KCSIE 2026: Safeguarding Priorities for the New Academic Year
The beginning of a new academic year has always felt significant to me. Having spent many years as a headteacher, I remember those first days of September well: welcoming staff back, meeting new colleagues, checking classrooms, reviewing priorities and preparing for the arrival of pupils. There is always a great deal to do.
But one responsibility has to sit above everything else: making sure that safeguarding arrangements are effective from the very first day.
This September is particularly important. Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 is now in force, alongside the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026. The changes this year are substantial and reinforce something that those of us who have led schools already know: safeguarding cannot simply be delegated to the DSL. It must be understood, owned and lived across the whole organisation.
Safeguarding is a culture, not a September checklist
One of the lessons I learned as a headteacher is that policies alone do not keep children safe.
What matters is what happens when a member of staff notices something. Do they recognise that although not overtly presenting as safeguarding, it could be significant? Do they know who to alert? Do they record it properly? Does somebody act on it?
KCSIE 2026 continues to emphasise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, that schools must maintain a child-centred approach and that staff should always work on the basis that “it could happen here.”
For school leaders, therefore, September should not simply be about asking whether staff have read KCSIE and completed safeguarding training. The more important question is:
“Are we confident that every adult in our school understands what they’ve read, knows what to recognise, what to do and how to act if they are concerned?”
KCSIE 2026: What should leaders be prioritising?
There is a great deal of content within KCSIE 2026, but several areas deserve particular attention as schools begin this new academic year.
1. Every member of staff now needs Part One
One of the most immediately noticeable changes is the removal of the previous condensed Annex A.
All staff are now expected to read Part One of KCSIE in full, including staff who do not work directly with children. The DfE has produced a new Part One overview, but importantly this is designed to complement Part One; it does not replace the requirement to read it.
Leaders should therefore check that induction arrangements, staff training and records of KCSIE reading have been updated accordingly. Simply reading Part One, though, is not enough. Leaders must ensure staff fully understand the statutory requirements.
2. Early Help is evolving into a stronger Family Help approach
KCSIE 2026 reflects the significant changes within Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, including a clearer distinction between community-based early help, targeted Family Help and statutory children's social care intervention.
The revised Working Together places greater emphasis on providing families with coordinated help through multidisciplinary working and a Family Help Plan where appropriate.
For schools, this means staff, and particularly DSLs, need to understand the local routes through which a child and family can receive the right help at the right time.
3. Recognition of harm continues to broaden
Safeguarding is increasingly complex.
KCSIE 2026 strengthens and expands information around a range of vulnerabilities and harms. Mental health receives greater attention, alongside exploitation, serious violence and other circumstances which may indicate that a child needs help or protection.
This is important for staff training. We cannot expect staff to report concerns that they do not recognise.
September training therefore needs to move beyond simply reminding staff where the safeguarding policy is kept. Staff need opportunities to understand what safeguarding concerns can actually look like for all the children they see every day.
4. Safer recruitment and volunteers
Leaders should also review safer recruitment arrangements and, particularly, the checks undertaken in relation to volunteers.
Changes to regulated activity mean schools should revisit existing volunteer arrangements rather than assuming that a check undertaken previously remains sufficient under the new requirements.
This is an area where headteachers, DSLs, governors and those responsible for the Single Central Record need to work closely together.
5. Filtering and monitoring: a leadership responsibility
Online safety can no longer be viewed as something that sits solely with the school's IT provider. KCSIE 2026 strengthens expectations around filtering and monitoring, including ensuring that the effectiveness of arrangements is reviewed at least once every academic year.
This requires leadership oversight, alongside input from the DSL and those responsible for IT.
As a former headteacher, I think this distinction is extremely important. Leaders and governors need assurance about how well it works, what it identifies, who receives alerts, how concerns are escalated and whether the arrangements reflect the actual technology children are using.
6. Information sharing and safeguarding records matter
KCSIE 2026 also strengthens expectations around information sharing and the transfer of child protection information when children move between settings.
DSL cover arrangements need to be robust, and safeguarding cannot become dependent upon one individual being present in school. Expectations around transferring child protection files have also been clarified, including providing appropriate context about current concerns and support needs.
This is another useful September question for leaders:
“If our DSL were unexpectedly absent tomorrow, who would know what happens next?”
KCSIE 2026 makes clear that the DSL or a deputy should always be available during school hours to discuss safeguarding concerns. Importantly, Deputy DSLs must be trained to the same standard as the DSL and have the knowledge and skills to carry out the role effectively.
If deputies have not completed DSL training, that is something to address now.
There must always be sufficient DSL cover with deputies appropriately trained, and every member of staff must know who they are.
Learn more about our Designated Safeguarding Lead training.
Artificial Intelligence and safeguarding
Perhaps one of the most significant developments for schools is the increasing recognition of Artificial Intelligence as both an opportunity and a safeguarding consideration. AI is already part of children's lives. Schools cannot realistically approach it simply by trying to ban or ignore it.
KCSIE 2026 now explicitly recognises generative AI within the safeguarding landscape, while the Department for Education has also produced resources to support school and college leaders in using AI safely and securely. Those materials encourage leaders to consider the opportunities offered by AI alongside safety, implementation, auditing existing use and embedding AI within the school's wider digital strategy.
There are very real safeguarding considerations.
AI-generated and manipulated images, deepfakes, child-targeting chatbots, inappropriate content, misinformation, data protection, privacy and the use of AI tools by pupils and staff all require careful consideration.
This cannot simply be an IT issue. It is a leadership, governance, curriculum and safeguarding issue.
If not already done, schools need to begin asking some important questions:
- What AI tools are currently being used by staff and pupils?
- Do we have clear expectations about acceptable use?
- Are staff confident about the safeguarding and data protection implications?
- Do our online safety and child protection policies reflect AI-generated content?
- Do our filtering and monitoring arrangements take account of generative AI?
- Are pupils being taught how to navigate AI safely, critically and responsibly?
- Do governors understand the opportunities and risks sufficiently to provide effective challenge and oversight?
The technology will continue to develop rapidly. Our safeguarding practice therefore must develop with it.
In response to the growing emphasis within KCSIE 2026 and wider DfE guidance, SSS Learning is also developing a brand-new course dedicated to Artificial Intelligence in Education.
The course will support schools in understanding both the opportunities presented by AI and the important safeguarding, ethical, data protection and practical considerations surrounding its use.
AI is going to become an increasingly significant part of education. School leaders therefore need to be able to make informed decisions about how it is introduced, managed and monitored, and staff need the confidence to use it appropriately while understanding the risks.
Our new course will be designed to help schools begin that journey safely and responsibly.
Supporting schools through the KCSIE 2026 changes
At SSS Learning, we recognise that different groups within a school need different levels of safeguarding knowledge.
That is why we have developed two dedicated KCSIE 2026 courses.
View our KCSIE 2026 Update Courses
Our KCSIE 2026 course for Governors, Senior Leaders and DSLs explores the guidance from a leadership and governance perspective, supporting those with strategic safeguarding responsibilities to understand the changes, their responsibilities and the assurance they should be seeking.
Our separate KCSIE 2026 course for staff and volunteers focuses on what those working within schools need to know in practice: recognising concerns, understanding their responsibilities and knowing how and when to act.
The purpose is not simply to demonstrate that training has taken place.
It is to help create a workforce that understands safeguarding.
Sara Spinks
SSS Author & Former Headteacher
3 September 2026