Early childhood safeguarding changes 2026: Moving beyond compliance to a culture of safety

Maggie Bolger and Ann Marie Christian explore the changing safeguarding landscape in early childhood, including KCSIE, the EYFS, safer recruitment, reporting concerns and the September changes. They argue that stronger safeguarding is not simply about having the right policies in place, but about creating cultures where children, families and educators are heard, concerns are connected and everyone understands their responsibility for keeping children safe.

Read the article here:

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-childhood-safeguarding-changes-2026-moving-beyond-compliance-to-a-culture-of-safety/

This episode is sponsored by Get Otii.

Otii helps nurseries stay audit-ready, inspection-proof, and totally on top of their operations – without drowning in paperwork or panic. Track what matters. Get real-time prompts. Never miss a thing.

To find out more visit: https://www.get-otii.com/

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https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/early-years-conference-2027/

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If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like:

· The case for systemic change in Ofsted's approach, by Lucy Lewin: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/the-case-for-systemic-change-in-ofsteds-approach/

· Ofsted's renewed early years inspection framework: What educators need to know, by Jayne Coward (Ofsted): https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/ofsteds-renewed-early-years-inspection-framework-what-educators-need-to-know/

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Episode break down:

00:00 – Introduction to the episode and guests
02:10 – Maggie introduces herself and Get Otii
02:51 – Ann Marie introduces herself and her safeguarding background
04:09 – Where is safeguarding in early childhood at the moment?
04:34 – Strengthening safeguarding in early childhood
06:14 – The challenges of guidance for private nurseries
09:12 – Understanding KCSIE and its five parts
10:32 – Part one: safeguarding guidance for all staff
11:31 – Part two: the management of safeguarding
12:28 – Part three: safer recruitment
13:49 – Part four: managing allegations against staff and volunteers
15:01 – Part five: child-on-child abuse
16:42 – References and DBS checks: what has changed?
18:30 – What can be learnt from safeguarding cases and incidents?
19:12 – Recording concerns and creating a clear safeguarding trail
23:15 – Creating a culture where concerns can be reported
24:26 – Safer recruitment and concerns about existing staff
26:15 – Retaining safeguarding information and non-recent abuse
27:05 – The role and responsibilities of the DSL
28:04 – DSL and DDSL co-working and information sharing
29:14 – Creating a shared understanding of safe and appropriate practice
30:07 – Why immediate reporting to the DSL matters
32:06 – Induction, agency staff and making policies accessible
34:17 – Safeguarding as a central responsibility in settings
35:58 – Agency staff, recruitment checks and safeguarding training
37:01 – Going beyond minimum safeguarding requirements
38:09 – Listening to parents and responding to complaints
40:32 – What should smaller settings do before September?
41:33 – Creating a safeguarding checklist and prioritising changes
42:47 – Starting with strategic safeguarding priorities
43:27 – Safer eating, weaning, sleeping and screen use
45:44 – Using guidance, AI and doing your own due diligence
47:23 – The wider consequences of increased safeguarding scrutiny
47:42 – Mergers, acquisitions, insurance and recruitment
49:19 – The potential ripple effect of increased inspections
50:21 – What early childhood can learn from schools
52:10 – Safeguarding responsibility when opening and running a nursery
54:14 – Reputational risk, social media and communicating with parents
55:35 – Profit, ethics and responsibility in early childhood
56:49 – Safeguarding awareness and professional boundaries
58:28 – Balancing safeguarding scrutiny with the positives of the profession
59:18 – Remembering the joy of working with children
1:00:18 – Preparing for the changes and doing your own due diligence
1:00:58 – Final reflections and episode wrap-up
1:01:30 – Ann Marie's safeguarding workshop at the 2027 conference
1:01:45 – Further safeguarding article and closing thanks

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com