KCSIE 2026 Part One — What All School Staff Must Know

Section 1: A child-centred approach — your role

Part One of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 starts from a simple premise: every member of staff in a school or college is part of the safeguarding system. You do not need to be a designated safeguarding lead to have a duty. You do not need to have evidence of harm before you say something. What the guidance asks of all staff is straightforward — stay alert, stay professionally curious, and report concerns to the right person promptly.

The phrase "it could happen here" runs through Part One. Schools are sometimes reluctant to believe that abuse or exploitation could be affecting one of their pupils. Part One asks staff to set that reluctance aside: not to assume the worst of every family, but to resist the assumption that a particular child, family or community is automatically safe. Evidence of harm is not required before raising a concern. Gut instinct counts.

Children's welfare is paramount. Where there is a conflict between what a child wants and what is best for their safety, the child's welfare comes first. That principle runs through every element of the guidance.

Section 2: What all staff need to know about their school

Part One sets out a core list of things every member of staff should be familiar with before they work — or continue to work — with or around children.

Your child protection policy

Every school and college must have a child protection policy. As a member of staff you should know what it says, where to find it and who to contact if you have a concern. The policy should explain the referral route within your school, what happens after a concern is raised and how the school responds to disclosures.

The behaviour policy

Behaviour, including bullying and child-on-child abuse, has a direct connection to safeguarding. Staff should know what the school's behaviour policy says about harmful behaviour between pupils and what the reporting and response route is.

The staff code of conduct

The code of conduct sets out standards of professional behaviour and helps protect both children and staff. Staff should know where it is and what it says, including any guidance on appropriate relationships, communications and contact with pupils.

Who the designated safeguarding lead is — and what they do

Every school must have a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and at least one deputy. The DSL is the person you go to with a safeguarding concern. They are responsible for coordinating the school's safeguarding response, making referrals to children's social care or other agencies, liaising with multi-agency partners and keeping records. Staff do not need to decide whether something meets a threshold or requires a referral — that is the DSL's function. Your job is to pass the concern on promptly and accurately.

Induction

New staff and regular volunteers should receive induction that covers the child protection policy, how to report a concern, the identity of the DSL and deputy, and where to find the staff code of conduct. Part One is clear that induction is not a one-off compliance exercise — it is the foundation of safe practice.

Section 3: Recognising abuse and neglect

Part One identifies four categories of abuse that all staff should be able to recognise. These are not the only forms of harm a child may experience, but they are the statutory definitions that underpin the child protection system in England.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse means deliberately harming a child physically. It includes hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, suffocating and otherwise causing physical harm. It also includes fabricating or inducing illness in a child (sometimes called factitious imposed illness).

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is persistent ill-treatment that has a severe and persistent adverse effect on a child's emotional development. This can include constantly criticising a child, threatening them, humiliating them, making them feel worthless, exploiting or corrupting them, or preventing them from forming normal social relationships. Emotional abuse is a component of every form of abuse, but it can also occur on its own. It is often the hardest form of abuse to identify.

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of or consents to what is happening. It can include physical contact such as rape, assault by penetration, or sexual touching. It also includes non-contact activities such as showing children pornographic material, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child with the intention of committing an offence. It does not always involve physical contact and can occur online.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It includes failing to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter or supervision; failure to protect from physical harm; failure to respond to basic emotional needs; and failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

Child-on-child abuse

Children can abuse other children. This is sometimes called peer-on-peer abuse or child-on-child abuse. It can take many forms: bullying, cyberbullying, physical abuse, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sharing nude or semi-nude images, 'upskirting', initiation or hazing rituals, and radicalisation of peers. From 2026, the definition is expanded to include serious violence and misogyny.

Part One is explicit: child-on-child abuse should never be dismissed as "banter", "just kids being kids" or expected behaviour. It requires the same professional response as abuse by an adult.

Section 4: Specific safeguarding issues all staff should know about

Part One covers a wide range of safeguarding concerns beyond the four abuse categories. You do not need to be an expert on all of them, but Part One asks staff to be aware that these issues exist and can affect pupils in any school.

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE)

CCE occurs when a young person is manipulated or coerced into criminal activity in exchange for something of value — or simply under threat. County lines drug dealing is a common form of CCE. CSE involves sexual exploitation, where a child is manipulated or coerced into sexual activity. Both can be difficult to identify because children often do not recognise that they are being exploited and may appear willing. Signs can include unexplained gifts or money, going missing, changed peer group, secrecy and disengagement from school.

County lines

County lines is a form of CCE in which criminal networks use children to transport and sell drugs across geographic boundaries, typically using a dedicated mobile phone line. Children are recruited, groomed and controlled, sometimes through debt bondage or violence. Schools should be aware that any pupil can be targeted, and that county lines exploitation may not be visible in the usual sense.

Domestic abuse

Children living with domestic abuse are victims in their own right under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, whether or not they directly witness an assault. Domestic abuse encompasses physical, emotional, coercive and controlling behaviour, and can affect children through direct harm, witnessing harm, or the cumulative effect of living in an environment of fear. Staff should be alert to changes in a child's presentation, attendance or wellbeing that might reflect something happening at home.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

FGM is illegal in the UK and is a form of child abuse. It involves cutting or otherwise altering the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Schools have a mandatory reporting duty: if a teacher (in England) discovers or has reason to believe that a girl under 18 has been subject to FGM, they must report it to the police directly. This duty is personal — it cannot be delegated to the DSL.

Mental health, self-harm and suicide

Mental health difficulties can be both an indicator and a consequence of abuse, exploitation or other safeguarding concerns. All staff should be aware of how poor mental health — including anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation — can present in children. Concerns about a child's mental health should be passed to the DSL in the usual way. Where there is an immediate risk to life, emergency services should be called without delay.

