What's Changed in KCSIE 2025?

At the time of writing, the 2025 edition of Keeping Children Safe in Education hasn’t yet been published.

Usually, schools can expect a draft version of KCSIE by late May. This gives DSLs and headteachers time to understand any changes, update policies and shape INSET content before September. That hasn’t happened this year and while there’s no official delay that we know of, the silence is noticeable.

So what’s going on? What might be coming? And how can we prepare now without rewriting everything twice?

Why hasn’t KCSIE 2025 been published yet?

There’s been no formal explanation but here’s what we know:

• A 12-week government Call for Evidence on safeguarding practice closed in June 2024. Many expected it to inform a significant revision of KCSIE 2025, but the findings were never published.
• The 2024 General Election likely paused or reset several DfE timelines. It’s not yet clear how the new government intends to handle the previous consultation, or whether they’ll refocus on different priorities.
  
• Two major pieces of legislation — the Crime and Policing Bill and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill — are still working through Parliament. Both contain measures that would affect KCSIE if passed.
  

Rather than pushing out a draft too soon, the DfE may be waiting to align the guidance with legislative progress. Or we may see a short-term administrative update followed by a fuller revision later. At this point, it’s impossible to say.

What changes might be coming?

Here’s what’s been discussed or proposed over the past year, though none of it is confirmed at this point.

1. Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse

The Crime and Policing Bill includes a statutory duty for people working in regulated activity to report known or suspected sexual abuse. This would be a significant change in safeguarding culture and procedure and we’d expect KCSIE to reflect it across Parts 1, 2 and 4.

If this becomes law, schools will need to review:

✓ how staff are trained to recognise and report concerns

✓ how leaders record, triage and act on those concerns

✓ how this new duty interacts with existing LADO and allegations procedures

2. Increased references to AI and digital safeguarding

The same Bill also tackles emerging risks from AI-generated child abuse imagery and online exploitation. If included in KCSIE, it’s likely to appear in safeguarding risks, staff training content and the wider online safety curriculum.

3. Stronger multi-agency requirements and local oversight

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill could bring in clearer expectations around:

• schools' roles in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements
  
• child protection teams and local decision-making
  
• registers of children not in school
  

It also links to wider changes around data sharing, elective home education and early help — any of which may need reflecting in school policies or procedures.

4. Potential shift in the DSL role

The 2024 Call for Evidence flagged concerns about the scale and complexity of the DSL role. While no concrete proposals have been shared, it’s possible that:

• the scope or structure of the role could change
  
• greater emphasis might be placed on shared safeguarding leadership
  
• workload, governance or training requirements may shift
  

Again, nothing is certain but it’s a space to watch.

What can we do now?

Even without the final guidance, schools can take practical steps:

• Keep your INSET plans flexible — build time in early September for safeguarding updates, even if the details aren’t yet final
  
• Review your current policies — a light-touch audit now can save stress later
  

Hold back on publishing new safeguarding documents until the confirmed KCSIE 2025 text is available

If you’re a DSL, it’s not unreasonable to hold off on your full staff training pack but it is worth getting prepared.

How Honeyguide will support you

As soon as Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 is released, we’ll move quickly to get everything you need in one place, including:

• A free KCSIE 2025 information briefing summary outlining what’s changed

• A full KCSIE 2025 Annual Safeguarding Refresher Training pack, containing everything you need to deliver full safeguarding refresher training during INSET
  
  
  
• A new full-year safeguarding pack with revised scenarios and termly content

• Clear, practical commentary so you know what matters and what’s noise
  

We’ll also send out a bulletin to let you know the moment the new guidance lands — sign up here if you’re not already on the list.

Final thought

There’s no need to panic but there is a need to stay alert. Whenever the final KCSIE 2025 guidance appears, it’s likely to include some key updates that DSLs and school leaders will need to act on quickly.

We’ll be here to help you do that with calm, practical tools and no waffle.