KCSIE 2026: Key Changes Schools and Colleges Need to Know

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 is one of the more substantial updates to the statutory guidance in recent years.

It includes significant changes to the definitions and expectations around several safeguarding issues, including child-on-child abuse, harmful sexual behaviour, mental health, serious violence, online safety, school premises, information sharing and safer recruitment.

KCSIE 2026 has been published in advance to give schools and colleges time to prepare. It comes into force on 1 September 2026, so KCSIE 2025 remains the statutory guidance until 31 August. Schools should use this time to review the changes, update their safeguarding arrangements and prepare staff for the new academic year. The DfE is expected to publish the final version on 1 September, so schools should check for any last amendments before approving their updated policies.

What is KCSIE 2026?

Keeping Children Safe in Education, usually referred to as KCSIE, is statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges in England.

It applies to governing bodies, academy trusts, proprietors, management committees and senior leadership teams. Schools and colleges must 'have regard to the guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under 18'.

Unlike KCSIE 2025, which the Department described as containing mainly technical changes, KCSIE 2026 makes a series of substantive revisions. These reflect the current landscape of emerging digital risks, which are accelerating the need for changing safeguarding practice, developments in multi-agency working and a stronger focus on violence, abuse and exploitation.

The main KCSIE 2026 changes at a glance

The headline changes include:

• All school and college staff are now expected to read Part One in full

• Child on child abuse guidance now explicitly includes harassment and violence

• Part five has been substantially rewritten around harmful sexual behaviour, sexual harassment and sexual violence.

• Mental health and serious violence guidance has been expanded

• Online safety now addresses AI-generated content and interactions with generative artificial intelligence (AI)

• Filtering and monitoring reviews are more clearly defined

• Schools should be mobile phone-free by default

• New sections bring safeguarding expectations and existing legal requirements around toilets, changing facilities, sport and overnight accommodation into KCSIE

• Trainee teachers are included more consistently in safeguarding procedures

• The previous supervision exemption for certain volunteers has been removed

• Information sharing, Family Help, and multi-agency working receive greater attention

• Additional guidance covers young carers, medical conditions and children in kinship care.

Not every addition creates a completely new duty. In several places, KCSIE 2026 simply brings existing regulations or supporting standards directly into the main guidance, making the expectations harder to overlook.

All staff should read Part One of KCSIE

Under KCSIE 2025, staff who did not work directly with children could read either Part One or the condensed safeguarding information in Annex A.

That condensed version has now been withdrawn. KCSIE 2026 expects staff who do not work directly with children to read Part One in full alongside those who do.

Schools will need to review:

• staff induction materials

• annual safeguarding declarations

• learning management system content

• references to Annex A in existing policies

• processes for temporary, administrative, premises and support staff

Important Note: There is a minor administrative wrinkle for schools to be aware of. Although the condensed Annex A has been removed, KCSIE 2026 still contains an Annex A. This is simply the former Annex B, renumbered, containing further safeguarding information. Schools should therefore remove references to the 'condensed version of Part one' rather than assuming every reference to Annex A is automatically wrong.

Requiring all school staff to read Part One reinforces a basic safeguarding principle: responsibility does not begin and end with teachers; it is a whole school duty. Reception staff, cleaners, contractors, and site staff may observe concerns that do not appear in a classroom.

Greater emphasis on early identification and support

KCSIE 2026 provides staff with clearer guidance on the different levels of support available to children and families, from universal services and community-based Early Help to targeted Family Help and formal involvement by children’s social care.

Staff should know what help is available through their local authority, when a child or family may be eligible for it and how to make a referral. The emphasis is on acting early rather than waiting for concerns to become severe enough to require statutory intervention.

DSLs should understand local thresholds and referral pathways, keep support under review, and escalate concerns when a child’s needs are not being met or when the risk increases.

