Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 is now in force. The Department for Education published the updated guidance on 7 July 2026, and it applies from 1 September 2026.
This page summarises the key changes in KCSIE 2026 for schools, DSLs, SLT, governors and trustees. It focuses on the practical areas schools may need to review, including safeguarding training, online safety, artificial intelligence, filtering and monitoring, information sharing, safer recruitment and child-on-child abuse.
Important: Schools and colleges in England should now follow KCSIE 2026 as the current statutory safeguarding guidance. If you are reviewing policies, staff training, online safety arrangements or safeguarding evidence, this page highlights the main areas to check.
Reviewed by Paresh Ghedia, Data Protection Officer
Last updated: 13 September
KCSIE 2026 Updates at a Glance
The updates include:
- All staff are expected to read Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education in full.
- References to the Early Years Foundation Stage framework for school-based nurseries and reception classes.
- Updated wording around early help, Family Help and statutory children’s social care.
- Stronger references to online harms, AI-generated images and deepfakes.
- More focus on misogyny, harassment, violence and harmful sexual behaviour.
- Updates to filtering and monitoring, cyber security and information security.
- Changes to information sharing and child protection file transfers.
- Safer recruitment updates, including single central record guidance.
- Updates to allegations and low-level concerns involving trainee teachers.
- A rewritten Part 5 covering child-on-child sexual harassment and sexual violence.
KCSIE 2026 is now the current statutory safeguarding guidance. Schools should check that the areas above have been reviewed, updated and evidenced where needed.
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KCSIE 2026 Compared with KCSIE 2025
The table below summarises some of the main differences between KCSIE 2026 and the previous 2025 release.
| Area | What changed in KCSIE 2026 | What schools should check |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | All staff should read Part 1 in full | Induction, annual training and read receipts |
| Online Safety | Stronger references to online harms, AI and deepfakes | Online safety policy, AUP and staff training |
| Filtering and monitoring | More emphasis on review, testing and evidence | DSL, SLT, IT and governor review records |
| Information sharing | Stronger wording around safeguarding records and file transfers | Child protection file transfer process |
| Safer recruitment | Updates to SCR, volunteers, visitors and regulated activity | SCR headings, recruitment checks and visitor procedures |
Key Changes in More Depth
Keeping Children Safe in Education is split into 5 main parts, covering staff safeguarding responsibilities, management of safeguarding, safer recruitment, staff allegations and child-on-child sexual harassment and sexual violence.
All staff and Part 1
One of the key changes is that all staff should read Part 1 in full. The previous condensed Annex A summary has been removed from the 2026 guidance.
Schools should check that induction processes, annual safeguarding training, and staff read receipts are in place to evidence this.
The DfE has also produced a Part 1 overview for all staff, but this should be treated as a supporting document, not a replacement for reading the full version of Part 1.
Early help and family help
Updated wording around early help, Family Help and statutory referrals is included.
Staff should understand the difference between community-based early help, targeted early help through Family Help, children in need, and situations in which a child may be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm.
Schools should ensure staff know when to speak to the DSL or deputy DSL, and how concerns are recorded and escalated.
Online safety, AI, deepfakes and content risks
The guidance updates the online safety risk categories, including content risks such as misogyny, self-harm, suicide, antisemitism, misinformation, disinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories.
It also highlights conduct risks involving explicit images, including the making or sharing of nudes and semi-nudes, and images generated or altered using AI, such as deepfakes.
Schools should make sure these risks are reflected in online safety training, filtering reviews and safeguarding procedures.
Filtering, monitoring and cyber security
Filtering and monitoring remain an important safeguarding responsibility.
Schools should ensure they can demonstrate that filtering and monitoring arrangements are reviewed, tested and recorded. This should include checks across school devices, networks and relevant internet-connected systems.
Cyber resilience and information security, along with access management, are also increasingly connected to safeguarding. Schools should review admin access, MFA, backups, patching and staff training as part of wider safeguarding and online safety planning.
