The Department for Education published the new version of Keeping Children Safe in Education on 7 July 2026. It is currently available for schools to prepare for the new academic year, but it does not come into force until 1 September 2026. Schools must continue following KCSIE 2025 until 31 August. Staff should also check the final September publication in case any details are amended.
KCSIE is not only for designated safeguarding leads. Every teacher and member of school staff needs to understand what they should notice, record and report. Here are 17 of the most important changes.
1. Every member of staff should now read Part One in full
The shorter, condensed version of Part One previously found in Annex A has been removed. All staff, including employees who do not work directly with children, should now read the full Part One.
The DfE has produced a quick-reference overview, but this complements Part One rather than replacing it. Schools will need to allow sufficient time for cleaners, office staff, technicians, site teams, catering staff and other colleagues to read and understand the guidance, rather than simply emailing them a document and asking them to confirm that it has been read.
2. The language around early help has changed
KCSIE 2026 distinguishes more clearly between universal services and community-based early help, targeted early help delivered through Family Help and statutory social-care intervention.
Teachers are not expected to decide which formal threshold a child meets. However, they should recognise concerns early and pass them to the DSL rather than waiting until a situation becomes severe.
A pupil does not need to be in immediate danger before support can be considered. Changes in attendance, appearance, behaviour, friendships, attainment or emotional wellbeing may form part of a wider picture that needs exploring.
3. The examples of abuse and exploitation are broader
The updated guidance adds or strengthens references to modern slavery, stalking, financial exploitation, child-to-parent or caregiver abuse and verbal forms of emotional abuse such as persistent criticism, belittling and name-calling.
It also stresses that safeguarding issues frequently overlap. A pupil may simultaneously be experiencing domestic abuse, neglect, online coercion, criminal exploitation and poor mental health. Staff should report what they have noticed without trying to fit the situation into a single category.
4. Child-on-child abuse is more explicitly linked to harassment and violence
The relevant section is now titled “Child-on-child abuse, including harassment and violence”.
The guidance emphasises that this behaviour is preventable, may involve serious physical harm or weapons and requires a safeguarding response for both the victim and the alleged perpetrator.
Supporting an alleged perpetrator does not excuse or minimise their behaviour. It recognises that children who harm others may also have unmet needs or have experienced abuse themselves.
Teachers should never dismiss harmful behaviour as banter, flirting, friendship problems or something pupils simply need to sort out between themselves.
5. Criminal and sexual exploitation may not look like victimhood
The sections on child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation have been expanded. They recognise that exploitation may be organised by an individual, network or gang and that a child may believe that they belong to or benefit from the group exploiting them.
A child may also commit offences while being controlled or coerced. Possessing drugs, carrying a weapon, stealing or threatening others should therefore be addressed as behaviour concerns while also prompting consideration of possible exploitation.
Teachers should report the signs and context rather than deciding that a pupil cannot be a victim because they appear willing or have committed an offence.
6. Mental health concerns receive much stronger attention
KCSIE now states more explicitly that mental health difficulties can develop into safeguarding concerns. These may include self-harm, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts or risk of suicide. Mental health concerns may also indicate that a child has experienced abuse, neglect or exploitation.
Teachers are not expected to diagnose mental illness. Their role is to notice, listen, record and refer. A significant disclosure or sudden change should not be handled solely as a pastoral or behaviour matter.
Where a concern is also a safeguarding concern, staff should follow the child-protection policy and speak to the DSL. Immediate danger requires an emergency response, while urgent but non-emergency mental health support may also be needed.
7. Serious violence is treated as a continuing safeguarding concern
The revised section highlights physical assault, weapon carrying, threats involving weapons, peer conflict, bullying and links with criminal exploitation.
Possible indicators include:
- increased absence
- changing friendship groups
- relationships with older individuals
- unexplained injuries
- new possessions or gifts
- worsening attainment
- self-harm or a marked change in wellbeing
The guidance also asks schools to understand when and where risk is highest. This may be immediately before or after school and at particular locations where pupils gather or travel.
Teachers should report concerning comments about weapons or violence even when they appear vague, exaggerated or intended to impress friends.
8. Information sharing is given greater emphasis
KCSIE 2026 contains more detailed guidance on deciding when, why and how safeguarding information should be shared. Data-protection law should not be used as a reason to avoid necessary safeguarding action.
Staff should share concerns through the school’s agreed system, include relevant facts and make records promptly. A safeguarding record should make clear:
- what was seen, heard or disclosed
- the child’s own words where possible
- when and where it happened
- who was informed
- what action was taken
Teachers should avoid conducting their own investigation or repeatedly questioning the child. Their job is to record accurately and pass the concern to the appropriate person.
9. Schools need reliable DSL cover arrangements
The new guidance strengthens expectations around what happens when the designated safeguarding lead is unavailable. It gives a confidential shared safeguarding mailbox as one possible arrangement.
A school should not depend on one individual noticing an email or returning from a meeting. Staff need to know exactly whom to contact when the DSL is absent, teaching, off-site or unavailable.
Every teacher should be able to answer three questions:
- Who is the DSL?
- Who are the deputies?
- What should I do when none of them can immediately be found?
An urgent safeguarding concern should never sit in someone’s inbox until the following day.
10. Generative AI is now part of online safeguarding
KCSIE adds guidance and resources on the safe and effective use of generative AI in education. Online risk categories now recognise harmful interaction not only with other users but also with AI applications that simulate human conversation.