Child-on-child abuse now explicitly includes harassment and violence

The section previously titled 'Child on child abuse' is now titled 'Child on child abuse including harassment and violence.'

The revised guidance places emphasis on understanding:

• Abuse as a safeguarding concern for both the victim and the alleged perpetrator

• Preventing abusive behaviour before it escalates

• Recognising potential warning signs

• Providing timely, evidence-based support

• Serious physical harm

• Threats involving weapons

• Misogyny and cultures that normalise abusive behaviour

KCSIE 2026 also advises schools to consider the times throughout the school day when they are most vulnerable to these safeguarding risks, including immediately after school.

Sanctions may still form part of the response, but child-on-child abuse must be treated as a safeguarding issue. Schools should consider the continuing risks and the support required by both the child harmed and the child who displayed the abusive behaviour.

Part five has been rewritten around harmful sexual behaviour

Part Five has been substantially rewritten to show how harmful sexual behaviour can develop and may escalate into sexual harassment or sexual violence.

The changes include:

• clearer guidance on harmful sexual behaviour

• more detailed information about consent

• Resources explaining typical sexual development at different ages

• Guidance for responding to pupils who display sexualised behaviour

• expanded pathways into community-based Early Help and Family Help

• clearer expectations for recording decisions and their rationale

KCSIE 2026 also states that every incident involving the making or sharing of nudes or semi-nudes requires a safeguarding response, whether the image was initially shared consensually or non-consensually.

That does not mean every incident should produce the same outcome. Context remains essential, including the children’s ages, power imbalances, coercion, redistribution, threats and the wishes and wellbeing of those involved.

It does mean schools cannot dismiss consensual image-sharing as a private matter with no safeguarding relevance.

AI-generated images are now directly addressed

Artificial intelligence has a much more prominent role in KCSIE 2026.

The guidance updates the definition of 'making or sharing nudes and semi-nudes' to include images that have been digitally altered or created entirely using AI. This includes deepfakes and so-called deep nudes.

This change acknowledges that harm caused by photo sharing does not depend on the photograph being genuine.

Schools should make sure their child-on-child abuse, image-sharing and incident-response procedures cover synthetic and manipulated content, not only conventional photographs and videos.

The four online safety risks have been updated

KCSIE continues to organise online safety around the four Cs: content, contact, conduct and commerce; however, the definitions and examples of the Four Cs of online safety have been expanded to reflect emerging digital risks.

Content

KCSIE 2026 expands the definition of harmful content to include material featuring extreme sexual or physical violence. This sits alongside existing risks such as pornography, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, antisemitism, radicalisation, extremism, misinformation, disinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories.

Contact

Contact risks now include harmful interactions with generative artificial intelligence applications, such as chatbots, that simulate human interaction.

This change recognises that a child can be exposed to dangerous, manipulative or inappropriate interactions without another human user being directly involved.

Conduct

Conduct risks include making, sending or receiving explicit images, including images generated using AI, as well as online bullying and other harmful behaviour.

Commerce

Commerce risks continue to include gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and financial scams

The key takeaway for this section is that schools need to address Generative AI and associated risks in safeguarding assessments, acceptable-use policies, staff training, curriculum planning and technology procurement.

Filtering and monitoring responsibilities are clearer

Schools and colleges were already expected to review their filtering and monitoring provision at least once every academic year under the Department for Education's Filtering and Monitoring Core Standard.

KCSIE 2026 now brings this expectation more explicitly into the statutory safeguarding guidance. The senior leadership team member should lead the review, with support from the DSL and IT.

Schools should check (and keep a record) that filtering is working correctly on internet-connected devices across relevant locations.

This does not create a new requirement to have filtering and monitoring in place. Instead, it makes the school’s responsibility for reviewing, testing and documenting its provision clearer.

The separate DfE Core Standard and UK Safer Internet Centre guidance provide the technical detail, including expectations around AI-generated content, mobile apps, off-site devices, user identification, technical limitations and responding to monitoring alerts.

