KCSIE 2026: The Changes Schools, Colleges & MATs Need to Know (+ full interactive guide)

The Department for Education has published Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026. The updated statutory guidance comes into effect in September.

This article provides a summary of the key changes, and provides access to a full guide that breaks down what’s new in every section.

What's changed in KCSIE 2026?

The latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education includes some of the most extensive changes seen in recent years.

Key updates include:

• Deepfakes named explicitly for the first time, with updated language around AI-generated nude imagery
  
  
• Significantly expanded mental health guidance, with a sharper focus on early identification of risk across all staff
  
  
• Stronger guidance on misogyny and its links to harmful sexual behaviour
  
  
• Cyber security recognised as a safeguarding concern for the first time
  
  
• Filtering and monitoring guidance updated to reflect AI-generated content risks
  
  
• New guidance on gender questioning children incorporated directly into KCSIE
  
  
• Strengthened expectations around the DSL role, including skills, experience and cover arrangements

For a full breakdown of every change, we've put together a section-by-section interactive guide designed to help DSLs, SLTs, IT managers and teachers understand what's new and what action is needed. 

There is also a PDF version of the guide that can be saved for future reference.