2025 EYFS safeguarding changes – what all settings need to know

The changes to the safeguarding requirements in the 2025 EYFS are a response to several serious incidents in Early Years settings.

As Rachel explains, "Recognising poor and unsafe practice is really where we've seen this come from. We had the consultation around the safeguarding welfare requirements, which concluded in a consultation document that was released by the DFE in October last year. The DFE made it really clear that the expectation was to put out the changes before they came into place, with enough advance notice so that people could start to make changes and amendments where they needed to."

What are the key changes to safeguarding requirements in the September 2025 EYFS?

The seven key areas of change in the EYFS reforms are:

• Safeguarding training criteria
• Monitoring child absences
• Safe eating practice
• Changes to paediatric first aid
• Safer recruitment
• Whistleblowing
• Toileting and intimate hygiene

New requirements for safeguarding training

The September 2025 reforms introduce mandatory safeguarding training to be renewed every two years, with a focus on the care of 0-5 year olds. Training must cover categories of abuse, early signs of neglect, and domestic abuse, aligning with the Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance. Providers must take advice from local safeguarding partners on appropriate training and include topics such as:

• Safe organisational cultures
• Local child protection procedures
• How to refer and escalate concerns

"One size doesn't fit all when it comes to training, so think about how you're actually understanding your staff team's needs and requirements in regards to safeguarding," says Rachel, "It's not a blanket approach. Something that I've been saying quite a lot recently, is we're starting to see safeguarding training as a process rather than an event."

Child absence management

New guidelines focus on managing and responding to child absences, emphasising the need to understand vulnerability and respond appropriately to prolonged absences.

Rachel explains, "The thing is understanding vulnerability. Understanding vulnerability of parents, understanding vulnerability of children, and maybe picking up on those patterns that might give us concern. For me, and certainly for designated safeguarding leads, that's about being able to be analytical in our approach, understanding what goes on in the lives of children at home and responding appropriately. And, if we need to, it tells us that we need to speak to social care or get people to do a welfare check. In terms of information, we need to make sure we've got additional information in there, other than just two emergency contacts. We need to have an attendance policy."

Safe eating practices

Safe eating practices have been introduced, requiring first aid qualified staff, ongoing discussions with parents, and proper food preparation suitable for children's needs. The EYFS nutrition guidance has been released, which providers must have regard to, covering dietary requirements, information sharing, and staff training.

"In regards to your policy, having regard to the guidance of course is an absolute must," says Rachel, "Stating how safe eating processes and dietary requirements are managed in the setting, partnerships and how information sharing takes place, and making sure robust procedures and systems are in place. Communication between the setting and parents and also making sure that staff training is up-to-date and that staff know from the get-go, through inductions and ongoing team meetings. And the obvious one is adequate supervision of children, of course."

Paediatric first aid and safe recruitment practices

Changes to paediatric first aid requirements allow suitable students or long-term placements with valid first aid qualifications to be included in ratios.

‍Safe recruitment practices are now a requirement in the EYFS, emphasising the importance of thorough reference checks, qualification verification, and appointing suitable individuals. Policies must reflect safe recruitment procedures, including timely provision of references and consistent implementation across the setting.

"Sometimes people feel that they can't deviate from the same questions and sometimes that can be constricting," says Rachel, "That makes us sometimes not able to ask the questions that we think are pertinent to that candidate. So bespoke interview questions play a really important part."

Intimate care and privacy considerations

The new EYFS wording emphasises balancing children's privacy with safeguarding and support needs during intimate care routines. Consider how you balance lone working arrangements and ensuring children's privacy and respect during intimate care procedures.

Whistleblowing

Providers must now implement whistleblowing procedures to enable staff to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practices. Policies should clearly communicate internal and external reporting channels for staff concerns.

"Everyone should know how to raise a concern, including low level concerns internally and then externally," advises Ann Marie.

Training requirements and best practices

Ann Marie and Rachel stress the importance of due diligence when selecting training providers and ensuring the quality and relevance of the training content. The discussion addresses challenges in observing intimate care routines during training and assessment, emphasising the need for clear policies and communication with parents and children.

"We've talked a lot about training because ultimately that really underpins everything that we're doing here, creating that ongoing culture of vigilance," explains Rachel, "Making sure that people are listened to and any concerns are passed on and addressed."

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