Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024

The Latest Update

June 6, 2024

The latest update to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2024 was released on the GOV.UK website on 24 May 2024.

This guidance will come into effect on 1st September 2024. Until then, the previous KCSIE 2023 is still being enforced.

This applies to all schools and colleges in England. It sets out the legal duties that must be followed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18.

It’s important to be aware of the changes to this year’s KCSIE and how they will impact education practice from September 2024. We’ve created this summary for you to help break down some of the major changes within the guidance.

Safeguarding information for all staff:

• Paragraph 3- The definition of ‘safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children’ has been amended to reflect ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’, highlighting that ‘children’ refers to anyone under the age of 18 and emphasising early intervention, protection from harm (both online and offline), and promoting the best outcomes for all children. ‘ No single practitioner can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.’
• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
  • Providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
  • protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
  • preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
  • ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
  • taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.’
• Strengthened Early Help (Paragraph 18 and 497): The guidance broadens the focus of early help to encompass a wider range of vulnerabilities, including mental health concerns, young carers, risk of exploitation, and the impact of parental circumstances.
• The ‘early help’ list has been revised to reflect those referred to in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’. This now recognises that children who have experienced multiple suspensions and are at risk of being permanently excluded might benefit from early help intervention.

 ‘Any child may benefit from early help, but all school and college staff should be particularly alert to the potential need for early help for a child who:

• is disabled or has certain health conditions and has specific additional needs
• has special educational needs (whether or not they have a statutory Education, Health and Care plan)
• has a mental health need
• is a young carer
• is showing signs of being drawn in to anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gang involvement and association with organised crime groups or county lines
• is frequently missing/goes missing from education, home or care,
• has experienced multiple suspensions, is at risk of being permanently excluded from schools, colleges and in Alternative Provision or a Pupil Referral Unit.
• is at risk of modern slavery, trafficking, sexual and/or criminal exploitation
• is at risk of being radicalised or exploited
• has a parent or carer in custody, or is affected by parental offending
• is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for the child, such as drug and alcohol misuse, adult mental health issues and domestic abuse
• is misusing alcohol and other drugs themselves
• is at risk of so-called ‘honour’-based abuse such as Female Genital Mutilation or Forced Marriage
• is a privately fostered child. ‘

• The ‘Abuse and Neglect’ section has been amended to include exploitation. Additionally, the ‘indicators of abuse and neglect’ section now specifies that children are victims of abuse when they are witnesses of domestic abuse, including “where they see, hear or experience its effects”.
• Preventing Radicalisation (Annex B): This section is under review following the March 2024 definition of extremism. Further guidance clarifies that potential indicators of radicalisation should be considered alongside other factors and the overall context.
• In relation to safeguarding issues that staff should be aware of, “deliberately missing education” has been changed to “unexplainable and or/persistent absences from education” to reflect that the child may not be at fault for the absences.
• Data Protection (Paragraph 92): KCSIE 2024 reinforces the importance of compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR when handling personal information.
• Alternative Provision and SEND (Paragraph 171): Schools remain responsible for the safeguarding of pupils in alternative provision, with an emphasis on providing additional pastoral support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• Supporting LGBTQ+ Children (Paragraph 205-209): This section is under review pending the outcome of the gender questioning children guidance consultation. The guidance advises caution when supporting gender questioning children and stresses the importance of involving parents in decision-making.

Additional Changes

• Terminology: "Unexplained and/or persistent absences from education" replaces "deliberately missing education" (Paragraph 31). Headings have been updated to reflect the potential for "abuse, neglect and exploitation" rather than just "abuse and neglect" (Paragraph 19).
• Definition of Abuse: The definition of abuse has been expanded to highlight that witnessing ill treatment of others is harmful to children, particularly in the context of domestic abuse (Paragraph 24).