Every school needs a clear, accessible and up-to-date safeguarding policy that explains how children will be protected from harm. It should set out the school’s procedures, identify key responsibilities and give staff the confidence to recognise and report concerns correctly.
CEFM helps schools, academies and multi-academy trusts access practical safeguarding policy resources and education-specific support. Our guidance can help your school understand its responsibilities, keep documentation current and put effective safeguarding procedures into practice.
Primary and secondary schools follow the same statutory safeguarding framework, but the way policies are applied should reflect the age and needs of their pupils.
A primary school policy may place additional emphasis on early identification, communication with parents and carers, age-appropriate online safety and the vulnerabilities of younger children. Secondary schools may need more detailed procedures covering peer-on-peer abuse, sexual harassment, harmful online behaviour, exploitation and pupils taking greater responsibility for their own digital activity.
In every setting, the policy should be specific to the school and consistent with the procedures staff are expected to follow in practice.
A school safeguarding policy should explain the procedures used to protect pupils and respond to concerns. Although the detail will vary between settings, it should clearly cover:
The policy should be easy for staff to use, available to the school community and supported by regular training. It should reflect the school’s actual procedures rather than operating as a document that is reviewed only for compliance purposes.
At the time of this update, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 remains in force until 31 August 2026. The 2026 guidance has been published for information and comes into force on 1 September 2026.
Schools should use the current guidance throughout the summer term while reviewing the 2026 changes and preparing their policies, procedures and staff information for the new academic year. The Department for Education’s summary of substantive changes is included within the 2026 guidance.
A safeguarding policy should be reviewed at least annually and whenever statutory guidance, legislation or the school’s own procedures change.
Developing and Implementing Your School Safeguarding Policy
CEFM provides policy resources and education-specific support to help schools turn statutory guidance into clear, workable procedures.
Clear documentation is only one part of effective safeguarding. Schools should make sure staff understand the policy, know how to raise concerns and can access the procedures whenever they are needed.
A school safeguarding policy explains how the school protects children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and other forms of harm. It sets out responsibilities, reporting routes and the procedures staff must follow when they have a concern.
It should cover leadership responsibilities, the role of the designated safeguarding lead, reporting and recording concerns, safer recruitment, staff training, online safety, child-on-child abuse and procedures for allegations involving adults.
Schools should review the policy at least annually and sooner when statutory guidance, legislation or internal procedures change. The governing body or proprietor should ensure that the policy remains effective and is available to the school community.
Schools should review the policy at least annually and sooner when statutory guidance, legislation or internal procedures change. The governing body or proprietor should ensure that the policy remains effective and is available to the school community.
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 remains in force until 31 August 2026. The 2026 guidance comes into force on 1 September 2026, so schools should prepare their policies and staff information before the new academic year.
All schools work within the same statutory framework, but the policy should reflect the age, needs and risks of the pupils in that setting. Primary schools may therefore apply some procedures differently from secondary schools.
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