Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance for England

The updated Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance for England has now been published, and comes into effect on September 1, 2021. There are a number of significant updates including:

• An entirely new section on low-level concerns
• “Annex A”, which is an alternative to part one for those who work in schools and colleges, but not directly with children
• Additional information in Annex C about keeping and storing records
• Enhanced guidance on a number of topics, particularly on peer-on-peer abuse, child criminal exploitation, child sexual exploitation and online safety
• A section on a “whole school and college approach to safeguarding”.

Schools will wish to ensure that their relevant policies are updated to reflect the new guidance and also to have procedures in place to ensure relevant information is disseminated to all staff, and that they can demonstrate that they have read and understood the revised Part 1 (or Annex A as appropriate).

The linked Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment guidance has also been updated, also with effect from September.”