KCSIE changes for 2026: what you need to know

Updates to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance have been published by the Department for Education.

This follows fears earlier in the year that schools would face an “unrealistic” deadline to implement the new safeguarding guidance.

KCSIE guidance is updated and reissued every year. The final version has usually been published between May and June, but in 2025 and again this year it has arrived in July.

With the summer holidays fast approaching, schools are expected to implement the changes listed in the new publication and be fully compliant by 1 September.

KCSIE updates for 2026-27

Here Tes outlines the key changes for schools, as set out in yesterday’s update:

Gender-based premises policies

The DfE has directed schools to explicitly prohibit pupils from entering toilets or changing rooms designated for the opposite biological sex; this includes pupils who are questioning their gender or considering transitioning.

Schools should “consider” their capability to provide alternative or self-contained toilets for such pupils, and log any incidents where a pupil does not wish to use the toilet according to their biological sex, the KCSIE guidance notes.

Schools are also expected to ensure that children aged 11 and over do not undress in view of pupils of the opposite sex, and that showers and toilets are suitable “for the pupils they are provided for”.

For pupils who are questioning their gender, schools should consider their ability to provide alternative facilities for washing and changing - although this is not mandated.

The KCSIE guidance states: “This could be a fully enclosed room - for use by one child at a time, and that can be secured from the inside - or by allowing access to facilities at an alternative time. These alternative arrangements should not compromise the safety, comfort, privacy or dignity of the child or of any other children.”

Sport and gender

The guidance notes that some sports in school need to be played in single-sex groups, to ensure the safety of the participating pupils and fair competition.

When there are no issues concerning the safety of pupils or competitive integrity, schools must consider requests from pupils to participate with pupils of the opposite sex.

Phone-free schools

For the first time in KCSIE, the expectation on schools to ensure that they are “phone-free” is put on a statutory footing: schools will now be legally required to ensure they are phone-free environments, and the guidance says that “anything other than this should be by exception only”.

Pupils should be prevented from accessing their phones in lessons, breaks, lunches and their time between classes. Headteachers are “best placed” to decide how this requirement should be applied.

This update follows the government’s decision earlier this year to give previously non-statutory phone guidance a legal basis, which led to much debate over whether this constituted a ban on phones in schools.

Experts told Tes at the time that the guidance did not prohibit pupils from bringing their phones to the school site, and ambiguity remains over the status of “not seen, not heard” phone policies.

AI-generated deepfakes and nudes

The DfE has provided clarity on definitions of nudes to include those generated, either partially or entirely, by AI.

Schools and designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) will now be expected to treat any AI-generated sexual image of people aged under 18 as a safeguarding incident.

The sending and receiving of explicit messages, including those generated using AI, has now been included among online safety risks to which schools should be alert.

Pupils ‘particularly’ in need of support

Each release of KCSIE includes examples of pupils for whom all school staff should be “particularly alert to the potential need for additional support”.

This list has been expanded to include those who: are pregnant and/or a parent; have exhibited early signs of abusive, violent and/or harmful behaviours; or who are studying on a part-time timetable.

Staff are also expected to be aware of key indicators in the guidance that relate to abuse, neglect, exploitation and modern slavery.

Safeguarding children with medical conditions

The updated KCSIE guidance provides clarity of the expectations on schools for the safeguarding of pupils with medical conditions.

Incidents involving pupils with medical needs, including allergies, do not automatically require a safeguarding referral, whereas incidents that could result in increased risk of neglect, abuse or exploitation of pupils would prompt a safeguarding referral.

Data protection

Schools’ management of information sharing and data protection is now expected to align with the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, alongside other laws.

The updated guidance reiterates that laws concerning data protection do not prevent the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children safe and promoting their welfare, and that staff should speak with DSLs and deputy DSLs if they are unsure about sharing information.

Alternative provision

The KCSIE guidance places increased expectations on schools to carry out due diligence on providers of alternative provision (AP), and underlines that they remain responsible for the safeguarding of pupils even when they are placed in AP settings.

This week’s update, in more robust and explicit terms than before, emphasises the point that “schools remain ultimately responsible for the provision they commission”.

Schools are explicitly expected to conduct due diligence on providers to ensure they are appropriate in meeting a pupil’s needs, and to carry out safeguarding checks.

Vetting job candidates

Despite calls from organisations such as law firm Browne Jacobson, schools will not be expected to carry out checks of job candidates’ social media accounts in the shortlisting process.

KCSIE advises schools to consider “carrying out a search (via an online search engine) as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates” but does not mandate this for social media activity.

In February, Dai Durbridge, Browne Jacobson’s head of safeguarding, said: “Simply typing a candidate’s name into Google provides no meaningful safeguarding action, as any search will return hundreds of thousands of hits with no clarity on whether those hits relate to the individual in question.

“Many of the misconduct cases with online issues involve posts and comments on X, Facebook and Instagram, but a check via an online search engine is highly unlikely to flag those issues, which can only really be found using a review of the platform itself.”

Weapons in schools

Guidance relating to serious violence has been expanded within KCSIE to include pupils carrying, threatening with or using weapons at school.

School staff are expected to report concerns about pupils carrying weapons - or their intent to do so - to DSLs, who must now carry out risk assessments relating to both the pupil individually and the school.

Covering DSLs

The role of the DSL has grown over the years to reflect increased responsibility set out in KCSIE. The guidance states that the role “carries a significant level of responsibility”; DSLs should be given the “additional time, funding, training, resources and support needed to carry out the role effectively”.

Under the new guidance, schools are told to implement “robust cover arrangements” for DSLs when they are unavailable, including for illness and leave reasons.

However, there remains no statutory responsibility for schools to provide supervision for their DSLs and deputy DSLs.

In May, there were calls from safeguarding leads for protected time for supervision to help DSLs manage the “vicarious trauma” experienced in the role.

The legal view

Responding to the update to the guidance, Philip Wood, partner in the education team at Browne Jacobson, said: “The guidance confirms the DfE’s interpretation of the law that has been in place for some time in relation to environments such as toilets and changing facilities.

“The new guidance is clear that pupils must not use spaces designated for the opposite biological sex, including where a social transition request has been made.”

Mr Wood reaffirmed that schools are expected to “consider” arrangements like individual toilets and single-occupancy enclosed rooms for such students, and said similar guidance applies for accommodation for overnight residential trips.

He also said that more “flexibility” is being afforded to schools over sport but emphasised that no exceptions can be made where single-sex sport is required for safety.

He added: “Schools should understand that the social transition decision-making framework applies only where a child or parent requests it. Parents’ views carry ‘great weight’ and staff must not implement changes without a formal school decision having been made.”