Read our full guide to the 2026 filtering and monitoring guidance for a detailed breakdown and practical checklist.

Schools should be mobile phone-free by default

KCSIE 2025 required schools and colleges to address mobile and smart technology within their online safety arrangements. KCSIE 2026 goes further, stating that schools should be mobile phone-free by default, with any exceptions based on the school’s circumstances and the needs of individual pupils.

Substantial changes to mental health guidance

A mental health concern is not automatically a safeguarding issue, but it may indicate that a child has experienced, or is at risk of, abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Where a child’s mental health is also a safeguarding concern, staff should follow the child protection policy and speak to the DSL or deputy. If the child is in immediate danger, staff should call 999 or arrange for the child to be taken to A&E. When help is urgent but not an emergency, staff can contact NHS 111.

Stronger guidance on serious violence

KCSIE 2026 substantially expands its guidance on serious violence. Staff should be alert to physical assault, children carrying or threatening to use weapons, peer conflict, bullying and possible links to criminal exploitation.

Concerns that a child is carrying, using or intends to use a weapon should be reported to the DSL or deputy. The DSL should assess the risks to the child and others, and where necessary, put a safety and support plan in place and/or take steps to de-escalate any peer conflict.

The guidance also asks schools to consider when and where children may be most at risk, particularly immediately before or after school, and to provide early support when concerns emerge.

New safeguarding guidance on school premises

KCSIE 2026 adds a substantial new section covering regulations and safeguarding requirements related to school premises.

KCSIE says schools must not allow children to use toilets or changing facilities designated for the opposite biological sex. Schools and colleges must also not allow children of opposite biological sexes to share overnight accommodation. Alternative arrangements should protect the safety, comfort, privacy and dignity of every child.

New safeguarding guidance on sport

KCSIE 2026 adds guidance on single-sex sport. Schools and colleges may separate children by biological sex where differences in physical strength, stamina or physique affect safety or fairness. Where single-sex participation is necessary for safety, the guidance says there should be no exceptions in such situations.

Guidance for gender-questioning children

KCSIE 2026 contains extensive new material on supporting children who are questioning their gender.

The guidance says schools and colleges should not initiate social transition. This applies only when a child or parent has made a request for support of changes. Decisions should be made in line with the school or college's agreed process, with the involvement of parents or carers as set out in the guidance, and the decision-making process should be documented.

This is a sensitive issue for everybody involved. Schools should avoid relying on personal interpretations or improvised responses. Requests should be considered consistently, carefully and in the context of safeguarding, equality duties and the best interests of the child.

Greater focus on the role of Virtual School Heads in improving attendance

Virtual School Heads are local authority officers responsible for promoting the educational achievement of looked-after children and other vulnerable groups.

KCSIE 2026 does not significantly expand the groups it supports. Their role already covered children with a social worker and children in kinship care, meaning children being raised by relatives or close family friends.

The change is a clearer focus on attendance. KCSIE 2026 recognises attendance as an important safeguarding indicator and says Virtual School Heads should work with local authorities to set and report on ambitious targets to improve attendance among children with a social worker.

Schools should ensure that DSLs, designated teachers, and attendance staff understand when to work with the Virtual School Head when an absence may be linked to a child’s care arrangements, family circumstances, or wider safeguarding needs.

Stronger expectations for DSL cover

KCSIE continues to state that the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy should be available to discuss safeguarding concerns.

KCSIE 2026 adds stronger expectations around cover arrangements when the DSL is unavailable. The Department’s summary gives a confidential shared mailbox as one example of how schools may maintain suitable access and continuity.

A DSL’s absence must not delay action. Staff should know who else they can approach and when they should contact local authority children’s social care or emergency services directly.

Any action taken while the DSL is unavailable should be shared with the DSL or deputy as soon as practicable.

Schools should test these arrangements rather than assuming everyone knows what to do.

