Below, we outline the main changes you need to know and how to prepare your teams in advance (this year they’re mainly clarifications rather than a complete overhaul!).
Safeguarding in the digital world has taken a significant step forward. KCSIE 2025 now explicitly includes misinformation, disinformation (including fake news), and conspiracy theories within its definition of online content that could cause harm.
To improve cybersecurity in education, the DfE has released tools and guidance to help school leaders enforce protocols to keep children safe online:
What to do now 👉 Update your online safety policy to reference AI use, cyber standards, and misinformation risks. Use the DfE tool to assess your school filtering and monitoring systems and take steps to improve security ready for September.
Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance is now statutory. This means that poor attendance must be treated as a safeguarding concern, and schools must actively engage with children’s services where appropriate.
What to do now 👉 Review your attendance safeguarding procedures and ensure your designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) are confident on how to identify and escalate attendance-related safeguarding concerns.
Enhanced checks for using alternate providers to ensure external provisions are to a high standard have been introduced. Schools must now:
What to do now 👉 Revisit any contracts with alternate providers and set a schedule for reviewing placement arrangements and safeguarding evidence.
Virtual school heads must now oversee the educational progress of children in kinship and local authority care. Though a non-statutory duty, it reflects the growing expectations for inclusive safeguarding.
What to do now 👉 Confirm which pupils in your School are in kinship care and liaise with virtual school heads to ensure appropriate oversight is in place.
In line with the latest SEND Code of Practice, language around neurodiversity has been updated. Terms such as “disorder” and “spectrum” have been removed when discussing vulnerabilities related to Autism or ADHD, especially in the context of gender-questioning children.
What to do now 👉 Update your internal safeguarding and SEND documents to reflect revised terminology and train staff on the language changes.
Two new resources aimed at supporting children facing sexual abuse have been added:
What to do now 👉 Familiarise your DSLs and senior staff with these resources to incorporate them into your safeguarding toolkit. Refresh staff on the key signs of spotting child sexual abuse, and when it’s appropriate to guide children towards these resources.
The DfE published revised guidance on ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’ in July 2025, to prepare for the planned introduction from 1 September 2026.
Anticipated guidance surrounding gender questioning children is yet to be released with updates.
What to do now 👉 Prepare for changes to RSE by reading the updated guidance ahead of 2026 and watch for coming guidance on gender questioning children.
While the 2025 iteration of KCSIE doesn’t introduce dramatic changes, it strengthens expectations in digital safety, attendance, oversight of vulnerable pupils, and inclusive safeguarding: all areas that matter deeply in today’s education landscape.
By acting now, school leaders can ensure their teams are informed, confident, and ready to keep children safe.