Potential concerns include:
- AI-generated sexual images
- convincing misinformation and deepfakes
- harmful advice from chatbot-style tools
- the disclosure of sensitive personal information
- biased or inappropriate outputs
- pupils using AI to bully, impersonate or humiliate others
Schools will need clear boundaries around teacher-facing and pupil-facing AI tools. Staff should use approved services and avoid entering identifiable pupil information into unapproved systems.
11. Schools should be mobile phone-free by default
A new section reflects the government’s expectation that schools should normally prevent pupils from accessing mobile phones throughout the school day. This includes lessons, movement between lessons, breaktime and lunchtime.
Exceptions may still be necessary, including reasonable adjustments for disability or medical needs, but they should be agreed rather than informally negotiated during lessons.
For teachers, the main point is consistency. A policy will fail when individual members of staff apply different rules, repeatedly issue warnings or permit phones for clocks, calculators and timetables when alternatives are available.
12. Filtering and monitoring must be reviewed and checked properly
Schools should review the effectiveness of their filtering and monitoring arrangements at least once every academic year.
The review should be led by the responsible senior leader with support from the DSL and IT staff. It should check that filtering works appropriately across all internet-connected devices and relevant locations, and a record of these checks should be kept.
This is not simply an IT department issue. Teachers should understand that monitoring systems do not remove the need for supervision, digital education and professional judgement. They should also report occasions when harmful material is accessible or legitimate teaching material is unnecessarily blocked.
13. Young carers, pupils with SEND and children with medical conditions receive greater attention
KCSIE includes a new section on young carers, recognising that caring responsibilities may affect attendance, attainment, behaviour and wellbeing.
It also expands the barriers faced by pupils with SEND. These may include communication difficulties, greater isolation, increased exposure to bullying and adults mistakenly attributing signs of abuse to a child’s disability.
A new section explains when problems involving a medical condition may become safeguarding concerns. One isolated mistake will not necessarily require a safeguarding referral, but repeated failure to provide essential medication or important medical information may place a child at risk.
Teachers should remain curious about the reasons behind absence, exhaustion, distress, missing equipment or sudden behavioural change.
14. Guidance on children questioning their gender has been substantially expanded
The guidance says schools should listen carefully, remain professionally curious, protect pupils from bullying and consider the child’s wider experiences and needs.
Where a child requests school support involving social transition, individual members of staff should not make informal changes independently. The school should follow a documented decision-making process, consider safeguarding and equality duties, assess the child’s best interests and normally involve parents or carers.
In the rare situation where parental involvement may create a greater risk of harm, the DSL should be involved before contact is made. Where a pupil shares feelings but requests no changes, there is no automatic reason to break confidence unless a related safeguarding concern arises.
Teachers should therefore listen respectfully, avoid promises they cannot keep and pass requests to the appropriate senior or safeguarding staff rather than attempting to resolve them alone.
15. Operation Encompass has been updated
Operation Encompass enables police to notify education settings when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a child may be affected by domestic abuse.
The notification arrangements include children connected to the household even when they were not physically present during the incident. This allows schools to offer informed and timely support.
A teacher may not receive the details of an incident, but they may be quietly asked to make adjustments for a pupil. This might include offering a calm start, reducing unnecessary pressure, checking that the pupil has eaten or postponing a public confrontation over incomplete homework.
Staff should respect confidentiality and avoid questioning the pupil simply because they know a notification has been received.
16. Safer-recruitment rules now give greater attention to volunteers and trainee teachers
The regulated-activity section has been rewritten following removal of the previous supervision exemption. People volunteering regularly in roles involving teaching, training, instruction or supervision may now be treated as carrying out regulated activity even when supervised.
Schools will need to review how they assess and check volunteers, work-experience arrangements and other adults working with pupils.
Trainee teachers are also mentioned more consistently in the procedures for concerns or allegations. Schools and training providers share responsibilities, and a concern about a trainee must be passed through the correct safeguarding process rather than treated only as a university or training matter.
17. Sexual harassment, sexual violence and image sharing have been rewritten more clearly
Part Five has been substantially revised to show a continuum from harmful sexual behaviour to sexual violence. The guidance adds further information about consent and responding to children who display sexualised or harmful behaviour.
It also replaces older expressions such as “sexting” or “youth-produced sexual imagery” with “making or sharing nudes or semi-nudes”. The definition includes photographs, videos, livestreams and images generated using AI.
Every incident involving a nude or semi-nude image requires a safeguarding response, whether the sharing appears consensual or non-consensual. The response may vary according to the circumstances, but staff should never view, copy, forward, print or ask a pupil to send them the image.
They should preserve the child’s account and contact the DSL immediately.
What teachers should do before September
KCSIE 2026 is longer and more detailed, but the essential classroom message remains straightforward: notice changes, listen carefully, record accurately and report promptly.
Teachers do not need to investigate, diagnose or decide whether a child meets a formal threshold. They do need to know their school’s procedures and act when something does not feel right.
Schools should provide proper training on the changes rather than relying on a signature confirming that the document has been read. Staff should also revisit the published guidance after 1 September, when the final version is due to take effect.
This article is an accessible overview and should be read alongside the complete statutory guidance, local safeguarding arrangements and each school’s child-protection policy.