Information sharing and record keeping

KCSIE 2026 expands the guidance on information sharing and risk assessment.

Staff can share information when it is necessary to protect a child. Data protection rules should not be used as a reason to keep important safeguarding information to themselves.

DSLs and deputies should:

• share information within the school where appropriate

• work with other schools during pupil transfers

• communicate with safeguarding partners and other agencies

• understand relevant data protection requirements

• retain detailed and secure records

• record decisions and the reasons behind them

• document why referrals were or were not made

Recording the decision is only half the job. The rationale also needs to be sufficiently clear for another safeguarding professional to understand what was known and why a particular course of action was chosen.

Multi-agency working

KCSIE 2026 reinforces the role schools and colleges play within local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.

Schools may be named as relevant agencies and have a statutory duty to cooperate with the published arrangements.

Staff should understand what support is available through their local authority, the thresholds for accessing it and how to refer a child or family for the right help.

Trainee teachers, supply teachers and contractors

KCSIE 2026 adds trainee teachers throughout the guidance on allegations against adults and makes it clearer that schools share safeguarding responsibility with agencies, training providers and other employers. The school remains responsible for gathering the facts and managing the safeguarding process, while working with the third-party organisation, which will usually lead any disciplinary action. Concerns cannot simply be handed back to the agency or provider.

The supervision exemption for volunteers has been removed

Previously, some supervised volunteers were not classed as carrying out regulated activity and were therefore not checked against the children’s barred list. From 1 September 2026, the supervision exemption will be removed.

Volunteers who frequently teach, train, instruct, care for, or supervise children on more than three days in a 30-day period, or overnight, will be in regulated activity even when supervised. They will require an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information. Schools should review affected volunteer roles and any work-experience arrangements that relied on the previous exemption.

What should schools do before September 2026?

Schools and colleges should not wait until the first inset day of September to begin working through the changes.

A practical KCSIE 2026 preparation plan should include the following.

Update staff reading and training

• All staff should read Part One.

• Remove references to the old condensed Annex A.

• Update induction and annual training records.

• Include AI-generated content, serious violence and harmful sexual behaviour in safeguarding updates.

Review child protection procedures

• Update the child protection policy for KCSIE 2026.

• Review child-on-child abuse and harmful sexual behaviour procedures.

• Clarify mental health and emergency escalation pathways.

• Check weapons and serious violence reporting arrangements.

• Review how decisions and referral rationales are recorded.

Review online safety

• Add generative AI and synthetic imagery to the online safety risk assessment.

• Review filtering and monitoring effectiveness.

• Confirm the named SLT lead.

• Check filtering on relevant devices and locations.

• Retain a record of the review and technical checks.

• Review your mobile phone policy.

Audit people and recruitment processes

• Update procedures for trainee teachers and contracted staff.

• Review arrangements with supply agencies and training providers.

• Audit volunteer roles following the removal of the supervision exemption.

• Check the single central record and DBS processes.

Review premises and individual support

• Review toilets, changing rooms and overnight accommodation.

• Document the process for responding to social transition requests.

• Update support arrangements for young carers.

• Check procedures for children with medical conditions and SEND.

• Confirm links with the Virtual School Head and relevant local services.

Test safeguarding continuity

• Confirm DSL and deputy availability.

• Put robust cover arrangements in place.

• Check that staff know what to do when the DSL is absent.

• Review information-sharing arrangements.

• Make sure local thresholds and referral details are up to date.

Fastvue continues to support KCSIE 2026 monitoring expectations

The 2026 changes do not alter Fastvue Reporter’s role in your school’s safeguarding setup. Fastvue works alongside your existing firewall or web filter, turning online activity into user-level reports and real-time alerts that safeguarding, pastoral and IT teams can understand, investigate and act on. This supports KCSIE’s expectations for effective monitoring and clear responses to online safety concerns.

Try it free and uplift your safeguarding visibility today.