Working together to safeguard children updated

The Department for Education (DfE) has recently updated core statutory guidance that sets out how organisations and practitioners working with children must work together to protect and promote the welfare of children, Working together to safeguard children. Whilst the guidance primarily sets out the framework for local authorities, integrated care boards and the police to work together, it also applies in its entirety to all early education and childcare settings, schools, colleges and other education providers and therefore this is an important update for all working with children (references to children in this article include anyone who has not yet turned 18). 

The following changes are likely to be of particular interest to schools, colleges and other education providers and may require updates to staff training, safeguarding policies and procedures:

• Additional clarity regarding the roles of local safeguarding partners (the local authority, police and integrated care boards). Safeguarding partners must make and publish local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements which should cover amongst other things, how all schools, colleges and other education providers will be included.
• Introduction of the Family Help model – this combines targeted “early help” and “children in need” (section 17 of the Children Act 1989) support into a single, multi-disciplinary approach involving one shared assessment, one team around the family and a co-produced Family Help plan. DSLs will be expected to contribute to assessments and ongoing reviews. Safeguarding partners will publish guidance setting out the threshold for referral to Family Help and schools, colleges and other education providers should take note of this and incorporate into their safeguarding policy and processes.
• Domestic abuse and information sharing. A new statutory duty requires police to notify schools and colleges if they have reasonable grounds to believe a child may be a victim of domestic abuse. Schools and colleges will need to ensure that staff are trained and that procedures are in place to handle any such notification. 
• Emphasis on adopting an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory approach to safeguarding. Those working with children must assess actual or likely significant harm “through an anti-racist, anti- discriminatory and culturally aware framework” and provide “feedback, advice, and strategies to challenge racism and discrimination” to others.
• Recognition that children may face multiple and simultaneous harms. The DfE has specifically strengthened the guidance on the following types of harm: abusive behaviour in intimate relationships, coercive control and hidden harms such as child sexual abuse and teenage relationship abuse. Threats including online harm, radicalisation and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are also highlighted.
• Express clarification that children who cause harm must still receive safeguarding responses and support, and schools should work with them to understand their experiences and what will reduce the likelihood of harm to themselves and others.
• Consideration of issues relating to safeguarding babies (including unborn babies) and young children who may be pre-verbal. The importance of ensuring that what is in their best interests remains central to decision making.
• Highlighting that some children live in kinship arrangements and the need to understand the complexity of such arrangements and the potential need to support both the kinship carer and the parents. 

Given that the new version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (the core statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges) is due to be finalised soon (the DfE consultation on this closed on 22 April 2026), it is likely to be practical for schools and colleges to wait and update safeguarding policies wholesale towards the end of the summer term. In the meantime, schools and colleges can check in with local safeguarding partners regarding the changes they are making to local arrangements and ensure that all staff are briefed on the new Family Help model and adopting an inclusive, culturally sensitive approach to safeguarding that factors in the multiple and simultaneous harms a child may be experiencing.