Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 Consultation: Your Guide to the Changes

Published on: Feb 16, 2026
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 Consultation: Your Guide to the Changes

The consultation on Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 is open until 22nd April and there are a whole array of changes and clarifications to the guidance. Core safeguarding processes remain the same, but there’s a stronger emphasis on community based early help (distinguished now from the more targeted Family Help), lots of clarifications to definitions to improve focus and practice and stronger interlinkage with modern slavery when young people are exploited.

It is proposed KCSiE also incorporates the guidance for working with children who are questioning their gender, and Baroness Casey comments she thinks this provides a robust underpinning of the safety required for all children.

There’s clarification that DSLs need skills and experience as well as status and authority (!) and work to improve early notice to prospective schools of potential issues when children are moving between schools.

If you're not a member or do not currently receive our Safeguarding Bulletin please go to our dedicated KCSiE 2026 information page, sign-up to one of our free KCSiE 2026 Consultation webinars, and sign-up to our safeguarding Bulletin to receive the document.


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