Please note: This article contains language describing child sexual exploitation as it relates to correctly usage of defined legal terms. Reader discretion is  advised.

There are two changes to definitions of abuse in the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance (KCSiE 2026) that your school needs to know about. 

One's a legally technical correction and the other is a grammatical change. Neither alters your substantive obligations, but both are worth understanding.

Please note: this article discusses definitions of sexual offences and abuse, including references to sexual assault, rape and female genital mutilation. Some readers may find the content distressing.

What are the changes?

1. “Assault by penetration”: A legally significant correction

The statutory definition of assault by penetration under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has not changed. A person commits this offence if they intentionally penetrate the vagina or anus of another person with a part of their body or anything else, the penetration is sexual, and the other person does not consent.

What has changed is the example used to illustrate it.

The 2025 guidance cited "assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex)" in its definitions of sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation. That example was technically inaccurate. Oral sex, where penetration of the mouth occurs, falls within the legal definition of rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, not assault by penetration, which is confined to penetration of the vagina or anus.

The 2026 guidance corrects this. The example now reads "assault by penetration (for example, rape or penetration with an object)", a formulation that accurately reflects the law. The correction appears in the sexual abuse definition (KCSIE 2026, para 27) and in the child sexual exploitation section (KCSIE 2026, para 40) as well as the sexual violence section (KCSIE 2026, para 540).

2. “Sexual Assault”: Presentational, not substantive change

The only change is the addition of a comma for grammatical clarity (KCSIE 2026, para 540). This is a presentational correction, not a substantive one, and requires no action from schools beyond awareness.

The legal elements of the offence of sexual assault – intentional touching, touching of a sexual nature, absence of consent, no reasonable belief in consent – are identical in both versions of KCSIE. The note reminding schools that sexual assault covers a very wide range of behaviour, including a single act of kissing someone without consent or touching someone's bottom, breasts or genitalia without consent, is preserved in full.

3. Honour or faith-based abuse

The 2025 guidance used the heading "So-called 'honour'-based abuse (including female genital mutilation and forced marriage)", which has been replaced with the broader terminology “Honour or faith-based abuse (including female genital mutilation and forced marriage)” (HBA). 

It's now Annex A of KCSIE 2026 that contains additional information about specific forms of abuse. The guidance uses the term "honour or faith-based abuse", explicitly acknowledging that abuse of this kind may be motivated by religious or faith-based beliefs, not solely cultural ones. The definition describes honour or faith-based abuse as encompassing incidents or crimes committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or the community, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and practices such as breast ironing.

The substantive obligations on schools and colleges (the duty to refer to the DSL, activate multi-agency procedures, and comply with the FGM mandatory reporting duty) remain unchanged. 

What do schools need to do before September?

The changes to the two definitions “assault by penetration” and “honour or faith-based abuse" require your attention. Before September, it's worth running a quick check across:

• Your safeguarding and child protection policy.
• Any training materials or presentations used with staff.
• Staff handbooks or guidance notes that reference these offences.

Make sure the correct terminology is used throughout. Getting the language right in your safeguarding documents isn't about being overly technical. It's about making sure your staff have clear, accurate information they can rely on. To discuss this topic further, contact our specialist child protection and safeguarding team to learn more.