KCSIE 2026 Consultation: What Schools Need to Know Now

KCSIE 2026 Consultation: What Schools Need to Know Now

The Department for Education has launched its consultation on the proposed revisions to Keeping Children Safe in Education, due to come into force in September 2026. Many safeguarding professionals are already describing this as the most significant updated since KCSIE was first published in 2014.

It is important to remember that KCSIE 2025 remains the statutory guidance until the final 2026 version is confirmed. Schools should therefore avoid making major changes just yet, but it is certainly worth understanding what may be coming.

Below is a summary of the key proposed changes, why they matter, and what schools may wish to consider ahead of implementation.

Safer Recruitment: Limited Changes

Despite the scale of changes, the DfE is not proposing major changes to the Safer Recruitment requirements this year. In fact, very little is set to shift within Part Three and the consultation materials largely reaffirm the existing expectations rather than introducing new ones.

For schools, this will come as reassuring news particularly as the safer recruitment aspects have undergone significant strengthening in recent years, particularly around online searches, referencing, and ensuring safer cultures throughout the recruitment cycle. The 2026 consultation suggests that these processes remain robust and that further tightening is not currently planned.

Key Areas of Proposed Change Across KCSIE

The biggest updates are concentrated in Parts One, Two and Five of the guidance. Proposed changes include:

Part One: Safeguarding Information for All Staff

• Replacing the term ‘Early Help’ with ‘Family Help’ to align with wider children’s social care reforms.
• Clearer expectations that EYFS Section 3 (Welfare) should be read alongside KCSIE for settings including school‑based nurseries.
• Updated definitions of harm; including sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and online abuse.
• Refined indicators of when support may be needed before statutory intervention.
• Updating terminology, replacing references to “sexting” and “nude and semi‑nude images” with: “consensual and non‑consensual self‑generated intimate images and/or videos, including those created using AI.”
  This better reflects the realities schools are now facing, particularly around deepfakes and technology‑enabled abuse.
• Additional references to modern slavery.

The DfE is also seeking views on removing Annex A, which would mean all staff, not just those working directly with children would be required to read Part One in full. This reinforces the principle that safeguarding is truly everyone’s responsibility.

Part Two: Management of Safeguarding

• Clarification of expectations related to children questioning their gender, including sport; changing rooms, showers, toilets; and boarding and residential accommodation. (It is important to note that the provisions relating to toilets, changing rooms and boarding and residential accommodation are mandatory requirements.)
• Stronger requirements for DSL cover, including the use of a confidential shared mailbox or equivalent system.
• A broader expectation around records transferred between schools, including information relating to serious violence or harmful sexual behaviour.
• Broadening the range of topics in RSHE particularly around AI and misogynistic influencers and mobile phone risks.
• Additional emphasis on young carers and children with medical conditions

Part Three: Safer Recruitment

The only concrete addition is the inclusion of a Single Central Record template, supporting greater national consistency.

Part Four: Safeguarding concerns or allegations made about staff

Now specifically includes 'trainee teachers' in the guidance.

Part Five: Child‑on‑Child Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence

Has been largely reorganised and rewritten, placing Harmful Sexual at the centre of this section. This shift aims to give schools a clearer framework for identifying, assessing and responding to sexual behaviours that sit on the continuum from inappropriate to abusive.

A Stronger Focus on Misogyny and Harmful Sexual Behaviour

One of the clearest themes running through the proposed guidance is the increased recognition of misogyny as a safeguarding concern. Schools across the country have reported rising levels of misogynistic behaviours influenced by online culture, and the DfE is responding by strengthening references to misogyny throughout the guidance.

This sits alongside a broader emphasis on harmful sexual behaviour, with the consultation drawing stronger links between the two. Schools may therefore want to consider reviewing their curriculum, staff training and pupil culture work through this lens as the guidance develops.

Have Your Say

The DfE is actively seeking feedback from everyone involved in safeguarding including HR professionals, governors and trustees, DSLs, school leaders and wider practitioners. Responding to the consultation provides a valuable opportunity to shape the clarity, feasibility and usefulness of the final 2026 guidance.

You can submit your views here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/independent-education-and-school-safeguarding-division/keeping-children-safe-in-education-2026-revisions/

Sarah Wyllie

Senior HR Advisor and Lead Safer Recruitment Trainer