The short answer
| Who | What KCSIE 2026 expects them to read |
|---|---|
| All staff who work directly with children | Part one, plus Annex A |
| Staff who don’t work directly with children | Part one |
| School and college leaders | Part one and Annex A, and they should know Part two |
| Governors and trustees | Part two, “The management of safeguarding” |
| Anyone on a recruitment panel | Training that covers at least Part three |
| The DSL and deputies | All of it, with Annex B setting out their role |
| Volunteers, supply staff and contractors | What the school decides, on a proportionate, risk-based approach |
The sections below give the wording behind each row.
Is KCSIE statutory?
Yes. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is statutory guidance from the Department for Education, issued under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 and related regulations. Schools and colleges in England must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
KCSIE uses “must” where something is a legal requirement and “should” where the advice should be followed unless there is good reason not to. For KCSIE, “children” means everyone under 18.
The current version is KCSIE 2026, which came into force on 1 September 2026 and replaced the September 2025 version. It covers schools in England: maintained schools, academies and free schools, independent schools, non-maintained special schools, maintained nursery schools and pupil referral units, as well as further education and sixth-form colleges and other post-16 providers.
All staff: Part one, in full
The section “Who this guidance is for” sets out the rule. Governing bodies and proprietors should make sure that staff who work directly with children read at least Part one. KCSIE 2026 adds that, working with senior leaders and especially the DSL, they should now also make sure that staff who don’t work directly with children read Part one too.
This is the main change from KCSIE 2025. Until now, schools could give staff who don’t work directly with children a condensed version of Part one in Annex A. KCSIE 2026 withdrew that condensed annex. Annex C, the summary of changes, says this is “as all staff are expected to read Part one in full”.
Part one runs from paragraph 1 to paragraph 82. It covers what all staff should know and look out for, the main types of abuse and neglect, and what to do if they have a concern about a child or about another adult.
Paragraph 11 says copies of the school’s policies and a copy of Part one should be given to all staff at induction. Governing bodies should also have ways to help staff understand and carry out what Part one asks of them, so handing over the PDF is not enough on its own.
Leaders and staff who work with children: Annex A
Annex A in KCSIE 2026 is “Further information”. It was Annex B in KCSIE 2025. It gives more detail on specific forms of abuse, exploitation and safeguarding issues, such as child criminal exploitation, domestic abuse and serious violence.
Paragraph 56 says school and college leaders, and staff who work directly with children, should read Annex A.
If your induction pack or training slides still refer to “Annex A, the condensed Part one”, they need updating. That annex no longer exists.
Governors and trustees: Part two
Part two, “The management of safeguarding” (paragraphs 83 to 284), sets out what governing bodies, proprietors and management committees are responsible for. Paragraph 84 says they have a strategic leadership responsibility for their school’s safeguarding arrangements.
The DfE’s governance guides for maintained schools and for academy trusts both say that all governors, trustees and the governance professional should read and follow Part two. KCSIE paragraph 87 says all governors and trustees should get safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety, at induction, and that it should be updated regularly. Paragraph 86 says boards should have a senior board-level lead for safeguarding.
Recruiters: Part three
Part three covers safer recruitment. Paragraph 288 says that anyone involved in recruiting and employing staff to work with children should have had safer recruitment training that covers, as a minimum, the content of Part three.
Parts four and five
KCSIE doesn’t name a set group of readers for Part four (concerns and allegations about staff) or Part five (child-on-child sexual harassment and sexual violence).
Part four is used mainly by the case manager, who is the headteacher or principal, or the chair of governors where the allegation is about the head (paragraph 440). Part five is written for the DSL and senior leaders who manage reports. Staff learn the basics of both from Part one, which tells them what to do if they are worried about an adult and that child-on-child abuse can happen anywhere.
The DSL and deputies
Annex B sets out the role of the DSL. It was Annex C in KCSIE 2025. The DSL is expected to be the school’s main source of safeguarding advice, so in practice they need to know the whole document. Annex B also asks the DSL to make sure all staff can access and understand the child protection policy, and to refresh their own knowledge at least once a year.
Volunteers, supply staff and contractors
KCSIE doesn’t set a fixed reading list for them. Paragraph 125 says governing bodies and proprietors should take a proportionate, risk-based approach to the information given to temporary staff, volunteers and contractors. Paragraph 124 lists what goes to all staff at induction: the school’s safeguarding policies, Part one, and information about the role and identity of the DSL and deputies.
What changed in KCSIE 2026
Annex C of KCSIE 2026 summarises the changes from the 2025 version. The ones most schools need to act on are:
- Part one for everyone. The condensed Annex A has been withdrawn, so all staff read Part one in full.
- Family Help. KCSIE now uses the Working Together 2026 terms “universal services and community-based early help” and “the targeted early help level of Family Help”. See early help and Family Help.
- DSL cover. New expectations for robust cover arrangements when the DSL is unavailable. See what is a designated safeguarding lead?
- Filtering and monitoring. The annual review should be carried out by the SLT member responsible, with the DSL and IT support, and should check filtering on all internet-connected devices, with a record kept (paragraph 173). See filtering and monitoring in schools.
- Mobile phones. A new “Mobile phone policy” section (paragraph 170). See mobile phones in schools guidance.
- Volunteers and regulated activity. The supervision exemption has been removed, following the Crime and Policing Act 2026. See safer recruitment checks in 2026.
- Part five. Substantially rewritten around the continuum from harmful sexual behaviour to sexual violence, and all sharing of nudes or semi-nudes needs a safeguarding response. See harmful sexual behaviour and child-on-child abuse and sharing nudes and semi-nudes.
- New topics. Generative AI, young carers, and safeguarding children with medical conditions. See supporting pupils with medical conditions.
Filtering and monitoring: what staff need to know
Staff don’t need to run the filtering system, but they do need to understand it. Paragraph 12 of Part one says all staff should have safeguarding and child protection training at induction, including online safety, which includes “an understanding of the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring”. Paragraph 153 repeats this as a duty on the board. Paragraph 173 adds that the board should make sure the leadership team and relevant staff “have an awareness and understanding of the provisions in place and manage them effectively and know how to escalate concerns when identified”.
Recording who has read it
KCSIE doesn’t say how to evidence that staff have read Part one. Many schools ask staff to sign or confirm it each September and at induction. Paragraph 12 says all staff should also get safeguarding and child protection updates as needed, and at least once a year.