Safeguarding Children Training in 2026: What Employers Need to Review

Safeguarding children is an ongoing responsibility, and organisations must ensure their staff have the knowledge and confidence to recognise and respond to concerns. But with important updates to safeguarding guidance for England in 2026, is your organisation’s training still fit for purpose?

From emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) and online harms to established concerns such as child-on-child abuse, staff need to understand how to recognise and respond to safeguarding risks. Employers need to ensure their training reflects these developments and prepares staff to respond appropriately when a child may be at risk.

Whether you work in education, childcare, health and social care, a charity or another organisation involving children, reviewing your safeguarding training is an important step towards keeping children safe.

Here’s what the latest guidance means for organisations, what employees need to know and how to review your training in 2026.

Why Is 2026 an Important Year for Safeguarding Training?

Two important documents for safeguarding practice in England have been updated in 2026: Working Together to Safeguard Children and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).

The updated Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance was published on 18 March 2026. It strengthens expectations around early help, multi-agency working, child sexual abuse, domestic abuse, online harms and children experiencing multiple forms of harm. It also reinforces the importance of anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice.

The 2026 edition of Keeping Children Safe in Education came into force on 1 September 2026, replacing the previous version. It sets out safeguarding responsibilities for schools and colleges in England, including expectations around staff awareness and safer recruitment.

These updates make 2026 an important opportunity for organisations to check whether their policies, procedures and training reflect current expectations.

What Do the 2026 Safeguarding Changes Mean for Organisations?

The updated guidance reinforces a fundamental principle: safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

For employers, this means ensuring staff understand not only what abuse looks like, but also how different risks can overlap and what action to take when concerns arise.

Recognising multiple and overlapping harms

Children may experience several forms of harm simultaneously. For example, domestic abuse at home may occur alongside neglect, emotional abuse or exploitation outside the family.

The updated Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance places greater emphasis on recognising these overlapping risks and considering the child’s wider circumstances. Staff should avoid treating individual concerns in isolation and understand how to pass on information that may help build a clearer picture of a child’s situation.

Understanding Family Help and early intervention

The 2026 guidance describes Family Help as bringing together targeted early help and support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. This aims to provide more coordinated support for children and families, with consistent practitioner relationships and a shared family help plan.

For organisations, it is important to recognise when a child or family might be struggling and know where to go for help.

Remember: Safeguarding is not just about acting when a child is in immediate danger. It also means noticing problems early and helping children and families before those problems get worse.

Responding to emerging online and AI-related risks

Technology continues to create new challenges for safeguarding professionals. AI can be used to generate or manipulate intimate and sexually explicit images that appear to depict real children, even when the images are fabricated.

Children can experience distress, humiliation, harassment, coercion or exploitation as a result. Staff should understand that manipulated images can still represent a serious safeguarding concern and know how to report them through the appropriate procedures.

What Do Employees and Volunteers Need to Know?

The 2026 updates strengthen guidance in areas such as child sexual abuse, teenage relationship abuse, coercive control and recognising overlapping harms. Training should reflect these changes while continuing to cover established safeguarding responsibilities, including child-on-child abuse, female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage and concerns about adult behaviour.

The following topics should form part of a training review, whether they relate to updated guidance or existing responsibilities.

• Child-on-child abuse
  Harmful behaviour between children can include bullying, harassment, physical violence, sexual harassment and harmful sexual behaviour. Staff should understand that this behaviour must not be dismissed as ordinary conflict or simply accepted as part of growing up.
• Child sexual abuse
  Changes in behaviour, emotional wellbeing, relationships or circumstances may indicate that something is wrong. Staff should know how to respond sensitively, listen without judgement and report concerns rather than attempt to investigate them themselves.
• Teenage relationship abuse and coercive control
  Abuse can occur within young people’s intimate relationships and may involve controlling behaviour, intimidation, threats or emotional and physical harm. Staff need to recognise these risks and understand how to respond in a child-centred way.
• Honour-based abuse and discrimination
  Safeguarding training should not ignore honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). Staff should avoid assumptions based on a child’s background while remaining alert to indicators of harm.
• Concerning adult behaviour
  People who abuse children do not necessarily fit a particular stereotype. They may appear friendly, trustworthy and well-liked. Patterns such as seeking unnecessary one-to-one contact, giving inappropriate gifts, encouraging secrecy or repeatedly testing boundaries may warrant attention. Concerns about adults working with children should be taken seriously, including concerns that may initially appear relatively minor.

How to Review Your Safeguarding Training in 2026

Use this checklist to identify where your organisation’s safeguarding training may need updating:

• Check course content. Ensure training reflects current guidance relevant to your organisation, covers emerging risks and is appropriate for staff roles.
• Confirm reporting procedures. Check that staff know who to contact, how to record concerns and how to escalate them if the usual safeguarding contact is unavailable.
• Review induction and refresher arrangements. Ensure new employees and volunteers receive appropriate safeguarding training, and existing staff receive updates when guidance, procedures or risks change.
• Include practical scenarios. Use realistic examples to check whether staff can recognise concerns and respond appropriately, including situations involving online harms, overlapping risks and concerning adult behaviour.
• Maintain training records. Record who has completed training, when it was completed and any further learning required. Follow up on gaps and check staff understanding rather than relying solely on completion records.

Use the findings to update your training plan and address any gaps in staff knowledge or confidence.

Keeping Safeguarding Knowledge Up to Date

Employers should review safeguarding training regularly. Guidance develops, risks change and lessons from safeguarding practice can highlight where staff need further support.

Reviewing training in 2026 helps employers equip their workforce to understand current safeguarding expectations, recognise emerging risks and respond appropriately to concerns.

Staff must feel confident to act. They should report concerns even when the signs are unclear, the behaviour appears minor or they are unsure how serious the situation is.