What KCSIE 2026 says
Keeping children safe in education 2026 (KCSIE) covers this in two places: paragraph 150 in Part two, and the section on information sharing and the child protection file in Annex B, the role of the DSL. Both say the same thing about timing.
When a child leaves, the DSL, or a deputy, should make sure the child protection file is transferred to the new school or college:
- as soon as possible
- and within 5 days for an in-year transfer, or within the first 5 days of the start of a new term
The aim is to let the new school or college have support in place when the child arrives. KCSIE doesn’t say whether the 5 days are school days or calendar days, so it is safest not to wait.
How to send it
KCSIE sets three rules for the move itself:
- Separately from the main pupil file. KCSIE says this applies “for schools”. The child protection file doesn’t travel inside the pupil record or the common transfer file.
- Secure transit. KCSIE doesn’t say how. Schools commonly use a secure electronic transfer, or hand paper files over in person, DSL to DSL.
- Confirmation of receipt. Get confirmation that the file has arrived, and keep it on record.
New in 2026: a structured summary
KCSIE 2026’s summary of changes says Annex B has more on information sharing. Annex B now says:
- The exporting school or college should include a clear, structured summary of current safeguarding concerns, relevant context and any ongoing support needs.
- Take care to separate current concerns from historic information, giving past issues proper context. Where a file has a lot of history, a short summary of current risk and context is likely to help more than unstructured records alone.
- Records should be clear and factual, and should distinguish between observed concerns, professional opinion and historic information.
A chronology is a good basis for the summary. See what to include in a safeguarding chronology.
Sharing more than the file
The DSL should also consider whether to share other information in advance of the move, especially where it would help the new school assess risk to the child or others (paragraph 151). KCSIE gives examples:
- children who have had a social worker and been victims of abuse
- children receiving support through the Channel programme
- incidents that may point to serious violence or harmful behaviour
Where a pupil has carried, threatened with or used a knife or other weapon, the receiving school should assess the risk and have a safety and support plan in place before the child arrives (paragraph 152). KCSIE says a conversation between the two DSLs is good practice where there are concerns.
The information sharing duty in force since 30 September 2026 supports this. The DfE’s guidance says organisations should share concerns across boundaries when a child is known to be moving, so that important information isn’t lost (paragraph 15). See information sharing in safeguarding.
What the receiving school should do
Annex B says the receiving school or college should:
- have the information reviewed by an appropriately trained member of staff, so key risks and needs are understood
- ask the old school for clarification if anything is unclear or incomplete
- make sure key staff, such as the SENCO, know what they need to, with the DSL deciding what else to share and when
- use the information “to support, not disadvantage, the child”
If a file hasn’t arrived and you know the child had safeguarding involvement, chase the old school’s DSL.
The pupil file runs on a different clock
The child protection file is separate from the common transfer file and educational record. For a pupil leaving a maintained school, regulation 9 of the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 says those must reach the new school no later than 15 school days after the pupil comes off roll. Don’t wait for that to send the child protection file.
If you don’t know where the child has gone, or they are being educated at home, there is no new school to send the file to. Follow your local authority’s procedures for children missing education or elective home education. See children not in school registers and home education.
Who keeps it afterwards
The file moves with the child, so the last school or college they attended usually keeps it. The IRMS toolkit says to keep child protection files until the child’s 25th birthday, then review, and that the school a pupil leaves should consider keeping a copy. Use the retention calculator to work out review dates.