Key Changes to “Keeping Children Safe in Education” 2024: What You Need to Know

The Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance has undergone several key updates for 2024, reflecting shifts in legislation, safeguarding practices, and the evolving challenges children face in today’s world. These changes, which align with the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 guidance, are crucial for all school and college staff to understand. This blog will break down the main updates and what they mean for safeguarding children in education.

1. Updated Definition of Safeguarding

The definition of “safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children” has been revised to align with the duties outlined in the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 guidance. This change emphasises that the responsibilities of school and college staff go beyond basic safety measures and include active promotion of welfare, prevention of harm, and early intervention.

2. Enhanced Focus on Early Help

In Paragraph 18, the term “Early Help” has been updated to reflect the duties under the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance. This revision reinforces the need for early identification of issues and intervention by school and college staff before concerns escalate into serious safeguarding matters.

3. Inclusion of Exploitation in Abuse and Neglect Definitions

The updated guidance expands the term “Abuse and Neglect” to include “exploitation.” This reflects the growing awareness of how children can be exploited, whether sexually, criminally, or in other ways. This change is applied throughout the document to ensure that staff are vigilant in spotting all forms of harm children may face.

4. Domestic Abuse and Violence Indicators

In Paragraph 24, additional text has been included to highlight that indicators of abuse and neglect can arise from what staff “see, hear, or experience its effects,” especially in the context of domestic violence. This encourages school and college staff to be mindful of indirect signs of abuse that may affect a child’s wellbeing, even if not immediately obvious.

5. Revised Definition for Absenteeism

The term “deliberately missing education” has been changed to reflect a broader definition, now described as “unexplainable and/or persistent absences from education” (Paragraph 29). This adjustment highlights the importance of monitoring unexplained and frequent absences, ensuring that safeguarding concerns are addressed when a child’s educational participation becomes irregular.

Part Two: The Management of Safeguarding

6. Compliance with Data Protection and GDPR

In Paragraph 92, the guidance now includes a section to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR requirements. This is critical as safeguarding involves handling sensitive information about children, and the updates clarify the legal frameworks that schools must adhere to when sharing and storing this data.

7. Responsibilities for Pupils in Alternative Provision

Paragraph 171 emphasises that when schools place pupils in Alternative Provision, they remain responsible for the safeguarding and wellbeing of those students. This added clarification ensures that schools maintain oversight of pupils’ welfare, even when they are educated off-site.

8. School Attendance Legislation Updates

Changes to the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 are reflected in Paragraph 180. This update focuses on monitoring pupil attendance more rigorously, ensuring that all safeguarding issues related to absenteeism are addressed promptly.

9. Safeguarding SEN and Disabled Children

New links have been added to the NSPCC’s advice for protecting children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), deaf children, and disabled young people (Paragraph 204). These resources offer tailored guidance for safeguarding children who may face additional vulnerabilities due to their needs.

10. Supporting LGBTQ+ Children

Paragraphs 205–209 include expanded guidance to support children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning their gender (LGBTQ+). The updates provide clearer language and a disclaimer to ensure schools and colleges comply with emerging best practices around gender identity and the specific safeguarding needs of these students.

Part Three: Safer Recruitment

11. Changes to Recruiting Individuals Who Worked Abroad

A significant change in recruitment guidance is the removal of references to the UK Centre for Professional Qualifications, which ceased its advisory service in December 2023 (Page 78). This affects the vetting process for individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK, emphasising the need for schools to ensure proper qualification recognition via alternative services.

Part Five: Child-on-Child Sexual Violence and Harassment

12. Early Help for Child-on-Child Abuse

In Paragraph 497, the text related to Early Help has been updated to align with the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 guidance. This emphasises the importance of providing early intervention when addressing incidents of child-on-child sexual violence or harassment, ensuring support mechanisms are in place to prevent escalation.

Annexes: Further Information and Role of the DSL

13. Supporting Children in the Court System

Annex B now includes two separate, age-appropriate guides for schools to support children involved in the court system (Page 151). These resources help ensure that schools are equipped to support children during legal proceedings, a potentially distressing experience.

14. Preventing Radicalisation

Updates to the Prevent guidance include minor clarifications and a disclaimer (Page 156), ensuring that schools and colleges are clear on their duties to prevent radicalisation and the early identification of students at risk of extremist ideologies.

15. Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Responsibilities

In Annex C, further guidance has been added to the DSL’s role, particularly around “holding and sharing information” (Page 170). This addition outlines the rationale for making decisions about sharing safeguarding information, ensuring the DSL has the tools to navigate complex data-sharing scenarios effectively.

Final Thoughts

The 2024 updates to Keeping Children Safe in Education reflect a broader, more nuanced approach to safeguarding those accounts for modern challenges, including exploitation, digital safety, and inclusivity. Schools and colleges must take these changes seriously, ensuring that all staff are well-informed and trained to protect the welfare of every child.