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Safeguarding and support for pupils

 
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NAHT members are at the forefront of safeguarding children. School leaders are committed to keeping children safe, so they can learn well. NAHT believes that all pupils should receive the support they need to maintain their well-being and achieve their potential, both within school and from wider services including health and social care.

NAHT is campaigning to:

Enable schools to play their part in supporting pupils' well-being

  • Lobby for pupils and schools to get the support they need from wider services including health, social care, police and youth services
  • Influence the implementation of the proposals from the mental health green paper, including the senior lead for mental health and mental health support teams
  • Support schools to access relevant, high-quality training and resources to enable pupils to exercise their right to support for their mental well-being.

 

Support schools to safeguard and protect pupils

  • Engage with the DfE over proposed changes to the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
  • Influence changes to Keeping Children Safe In Education, Working Together and Sexual Violence and harassment guidance
  • Campaign to improve online safety for children and young people
  • Press the government to ensure home educated children are adequately safeguarded
  • Promote guidance and resources to support schools to protect children at risk of harm including involvement with violence and other crime.

 

Enable schools to support vulnerable groups of pupils

  • Campaign to ensure pupils with SEND can receive the support they need from schools and wider services
  • Press for improved alternative provision and collaborative approaches across communities to support pupils excluded from school
  • Provide information to schools to help them to support disadvantaged children
  • Enable schools to make informed decisions regarding parental requests to home educate
  • Ensure reforms to behaviour guidance and networks is evidence-based and appropriate for all schools and a diverse pupil population. 
 

KCSIE 2026: what school leaders need to know

On Tuesday 7 July, the Department for Education (DfE) published the final version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026, with the new statutory guidance taking effect from 1 September 2026. While much of the framework remains familiar, leaders should note a number of significant changes in this updated guidance.

There are a number of updates to the 2025 document, including strengthened expectations around online safety and artificial intelligence (AI), more explicit references to AI-generated nude images, annual reviews of filtering and monitoring systems, and a new expectation that schools are mobile phone-free, by default. 

The 2026 statutory guidance also includes, for the first time, a dedicated section on children who are questioning their gender.

The guidance requires schools and colleges to consider requests relating to social transition through a safeguarding lens, with decisions taken on a case-by-case basis and parental involvement expected unless there is a risk of harm to the child. 

The guidance also confirms that:

  • children aged over 8 should not use toilets designated for the opposite biological sex,
  • children aged over 11 should not use changing rooms designated for the opposite biological sex, and
  • children should not share boarding or overnight accommodation with those of the opposite biological sex.
     

The guidance also substantially strengthens its focus on child-on-child abuse, emphasising prevention, zero tolerance of harmful behaviour, and a safeguarding response for all children involved.

There are also important changes to safer recruitment, with new DBS requirements for some volunteers – following the Crime and Policing Act 2026, and a new expectation that all staff, including those who do not work directly with pupils, read and understand part one of the guidance. 

Additional updates cover areas such as information-sharing, mental health, and support for young carers and SEND pupils.

Schools will be expected to use the updated document to scrutinise existing school policies, plan staff training programmes, and review their IT infrastructure.

Read the full Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026.

First published 08 July 2026

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