Do your safeguarding systems reflect your school's commitment to mental health? Not in spirit, but in writing, but in your policy, your records and your governance.

With Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 (KCSiE 2026) coming into force on 1 September 2026, how well you can evidence that answer matters more than ever.

From KCSiE 2025 to KCSiE 2026: what’s changed and why it matters

Under KCSiE 2025, the mental health provisions were meaningful but broad. There were no specific conditions named, no warning signs listed, and the entire escalation pathway amounted to a single instruction: if concerned, speak to the DSL. 

KCSiE 2026 closes that gap deliberately and decisively. For the first time, suicidal ideation, eating disorders and self-harm are named explicitly in Part One. 

KCSiE 2026 closes that gap. For the first time, suicidal ideation, eating disorders and self-harm are named explicitly in Part One. A structured list of warning signs now sits within the statutory framework itself, a clear three-stage escalation pathway replaces the single-line instruction, and the DSL is now required to consider whether to inform parents or carers when a child needs mental health support, which is a step the 2025 version did not address at all. There is also new recognition of the complex mental health needs that may arise for children questioning their gender.

Key changes to mental health guidance in KCSiE 2026

Suicidal ideation, eating disorders and self-harm are now named explicitly in Part One of the guidance. Mental health problems are formally recognised as potential indicators that a child has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, abuse, neglect or exploitation.

This gives schools clear authority to act earlier and with greater confidence.

Diagnosing a mental health problem is a matter for trained professionals. But teachers and teaching assistants have daily, sustained contact with children, which makes them uniquely well placed to notice when something has shifted. The task for schools isn't to diagnose, it's to notice, record and act.

Warning signs that all staff should know to look for include (KCSIE 2026, para 46):

• Significant changes in behaviour.
• Persistent difficulty sleeping.
• Withdrawing from social situations.
• Loss of interest in activities a pupil usually enjoys.
• Physical signs of self-harm or self-neglect.

Schools should note that the DfE has also removed Annex A, the shorter summary of Part One. All staff must now read the full guidance and will work from the same expectations. No exceptions, no abbreviated version.

The threshold question and the escalation pathway under KCSiE 2026

When does a pastoral concern become a safeguarding concern? 

The guidance does not give you a formula, and rightly so. But as a working principle: if a pupil's mental health is placing them at risk of significant harm, or may be a consequence of abuse, neglect or exploitation, it is a safeguarding matter.

Your Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is the decision-maker. The pathway is clear (KCSIE 2026, para 48):

1. Safeguarding concern – follow your child protection policy and refer to the DSL or deputy immediately.
2. Immediate danger – call 999 or take the child to A&E.
3. Urgent but not an emergency – contact NHS 111 online or by phone, selecting the mental health option.

If your school does not yet have documented internal protocols reflecting this pathway, that is your most pressing task before 1 September 2026.

What are the key roles for schools?

The guidance frames staff involvement in four practical roles: 

1. Promoting good mental wellbeing.
2. Identifying concerns early.
3. Providing targeted support.
4. Referring to specialists when needed.

Proactive promotion of good mental wellbeing is often the least developed of these roles, but it's where schools can make the biggest difference.

Mental health sits within the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum. Schools that invest here are building a culture where pupils feel able to ask for help before they reach crisis point. That's where the real impact lies.

Safeguarding records, governance and what to do now

A concern raised but not recorded is, for all practical purposes, a concern that was never raised. Every concern, discussion and decision must be documented clearly, comprehensively and with the outcome and next steps noted. Data protection does not prevent information sharing where a child is at risk.

Governors have a distinct accountability role. Before September, they should be able to answer: Has the school’s safeguarding policy been updated to name mental health as a potential safeguarding concern? Are recording practices adequate? Do all staff know what to do when a pupil discloses self-harm?

What should schools do before the end of term?

• Confirm your mental health lead is in post and trained through a DfE-approved provider.
• Update your safeguarding policy to name self-harm, eating disorders and suicidal ideation as potential safeguarding concerns.
• Connect your DSL and mental health lead formally and document the escalation process.
• Check that mental health needs in EHCPs are being monitored in a way that links to your safeguarding framework.

Over the summer:

• Map your mental health pathway from prevention through to specialist referral.
• Build ‘Part One’ reading into September induction.
• Audit your recording practices.
• Review your online safety policy alongside your mental health pathway.
• Brief your governors on their oversight role.

From September 2026:

• Embed your Mental Health Support Team, where available, into your whole-school framework from the outset.
• Connect your RSHE curriculum to your mental health approach.

The future of mental health support in schools

Nearly six million children can now access mental health support through their school or college. The framework is in place and the support structures are growing. The question isn't whether your school cares about mental health. It's whether your systems, records and governance can evidence that from 1 September 2026.

If you would like support reviewing your safeguarding policy or mental health framework in light of KCSiE 2026, please get in touch with our expert child protection and safeguarding in schools team.