Protect and Teach CIC has published Policy Analysis Paper No. 2, an independent analysis of the September 2026 Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance.
The September 2026 guidance brings substantial changes to safeguarding practice. Our paper examines what those changes require, how they sit alongside the wider legal framework, and the questions schools and governing bodies must answer when putting them into effect.
KCSIE 2026 does not operate on its own. Our analysis reads it alongside schools’ safeguarding duties under the Education Act 2002; the Equality Act 2010, including the Public Sector Equality Duty where applicable; the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 and independent school standards; and the duties on political impartiality in the Education Act 1996. This wider framework matters when schools make decisions about single-sex facilities, sport, individual support and what pupils are taught. The paper identifies which provisions are legal requirements, which are expectations in guidance, and which are Protect and Teach’s recommendations.
A central part of our analysis concerns single-sex facilities and sport.
KCSIE 2026 states that schools must not allow pupils into toilets, changing rooms, or boarding or residential accommodation designated for the opposite sex, with no exceptions.
It also rules out exceptions where single-sex sport is necessary for safety. Schools must consider suitable individual arrangements without compromising the safety, privacy or dignity of any child.
The paper also examines KCSIE’s approach to requests for social transition, including its recognition that social transition is an active intervention and its expectation that parents are engaged as a priority, subject to an individual safeguarding assessment.
Protect and Teach opposes schools facilitating social transition. That is our organisational position, distinct from what KCSIE itself requires. Schools should listen to and support every child, address any bullying or distress, and uphold the safety, privacy and rights of all pupils.
Beyond these issues, the analysis covers information sharing, safer recruitment, child-on-child harm, alternative provision, online safety and the responsibilities of school leaders and governors.
To make the findings easier to use, we have also produced a three-page visual summary: one page for parents, one for schools and governors, and one for teachers and staff.
The summary is a starting point. Readers making safeguarding or policy decisions should consult the full paper and the September 2026 statutory guidance.
Download the three-page summary or view online:
Download the full policy analysis paper or view online: