Draft Updates to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).

The Department for Education (DfE) has released draft updates for the 2026 statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). These proposals are currently under consultation until April 22, 2026, with the final version set to become mandatory on September 1, 2026.

If implemented, these changes represent a significant expansion of school safeguarding responsibilities

Gender Identity and Facilities

The guidance includes new statutory requirements regarding gender identity, specifically mandating single-sex spaces (toilets, changing rooms, and sleeping arrangements) and providing a framework for how schools should handle requests for social transitioning.

Staff Conduct and Allegations

The guidance now includes trainee teachers in the list of staff who may be subject to safeguarding allegations. It also mandates that headteachers consider referring dismissed staff to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) for serious misconduct.

Vulnerable Groups

The 2026 update places more emphasis on specific groups:

• Alternative Provision (AP): Children in AP are highlighted as being at higher risk for exploitation and serious violence; and

• SEND Students: The list of barriers to identifying abuse in children with disabilities has been expanded, noting their increased dependence on adults for intimate care and potential social isolation.

Information Sharing and Data Privacy

The draft aims to empower staff to share information more confidently to protect children:

• Overriding Confidentiality: The guidance clarifies that "safeguarding" is a legal condition that allows staff to share personal data without consent if there is a risk of harm; and

• Transferring Files: DSLs are encouraged to share safeguarding information with a child’s future school even before the child has officially left their current one to ensure continuity of support.

Online Safety and AI

Reflecting the rise of new technologies, the online safety section has been restructured into four "areas of risk": Content, Contact, Conduct, and Commerce (e.g., gambling/phishing).

• AI and Deepfakes: The guidance now includes the sharing of "AI-generated intimate images" as a form of abuse that must be addressed in school child protection policies; and

• Mobile Phones: The government’s "mobile-free by default" policy for schools is now integrated into the safeguarding framework..

Mental Health as a Safeguarding Trigger

he section on mental health has been significantly broadened. The guidance now formally links mental health issues—such as self-harm and suicidal ideation—to potential abuse or neglect.

• Staff Role: While teachers should not diagnose, they are expected to monitor for "red flags," including withdrawal from social situations, persistent sleep issues, and self-neglect; and

• Professional Diagnosis: The guidance clarifies that only trained clinical professionals should make formal diagnoses.

Expanded Definitions of Risk and Abuse

The updated guidance adds several specific categories to the list of harms staff must be able to identify:

• Abuse Types: Emotional abuse now explicitly includes "verbal abuse" such as persistent criticism, belittling, and silencing a child;

• Relationships: Staff must now look for signs of domestic abuse and stalking within children’s own romantic relationships;

• Serious Violence: This now includes explicit instructions for staff to report any intent to carry or use a weapon to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL); and

• Modern Slavery: All staff are now required to be aware of the indicators of modern slavery and financial exploitation.

READ THE FULL DRAFT HERE