Safeguarding Guidance and the Law
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 All education staff must read part 1 and/or annex A and have an understanding of what they have read. You can find the documents here.
The Children and Families Act 2014 looks at all things related to children including SEND reforms and children's welfare. Read more here.
The Children's Act 1989 provides information about what is in place for children and families within their local authority and from other services. It promotes the welfare of children and how this relates to being cared for by their own family and what happens if this is not possible. Find the document here.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 provides guidance for individual services and their legislative requirements. It applies to ALL services who work with children and families and can be found here.
The Equality Act 2010 aims to protect people (including children) or groups of people against discrimination. Find out more here.
The Prevent Duty - all schools and registered childcare providers are expect to have 'due regard' in preventing children being radicalised and drawn into terrorism. Read more about the expectations of schools here.
The Education Act 2002 puts expectations on schools to safeguard children. Find more here.
What to do if you're worried a child is being abused 2018 advice for schools found here.
FGM Act 2003 - provides detail around this illegal practise. See more here.
Enhanced DBS checks From 1st September 2026, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 removes the supervision exemption from the definition of regulated activity. What does this mean? A volunteer supervised by a member of staff in regulated activity previously fell outside that definition, regardless of how often they were onsite or working with pupils. From 1 September, that exemption will no longer apply. Volunteers who teach, train, instruct, care for, or supervise children on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or take part in any overnight stay between 2am and 6am, now fall into the regulated activity definition. You must ensure these volunteers have an enhanced DBS check that includes children's barred list information. Why does this matter? The barred list is not a criminal record. A person can be barred following an employer referral or a court referral, without ever being convicted. An acquittal does not prevent a barring decision either. A volunteer could have a clean enhanced DBS check but still be on the barred list, and until now, schools had no legal entitlement to find out. PLEASE NOTE - The check cannot be requested before 1 September. What you can do ahead of September, is to audit your volunteers now, see who fits within this criteria, so applications can go in immediately once the entitlement exists.
Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 brings in a new mandatory reporting duty for child sexual abuse. The duty will require individuals in regulated activity with children to report when they are told about child sexual abuse, by a child or an adult, or when they witness it directly. A separate criminal offence, carrying up to seven years' imprisonment, applieswhen someone tries to stop another person making a report. There is no criminal penalty for failing to report. Government has been explicit that this is deliberate, to avoid discouraging volunteers from working with children for fear of prosecution over an honest mistake. Instead, failure to report may lead to referral to the DBS for barring consideration.
