Safeguarding in the Early Years in 2026

The content in this guide may understandably be triggering. Support for those personally affected by child abuse can be found through the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), supporting adult survivors of child abuse. The charity Mind also has a list of available support, here.

Safeguarding children is the most important role Early Years educators perform. Ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children in our care comes before everything else. We take that responsibility seriously.

As much as the thought of children suffering upsets us, knowledge of what can happen helps us protect the children we work with every day. That’s why good quality safeguarding training matters so much. Of course, Early Years settings must have a range of safeguarding policies and procedures in place, but hopefully this guide helps you out too.

Links to relevant child protection documents:

• Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK
• Working together to safeguard children, statutory guidance - GOV.UK
• Early Years Foundation Stage nutrition - GOV.UK
• Keeping children safe in education - GOV.UK
• Rachel Buckler's safeguarding compliance audit, updated with the new 2025 requirements.