Updates to Keeping Children Safe in Education: What Regulated Professionals and Regulators Need to Know

KCSIE is the statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges in England. Published by the Department for Education (DfE) under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 (as amended), the guidance is reviewed and updated annually.

KCSIE outlines the responsibilities of schools and colleges in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18. It sets out key expectations for staff training and awareness, procedures for identifying and responding to safeguarding concerns, and the recruitment and vetting checks required to help ensure children are protected from harm.

• The rationale is to ensure that every member of staff understands the safeguarding systems and procedures in place within their school or college, including:
  • Child protection policy, which should include, amongst other things, policies and procedures to deal with child-on-child abuse;
  • Behaviour policy, which should include measures to prevent bullying, including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying;
  • Staff behaviour policy, which should include amongst other things, low-level concerns, allegations against staff and whistleblowing;
  • Safeguarding response to children who are absent from education, particularly on repeat occasions and / or prolonged periods; and
  • Role of the designated safeguarding lead (including the identity of the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), and any deputies).

• In addition, education providers should provide copies of their policies and a copy of Part One of KSCIE 2026 to all staff at induction.

a) Child-on-child abuse:

• The ‘child-on-child abuse’ section has been renamed as ‘child-on-child abuse (including harassment and violence)’ throughout the document. This update reflects the recognition that child-on-child abuse involves an escalating pattern of harmful behaviours, ranging from harassment and harmful conduct through to more serious abuse and violence. It reinforces the importance of early intervention and a proactive safeguarding response.
• Significantly, the guidance now expressly refers to misogyny as a safeguarding concern.
• The updated guidance also places greater emphasis on the responsibility of all staff to recognise and challenge abusive behaviours between children at an early stage. Schools and colleges are reminded not to dismiss harmful conduct as harmless “banter“, “part of growing up” or “boys being boys“. KCSIE 2026 makes clear that normalising such behaviours can contribute to a culture in which misogyny and abuse become embedded, increasing safeguarding risks and making children less likely to identify concerns or seek support.

b) Child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE)

• Both CCE and CSE definitions have been expanded jointly to add organised networks, gangs, and the link to modern slavery.
• In respect of CSE, the guidance expressly states that sexual abuse is commonly committed by a person “previously known to the victim”, and that, as with CCE, victims are not always recognised and can be criminalised for actions they take while under coercion.

• The updated guidance has formally recognised AI, and in particular, generative AI applications as a safeguarding risk.
• The online safety section contains resources to support schools to understand safety and legal requirements around their use of generative AI, in teacher-facing, and pupil-facing materials.
• New AI – related guidance has been peppered throughout the guidance including in respect of the following safeguarding risks:
  1. AI generated images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and ‘deepfakes’;
  2. AI chatbots generating personalised grooming content;
  3. The use of AI by children to generate inappropriate content.

• The guidance sets out stronger rules, that all schools should be a mobile-free environment by default, and schools are expected to have a mobile phone policy. This is now statutory as of 29 June 2026 for state-funded schools.

• KCSIE 2026 expands the guidance on information sharing, with implications for any regulated professional involved in multi-agency safeguarding work. Key clarifications include:
  • Information shared between settings should be relevant, clearly presented and suitably contextualised;
  • Staff must use professional judgement to ensure information shared is focused and proportionate; and
  • Where a pupil moves between settings and there are concerns about risk, the receiving school is responsible for assessing risk and putting a safety and support plan in place, with DSL’s expected to communicate directly where there are concerns.

• For regulated professionals working across organisational boundaries such as social workers, health professionals, and educational psychologists, this reinforces the expectation of thoughtful and purposeful information sharing.

• Significantly, the DfE has created a large amount of new guidance that focuses on circumstances where a child, or their parent, has raised a request to the school relating to social transition, to which a school or college is responding.
• KCSIE 2026 states that schools should take time to understand the thoughts and feelings of children who are questioning their gender, and be professionally curious about the child’s experiences, including potential vulnerabilities. KCSIE 2026 encourages education providers to consider adopting policies that maintain flexibility and avoid rigid rules based on gender stereotypes.
• KCSIE 2026 reiterates that schools must first and foremost consider what is in the best interests of the child and other children. In most instances, this would be carried out in conjunction with the child’s parents or carers.
• Accommodating social transition is an active intervention. Education providers should take a very careful approach, with primary schools exercising particular caution.
• Education providers should:
  1. Comply with their obligations under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act when considering requests for support with social transition.
  2. Sensitively discuss any constraints to social transitioning, such as access to toilets, changing rooms, or residential accommodation for the opposite sex.
  3. Record a child’s biological sex accurately wherever it is recorded, and ensure all relevant staff are aware of a child’s biological sex.
  4. Keep in mind that some children who socially transition before puberty will be ‘living in stealth,’ meaning other pupils and/or staff may be unaware of their biological sex.
  5. Work closely with parents or carers and relevant experts where a child wants to fully or partially reverse a request to social transition.

• This updated guidance confirms that schools must not allow children into toilets designated for the opposite biological sex, and that schools must not allow children aged 11 years or older at the start of the school year to undress in front of a child of the opposite biological sex.
• This section also provides guidance on the provisions that should be made for gender-questioning children, and the new duty that schools should consider whether they can provide alternative facilities, for example self-contained individual toilets, without compromising the provision of single-sex facilities.
• The guidance states that schools and colleges keep a clear record of ‘these situations’, ensure they are communicated appropriately, and review them regularly. A record of meetings, and decision-making is therefore recommended.

• KCSIE 2026 sets out that education institutions are covered by Part 6 of the Equality Act 2010, and that regard must be had to the Equality Act when considering sleeping arrangements, dormitories, tents or shared rooms.
• Schools and colleges must not allow a child to share overnight accommodation with a child of the opposite biological sex.

• A new section within the management of safeguarding sets out criteria for single-sex sport and supporting gender-questioning children to socially transition in the context of participation in sports.
• Education providers should review their provision of sports and Physical Education lessons, to ensure that any separation of children according to biological sex is in line with the new guidance.

• A notable change under KCSIE 2026 is that, in line with the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the supervision exemption from guidance around regulated activity has been removed. This means that work carried out in specific places by supervised staff or volunteers now falls under regulated activity.

• This section clarifies the need for education providers to share safeguarding responsibilities with third party organisations where there is an allegation against an individual from a third party. This includes supply teachers, trainee teachers, volunteers and contractors.
• For employment agencies, staffing businesses, and the regulated professionals they place, including supply teachers, trainee teachers, and contractors, KCSIE 2026 brings important clarification on how allegations are to be managed.
• The guidance set out that:
  • Schools and colleges remain responsible for gathering the facts and managing the safeguarding process when an allegation is made against an individual from a third-party agency.
  • The employment agency or business will usually lead on any disciplinary action.
  • Schools must share safeguarding responsibilities with third-party organisations throughout this process.
• For regulators, this delineation of responsibility is significant. It reinforces that the regulated professional remains subject to the school’s safeguarding process, while the agency retains primacy over employment-related consequences.

Jessica Etherington is an Associate in the Regulatory team.

Ella Felstead is a Senior Paralegal for the Regulatory team