KCSIE 2026: the new rules from 1 September, and are you ready?
The largest update to Keeping Children Safe in Education for some years takes effect on 1 September 2026. Here is what has changed, and a short checklist to help you start the year confident.
Keeping Children Safe in Education, the statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges in England, is refreshed each year. The 2026 edition, in force from 1 September 2026, is a bigger update than usual. It reflects new legislation, including the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act, and it strengthens expectations in several areas at once. None of it needs to be daunting. With a calm plan for the first few weeks of term, you can evidence your readiness rather than scramble for it.
What has changed
- Every member of staff reads Part One in full. The shorter version for staff who do not work directly with children (Annex A) has been removed, so all staff now read Part One of KCSIE 2026 in full.
- The supervised-volunteer exemption is removed. From 1 September, volunteers who regularly teach, train, care for or supervise children, on more than three days in a thirty-day period or overnight, are in regulated activity even when supervised. Check which volunteers this affects and confirm the right level of DBS check.
- Stronger focus on mental health. There is greater emphasis on identifying and responding to mental health concerns, including suicidal ideation, and on how staff escalate and record them.
- Child-on-child abuse and harmful sexual behaviour. The guidance gives more prominence to harmful sexual behaviour, and to tackling misogyny and its links to it, within child-on-child abuse.
- Supporting children questioning their gender. KCSIE 2026 contains new material on supporting children who are questioning their gender, including that schools and colleges should not initiate social transition. Read the statutory wording in full and reflect it in your policy and practice.
- New legislative backdrop. The update responds to recent legislation, so it is worth checking that your policies reference the current framework rather than last year's.
Are you ready? A quick September checklist
Seven prompts to sense-check your readiness for KCSIE 2026. If any answer is not a confident yes, it is worth a short conversation.
- Part One for everyone. Have all staff, including those who do not work directly with children, been scheduled to read Part One of KCSIE 2026 in full before pupils return?
- Policy updated and approved. Has your safeguarding policy been updated to KCSIE 2026 and approved by governors or trustees?
- Volunteers reviewed. Have you reviewed volunteer arrangements against the removal of the supervised-volunteer exemption, and confirmed the correct DBS level?
- Single central record ready. Is your single central record complete, current and inspection-ready?
- Training refreshed. Have you refreshed training on mental health, child-on-child abuse and harmful sexual behaviour, with dates recorded?
- Routes and thresholds known. Do staff know the reporting routes and thresholds, and are your filtering and monitoring checks in place?
- New content briefed. Has the Designated Safeguarding Lead read the new statutory content in full and briefed leaders and governors?
If you would like a hand turning this into a calm plan for the first few weeks of term, or a short readiness review before an inspection, I am always happy to talk it through.
Based on the Department for Education's Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, in force from 1 September 2026. Always read the statutory guidance in full when making decisions for your setting.
