KCSIE 2026: A Proven Guide to Early Years Safeguarding
KCSIE 2026 is the new statutory safeguarding guidance that every early years setting in England needs to understand before it comes into force on 1 September 2026. If you run a nursery, pre-school or childminding setting, this update matters to you every bit as much as it matters to schools and colleges. At Parenta, we support thousands of early years providers across England, so we have pulled together this guide to explain what is changing, why it matters, and how you can get your team ready in good time, and where to find further support if you need it.
What Is KCSIE 2026?
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is the Department for Education's statutory safeguarding guidance for schools, colleges and, increasingly, early years settings across England. It sets out what staff, managers and governing bodies must do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and it is reviewed and updated most years to reflect emerging risks and lessons learned.
KCSIE 2026 replaces the 2025 version. It was published in July 2026 for information only, ahead of coming into force on 1 September 2026. Until then, settings must continue to follow KCSIE 2025 in full.
When Does KCSIE 2026 Come Into Force?
The short answer is 1 September 2026, the start of the new academic year. However, sensible providers are using the months between now and then to review policies, update training and brief their teams, rather than waiting until the last minute.
What's Changing in KCSIE 2026 for Early Years Providers?
This year's update brings some of the most significant changes to KCSIE in several years. A few stand out for early years settings in particular.
Closer Alignment with the EYFS
For the first time, KCSIE 2026 explicitly references the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework. This clarifies that school-based nurseries and reception classes caring for children aged 0 to 5 must also meet EYFS safeguarding requirements, alongside KCSIE. If you run a maintained nursery or reception setting, this closer alignment means checking your policies against both documents, not just one.
Every Member of Staff Must Read Part One in Full
KCSIE 2025 allowed staff who do not work directly with children to read a shorter, condensed version of Part One. KCSIE 2026 removes this option entirely. From September, every member of staff, including catering, site and administrative teams, must read the full Part One document. As a result, your induction process, annual training and staff read receipts will all need updating to reflect the change.
Updated Language Around Early Help and Family Help
The guidance also introduces clearer, more consistent terminology, distinguishing between universal, community-based early help and the more targeted early help delivered through Family Help. This brings KCSIE in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, and it should help early years staff identify which level of support a child or family may need, and when.
New Guidance on Online Safety, AI and Deepfakes
In addition, KCSIE 2026 acknowledges that nude or sexual imagery may now be self-generated or created using artificial intelligence, including deepfakes. It also broadens the list of content risks under online safety to include disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories. For settings supporting older children in pre-school or wraparound care, this is a helpful update to keep in mind, and it reflects a wider shift that early years leaders should be aware of ahead of children moving into school.
Safer Recruitment Changes
Finally, the guidance updates safer recruitment requirements to reflect the removal of the "supervision exemption" from the legal definition of regulated activity. In practice, this means providers should review their recruitment checks, interview processes and single central record to ensure they remain compliant once the change takes effect.
Who Should Read KCSIE 2026?
The guidance is relevant to anyone with safeguarding responsibilities, including nursery managers, Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), deputy DSLs, early years practitioners, governors, trustees and support staff. Put simply, if you work with or around children in an education or childcare setting, KCSIE 2026 applies to you.
How Can Early Years Settings Prepare for KCSIE 2026?
There is no need to panic. However, a little forward planning between now and 1 September 2026 will make the transition far smoother. As a first step, we would suggest reading the full KCSIE 2026 guidance, including Annex C, which summarises the changes in detail. It is also worth updating your safeguarding and child protection policies to reflect the new terminology and requirements, briefing your Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputy DSL so they can cascade the changes to the wider team, building KCSIE 2026 into your induction process and annual safeguarding refresher, and reviewing your safer recruitment checks ahead of the supervision exemption change.
If your team needs support building broader childcare knowledge and confidence, our government-funded childcare courses include safeguarding as a core element of the training, alongside the wider skills your team needs for their roles. This is a good moment to check when your team is due a refresher, whether that is a full DSL qualification through your local authority or safeguarding training provider, or a shorter annual update for the wider staff team.
Access the Official KCSIE 2026 Guidance
You can read the full KCSIE 2026 statutory guidance and Part One directly on GOV.UK, where the Department for Education publishes the official documents, along with details of every change since KCSIE was first introduced in 2015. You can also download the KCSIE 2026 PDF directly. We would always recommend working from the official version rather than a summary, especially when you are updating policies or briefing your team. Our own free early years resources page also has safeguarding policy templates and further reading to help with your preparations.
KCSIE 2026 FAQs
What does KCSIE stand for?
KCSIE stands for Keeping Children Safe in Education, the Department for Education's statutory safeguarding guidance for schools, colleges and early years settings in England.
Does KCSIE 2026 apply to nurseries?
Yes. School-based nurseries and reception classes must follow KCSIE 2026 alongside the EYFS statutory framework, and standalone early years providers are strongly encouraged to use it as a reference for their own safeguarding practice.
What is Annex C in KCSIE 2026?
Annex C is the section of the guidance that summarises every substantive change between KCSIE 2025 and KCSIE 2026, making it the fastest way for busy managers to see what has changed.
Safeguarding guidance will keep evolving, and staying informed is one of the best things any early years leader can do for their team and the children in their care. We will keep sharing practical updates here as KCSIE 2026 approaches, so bookmark this page and check back for more.
Want support getting your team ready for KCSIE 2026? Get in touch with our friendly team today, and we will be happy to help you find the right safeguarding training for your setting.
