Keeping children safe in education 2026: key points for school staff

Department for Education statutory guidance for England. Our short summary of what it asks of school staff – read the official document for the full duties.

Current version

KCSIE 2026 (full guidance, part one, and part one overview for all staff)

Published

7 July 2026

In force from

1 September 2026

Applies to

maintained schools; academies and free schools; independent schools; non-maintained special schools; pupil referral units; further education colleges and sixth-form colleges; all staff (part one)

Official document

Keeping children safe in education 2026 (GOV.UK)

Checked against the official page on 2026-10-20: current version, version date, in force from, recent changes. Still to check: Annex C detail of the 2026 changes (not yet read); Summary bullets against part one 2026 wording.

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Key duties (our plain-English summary)

• Every member of staff must read part one in full and follow the school's child protection policy and staff code of conduct.
• Know who the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputies are – the DSL leads on safeguarding and works with children's social care and police.
• If you are worried about a child, act straight away: speak to the DSL. Anyone can make a referral to children's social care; if a child is in immediate danger, call the police.
• Concerns or allegations about another adult (including supply staff and volunteers) go to the headteacher, or to the chair of governors/proprietor if about the head; low-level concerns are shared under the school's policy too.
• Child-on-child abuse (including sexual violence, harassment and image sharing) is never "just banter" – report it and record it.
• Online safety covers content, contact, conduct and commerce; schools must have appropriate filtering and monitoring and staff should know how it works.
• Write down concerns, what you saw or were told and what you did – factually, dated and signed – and pass them on.
• Teachers have a legal duty to report known cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in under-18s to the police.
• Schools must follow safer recruitment, keep a single central record, and give staff safeguarding training at induction plus regular updates.

Recent changes

• 7 July 2026: KCSIE 2026 published for information.
• 1 September 2026: KCSIE 2026 came into force, replacing earlier versions.
• 1 September 2026: The shorter version of part one was removed from Annex A, so all staff now read part one in full; governing bodies/proprietors should make sure staff who do not work directly with children also read it.
• 1 September 2026: "Regulated activity in relation to children: scope" removed from the page pending an update. Full list of changes is in Annex C of KCSIE 2026.

Next review: we check for a new version by 31 July 2027 (DfE usually publishes the next year's KCSIE for information in early summer; check July 2027.). Last checked 20 October 2026.

More: teacher guidance summaries · education glossary (DSL, KCSIE and more)