Schools should also consider how the DfE digital standards link with KCSIE expectations around safeguarding evidence, filtering and monitoring, and cyber security.
The DfE filtering and monitoring standard also expects schools to review provision at least once every academic year, involving SLT, the DSL, IT support and the responsible governor. With AI-generated and dynamic content now specifically referenced, schools should check whether their systems can identify, filter and monitor risks across school-managed devices and relevant online services.
Information sharing and child protection files
The guidance strengthens content around information sharing and safeguarding records.
Schools should ensure that child protection files are transferred securely and promptly when a pupil changes schools. Records should be clear, confidential and kept separate from general pupil records.
Data protection should not be used as a reason to delay the necessary sharing of safeguarding information. Schools should ensure that safeguarding records, information sharing and DPO procedures are clear, secure and easy to follow.
Safer recruitment and the single central record
Safer recruitment updates are included, including changes around regulated activity, volunteers, visitor procedures, DBS checks, work experience supervision and duty to refer.
Schools should review their safer recruitment policy, SCR headings, recruitment checklists and visitor procedures to ensure they reflect the 2026 guidance.
Child-on-child abuse, harassment and violence
The guidance retitles child-on-child abuse to include harassment and violence.
Part 5 has also been rewritten around harmful sexual behaviour, sexual harassment and sexual violence. Schools should make sure policies and training cover online sexual harassment, misogyny, AI-generated or altered nude and semi-nude images, including deepfakes, and appropriate support for both victims and alleged perpetrators.
For reference, schools can read the full DfE KCSIE 2026 guidance before reviewing their own policies and procedures.
What Should Schools Do Now?
Schools should now check that the following areas have been reviewed, updated and evidenced where needed:
- Staff safeguarding training and Part 1 read receipts.
- Child protection and online safety policies.
- AI, deepfake and acceptable use policy wording.
- Filtering and monitoring review evidence.
- Cyber security, MFA, backups and access management.
- Child protection file transfer procedures.
- Safer recruitment and single central record processes.
- Low-level concerns and allegation procedures.
- Governor or trustee safeguarding reporting.
Schools should compare their current arrangements against the published new guidance, revise policies where needed and review their wider safeguarding arrangements.
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 Summary
The 2026 version includes substantive updates compared with the previous KCSIE 2025 release.
The main changes focus on staff safeguarding responsibilities, early help and Family Help, online harm, AI-generated images, filtering and monitoring, information sharing, safer recruitment and child-on-child sexual harassment and sexual violence.
DSLs, SLT, governors, trustees, IT leads and DPOs should check that policies, staff training, read receipts, filtering and monitoring evidence, safeguarding records and recruitment processes reflect the updated guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is KCSIE 2026 now in force?
Yes. KCSIE 2026 came into force on 1 September 2026 and is now the current statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges in England.
What has changed in KCSIE 2026?
The main changes include updates to Part 1, early help and Family Help, online safety, AI-generated images and deepfakes, filtering and monitoring, cyber security, information sharing, safer recruitment and child-on-child sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Do all staff need to read Part 1 of KCSIE 2026?
Yes. Part 1 of KCSIE 2026 should be read in full by all staff. Schools should ensure this is covered in induction, safeguarding training and staff read receipt records.
What evidence should schools keep for KCSIE 2026?
Schools should keep clear evidence of staff training, Part 1 read receipts, policy reviews, filtering and monitoring checks, governor or trustee oversight, safer recruitment checks and safeguarding record transfer procedures.
Mark Friend, BSc (Hons), is a Company Director at Classroom365 and has worked in technology for nearly 30 years. His IT career started with Rothschild Bank in Sydney, Australia, before working as a Global VPN Project Manager for the British Council. Mark has 20 years of experience in the UK education sector, helping schools integrate the latest tech into their curriculum and ICT vision.