Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 is now in force: What schools and colleges need to know
The Department for Education has today confirmed that Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 is now in force, replacing the previous 2025 version of the statutory guidance.
The guidance applies to all schools and colleges in England and sets out the legal duties they must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18.
Schools and colleges should now ensure that their safeguarding arrangements, policies and staff training reflect the 2026 guidance.
What changes from today?
The final 2026 guidance was published in July, giving schools and colleges time to prepare ahead of its implementation on 1 September 2026.
From today, it is no longer a document for advance planning: KCSIE 2026 is the statutory guidance that schools and colleges must have regard to.
Among the changes for 2026 are updates relating to:
- safeguarding information for all staff;
- the removal of the previous shorter version of Part One from Annex A;
- revised expectations around the transfer and receipt of safeguarding information when children move between schools;
- racism, faith-targeted abuse and other discriminatory behaviour within safeguarding practice;
- reasonable force and restrictive interventions;
- alternative provision;
- children who are absent from education;
- online safety, including emerging technology;
- safer recruitment and regulated activity; and
- a range of updates reflecting changes to wider statutory guidance and legislation.
A full summary of the changes is provided by the Department for Education within Annex C of KCSIE 2026.
Part One must now be read by all staff
One of the important structural changes for 2026 is the removal of the shorter version of Part One that previously appeared within Annex A.
The Department for Education has confirmed that all staff must now read Part One in full and follow their school or college's safeguarding policies and procedures.
A new Part One – overview for all staff has also been published. This provides a useful quick-reference summary, but the Department for Education is clear that it is complementary to Part One and does not replace it.
Schools should therefore ensure that arrangements for staff induction and safeguarding updates reflect this change.
A further update on regulated activity
The Department for Education has also confirmed today that it has temporarily removed its separate document Regulated activity in relation to children: scope, pending an update.
Schools and colleges should therefore take care that any supporting materials they use concerning regulated activity and safer recruitment reflect the current statutory position.
What do ISS members need to do?
For Independent Safeguarding Service members, much of the work has already been done for you.
Our 2026/27 safeguarding and child protection policy templates have been updated to reflect KCSIE 2026 and the associated statutory changes.
Our safeguarding training has also been updated for the new academic year, so members do not need to work through the guidance independently and determine what each amendment means for practice: the changes are incorporated into our training and resources.
Schools should, however, ensure that:
- staff receive their appropriate safeguarding update and read Part One of KCSIE 2026;
- governors and trustees understand the changes relevant to their safeguarding responsibilities;
- current safeguarding and child protection policies are adopted and made available to staff; and
- local procedures and school-specific safeguarding arrangements remain accurate.
ISS members can access their updated policies, resources and training through their membership dashboard.
Read KCSIE 2026
The full statutory guidance, Part One and the new Part One overview are available from the Department for Education:
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 – GOV.UK