Serious violence

KCSIE 2026 confirms that schools have a role in serious violence prevention. Staff should be alert to risk factors including being in a peer group involved in criminal activity, carrying weapons, being excluded, or unexplained injuries. Any concern that a child has a weapon or has made a threat should be reported to the DSL promptly.

Radicalisation and extremism (Prevent)

All schools and colleges are subject to the Prevent duty — a legal obligation to have due regard to the need to prevent children from being drawn into terrorism. Radicalisation is a form of harm. Staff should be aware that a child expressing extremist views, or showing signs of being drawn towards an extreme ideology (including misogynistic extremism such as incel culture), should be reported to the DSL. The Channel programme provides voluntary, confidential support for people at risk. Referral decisions are made by the DSL in consultation with local partners — not by individual staff members acting alone.

Honour-based abuse and forced marriage

Honour-based abuse (HBA) encompasses a range of harmful behaviour committed to protect or defend family honour. It can include violence, pressure to marry, and restrictions on freedom. Forced marriage is a criminal offence. Schools should be alert to pupils who seem fearful or controlled, are prevented from attending, or make disclosures about pressure from family. Concerns should go to the DSL immediately, without approaching the family directly.

Homelessness

Homelessness or at-risk-of-homelessness is a safeguarding issue. Children and young people in unstable housing are at increased risk of exploitation, abuse and harm. Signs may include poor attendance, inability to complete homework, poor presentation or disclosure about housing instability.

Cybercrime and online risks

Children may engage in harmful online behaviour, be targeted by others online, or be drawn into cybercrime activities. Online grooming, image-based abuse, online exploitation and harmful content all fall within the safeguarding framework. From 2026, AI-generated imagery — including deepfake nude images — is explicitly within scope.

Section 5: What to do if you have a concern about a child

If something a child says, does or shows you causes concern — however vague or incomplete — you should report it to the DSL or a deputy without delay. You do not need to be certain that abuse is occurring. You do not need to have evidence. Your role is to pass the concern on to the person who is trained and authorised to assess it.

If a child makes a disclosure

Children do not always disclose abuse directly. They may say something in passing, write something, or behave in a way that signals distress. If a child does begin to tell you something:

• Listen calmly. Do not show alarm, even if what you are hearing is serious.
• Do not probe or investigate. Do not ask leading questions or prompt for more detail than the child offers. Questions like "Did [person] do this to you?" are for trained investigators, not for school staff.
• Never promise confidentiality. You cannot and must not promise to keep a child's disclosure secret. You can tell the child that you will only tell people who need to know to help keep them safe.
• Make a record promptly. Write down what was said in the child's own words as soon as you can, with the time, date and location.
• Refer to the DSL without delay. Do not wait to see if the concern repeats or resolves. If the DSL is unavailable, go to the deputy.

What happens after you report

Once you have passed a concern to the DSL, they take on responsibility for deciding what happens next. That might include gathering more information, consulting children's social care, making a referral, or managing the concern at an early help level. Your responsibility is complete once you have passed the concern on — but you should continue to be alert and share any further observations.

Information sharing

You do not need a child's permission to share a safeguarding concern with the DSL. Data protection law does not prevent sharing information where there is a safeguarding concern: the child's welfare takes precedence. You should share what you know, not what you assume, and keep it to those who need it.

Section 6: Concerns about another member of staff

If you are concerned that a colleague's behaviour may be harming a child, or creating a risk of harm, you must report it. Part One makes clear that these concerns are treated in the same way as any other safeguarding referral — allegations of harm by staff are taken seriously and must be handled through the right route.

Reporting a concern about a colleague

If your concern relates to any member of staff other than the headteacher or principal, report it to the headteacher or principal directly. Do not try to resolve it informally or discuss it with other colleagues first.

Reporting a concern about the headteacher or principal

If your concern is about the headteacher or principal, you should not report it to them. Instead:

• Contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The LADO manages allegations against staff and volunteers and can advise on the appropriate next steps.
• Report to the chair of governors or chair of the management committee (or equivalent, such as the proprietor in an independent school).

The LADO

Every local authority has a LADO. Their contact details should be in your school's child protection policy. The LADO is not a disciplinary mechanism — they are a safeguarding function. Their role is to provide oversight, advice and coordination where an allegation has been made against a person in a position of trust.

Concerns about a member of staff who works with children — whether the concern relates to their on-duty or off-duty conduct — should be reported immediately and without conducting an internal investigation first. Do not inform the person concerned before reporting: this can compromise the investigation and, more importantly, can increase risk to children.

Section 7: Whistleblowing

Part One recognises that a member of staff may not feel able to raise a concern through their school's internal routes. This may be because the concern relates to a senior leader, because a previous concern was not acted upon, or simply because the culture of the school makes raising concerns difficult.

In those circumstances, staff have external routes available.

NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line

The NSPCC operates a confidential advice line specifically for school staff and other practitioners who want to raise a safeguarding concern but are unsure how to do so, or feel that an internal route is not available to them.

Other routes

Ofsted is another avenue for concerns about a school's safeguarding practice. Concerns about an individual regulated professional — for example, a teacher — can be referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). Where there is an immediate risk to a child, children's social care or the police are always available regardless of the internal school situation.

No detriment for raising a concern

Part One reflects the position under whistleblowing legislation: staff who raise safeguarding concerns in good faith should not face detriment for doing so. If you raise a concern and feel you have suffered as a result, that is itself something that should be escalated — including to your union, to Ofsted or to the NSPCC Advice Line.

The statutory text is in the DfE publication Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, published 7 July 2026, in force 1 September 2026. This page is a plain-English summary only — for statutory purposes, always refer to the official document on GOV.UK.