New Safeguarding Changes

New Safeguarding Changes For 2026

New safeguarding measures which were the focus of a consultation earlier this year will be implemented from September 2025 to make sure the increase in places doesn’t reduce quality.

These updates include safer recruitment practices and safer eating which the Department for Education consulted on between April and June.  They received 1470 responses to the consultation which showed strong support for the proposals.

What New Ideas?

DfE continually monitors and reviews safeguarding requirements for early years settings to ensure they are comprehensive and suitably robust to help providers keep children as safe as possible. A consultation was held to seek views on proposals to strengthen EYFS safeguarding requirements.

This is to help improve children’s safety:

What Is Happening:

• Safer recruitment – new expectations that employers must receive references before staff take up their employment
• new requirements for providers to follow up if a child is absent for a prolonged period of time, and amendments to ensure providers hold additional emergency contact details
• new requirements to ensure safer eating
• the creation of a safeguarding training criteria annex and a requirement for safeguarding policies to include details of how safeguarding training is delivered, including how practitioners are supported to put it into place
• amendments to ensure that early years students and trainees are required to have paediatric first aid (PFA) training for them to be included in ratios at the level below their level of study
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Here are New Ideas?

• amendments to ensure that children’s privacy during nappy changing and toileting is considered and balanced with safeguarding considerations
• a small number of other minor changes to the structure and wording of the safeguarding requirements to improve clarity
• What should the requirements of early years settings be with regard to use of CCTV, online safety and security and the use of handheld digital devices?  
• Changes are being made by the regulatory regime fit for purpose for large providers responsible for multiple settings in different locations?  
• Is there sufficient clarity, awareness and dissemination of information to encourage whistleblowing and sufficient awareness amongst providers of the requirements to protect whistleblowers in early years settings?