleged perpetrator.
Updated processes
The updated guidance also includes a number of updates to school processes. In relation to DSL requirements, governing bodies must be able to demonstrate that the DSL has the necessary skills and experience required for the role. In addition, schools must now implement robust cover arrangements for periods when the DSL is unavailable, with the guidance suggesting that cover arrangements could include a confidential shared mailbox to ensure safeguarding concerns are acted upon without delay.
There are also more onerous obligations on schools in relation to what happens when a child moves between schools, to avoid concerns not being passed on to a new school. DSLs must now consider whether it would be appropriate to share any information with the new school, particularly where the new information would support an assessment of that child’s risk to both themselves and to others. If there have been any incidents that may indicate concerns about serious violence or harmful behaviours, then there is now an explicit requirement that this should be shared in the child protection file. Moreover, as a matter of good practice, where there are issues or concerns, a conversation should be taking place between the DSLs at both schools.
There is a real focus on preventative education. It is made clear that a zero-tolerance culture is required for racism, derogatory behaviour and other forms of physical violence and conflict. This extends into RSHE, which must now include tackling online harms such as sharing images, the prevalence of deepfakes, pornography and misogynistic influencers, and when and where to seek help.
The guidance is also clear that all schools should be mobile phone-free environments by default, and that anything other than this should be by exception only. Alongside this, the DfE has published Advice on Mobile Phones in Schools which we have reported on separately here.
There is also an update to the frequency of schools’ reviews of their filtering and monitoring systems, which must now take place at least once every academic year. Reviews should include checks on all internet-connected devices in all “relevant locations”, and a record must be kept of these checks.
Vulnerable children
The updated guidance contains a new section on young carers, emphasising that schools need to be alert to their needs and the impact that their caring responsibilities can have on their attendance, attainment, behaviour and wellbeing. There is also more detailed guidance on how best to support children with SEND. This includes an emphasis on the fact that a child with SEND may not understand that what is happening to them is abuse; that the need for intimate care or their isolation from others can put them at risk; and that their dependence on adults for care could be a barrier to recognising abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Likewise those children with medical conditions are singled out by the guidance, and where a “clinical incident” takes place in school, the school nurse and DSL should now jointly be considering whether any safeguarding duty has been triggered, and whether further action is required in respect of such children.
What should schools be doing now?
The updated guidance is currently only draft guidance, and may be subject to change, before being rolled out in September 2026. A consultation is currently underway on the proposed changes, and schools may wish to contribute to that consultation – if you want to submit your comments, you should do so by 22 April 2026. The link to the consultation is here.
Once DfE responds to the consultation and confirms the final version of the guidance that will come into effect, schools will need to use the weeks leading up to September to update their policies and procedures to reflect the new requirements. Schools will also need to consider how they train their staff on the changes. Part One of KCSIE is now so detailed, that an annual safeguarding training session during an inset day is unlikely to be sufficient.
It may therefore be worth schools starting to look at rolling out more regular safeguarding training sessions, to ensure all staff fully understand their obligations. We welcome any schools to get in touch if they would like support in preparing their policies and procedures in preparation for the updated guidance coming into effect.
