What is KCSIE?
Keeping children safe in education 2024
What is KCSIE?
KCSIE stands for Keeping Children Safe in Education. It is a statutory guidance issued by England’s Department for Education (DfE), setting out the legal obligations that schools and colleges must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under 18.
Who it applies to: all staff—teachers, governors, leadership teams—everyone in schools and colleges.
How it works: it tells you what you must do (legal duties) vs. what you should do (best practice).
What it covers: a wide range of safeguarding responsibilities—child protection procedures, safer recruitment, online safety, managing allegations, promoting mental health, filtering systems, data handling, and more.
What’s coming in KCSIE 2025
In March 2024, the DfE launched a 12-week call for evidence (ended June 20, 2024) to gather input from school leaders, DSLs (Designated Safeguarding Leads), governors, and other professionals.
This consultation indicates that KCSIE 2025 will include significant changes, reflecting real-world pressures like:
Expanded role clarity for DSLs – recognising the complexity of safeguarding leaders’ responsibilities.
Digital safety measures – including home‑use filtering, AI awareness, deepfakes, online censorship, monitoring student device use.
Extremism and ideological risk – more emphasis on identifying radicalisation, extremist content, hate symbols or threats .
Stronger recruitment standards – clearer guidance on safer recruitment, checking, vetting and record‑keeping .
Support after incidents – improved procedures for sexual violence/harassment and ongoing quality assurance.
Boarding/special provision specifics – dedicated rules for boarding schools and special needs residential settings .
Why this update matters
Keeps pace with fast‑evolving risks: online threats, AI misuse, and ideological recruitment are advancing quickly—schools must respond effectively.
Clarity and accountability for DSLs: ensures safeguarding leads are better supported and have clearly defined roles .
Strengthened oversight & compliance: updated safeguarding systems, plus renewed emphasis on consistent record-keeping, monitoring, and reporting.
Child sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children.
Child sexual abuse (CSA) affects children from all backgrounds, but the experiences of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children are often overlooked or misunderstood in safeguarding conversations.
The 2024 knowledge review, Child Sexual Abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage Children, authored by Dr. Sukhwant Dhaliwal and commissioned by the CSA Centre and Barnardo’s SEEN, brings vital attention to the specific barriers, risks and missed opportunities in protecting children within these communities.
In this blog, we explore the key findings from the review, consider what they mean for safeguarding practice in schools and organisations, and reflect on how professionals can respond with greater cultural sensitivity, curiosity and care.
These children deserve to be seen, heard and safeguarded with the same vigilance and compassion as any other—and that starts with understanding the context in which abuse may occur, and the reasons it is so often missed.
The 2024 knowledge review titled Child Sexual Abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage Children, authored by Dr. Sukhwant Dhaliwal and commissioned by the CSA Centre and Barnardo’s SEEN, offers a comprehensive examination of the unique challenges faced by children from these communities concerning child sexual abuse (CSA).
Key Findings
1. Underrepresentation in Research and Services
Despite a surge in CSA research, there remains a significant lack of focus on African, Asian, and Caribbean heritage children. This oversight leads to gaps in understanding their specific vulnerabilities and needs. csacentre.org.uk
2. Cultural and Community Barriers
Children from these communities often face cultural stigmas and pressures that deter them from disclosing abuse. Concerns about family honour, community reputation, and potential ostracization contribute to a "code of silence." learning.nspcc.org.uk
3. Institutional Challenges
Professionals may struggle with cultural sensitivities, leading to hesitancy in addressing CSA cases involving these communities. Fear of being perceived as racist or culturally insensitive can result in inaction or inadequate responses. weareseen.org.uk
4. Racism and Stereotyping
Systemic racism and stereotypes can hinder the identification and support of victims. For instance, Black and Asian boys might be mischaracterized as perpetrators rather than victims, leading to criminalization instead of protection. weareseen.org.uk
Recommendations
Enhanced Cultural Competency: Training for professionals to understand and navigate cultural nuances effectively.
Community Engagement: Collaborating with community leaders to foster environments where victims feel safe to disclose abuse. learning.nspcc.org.uk
Inclusive Research: Encouraging studies that specifically address the experiences of African, Asian, and Caribbean heritage children to inform better practices. csacentre.org.uk
Policy Reforms: Implementing policies that recognize and address the unique challenges faced by these communities in the context of CSA.
This review underscores the urgent need for a more inclusive and culturally sensitive approach to tackling child sexual abuse. By acknowledging and addressing the specific barriers faced by African, Asian, and Caribbean heritage children, stakeholders can work towards more effective prevention and support mechanisms.
For a detailed exploration, access the full report here: Child Sexual Abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage Children: A Knowledge Review (PDF).
Domestic Abuse Through a Child’s Eyes: Why It Matters for Safeguarding
The report underscores the urgent need to move beyond mere legal recognition and to implement tangible actions that address the unique needs of child victims of domestic abuse. It calls upon policymakers, practitioners, and society at large to acknowledge and respond to these children's experiences with the seriousness they deserve
Welcome to the Secure Foundations Blog
We’re excited to launch the Secure Foundations Training blog — a space where we’ll be sharing insights, reflections, and practical guidance around safeguarding children and young people. Drawing on our combined experience as a former teacher and a social worker, we aim to bring safeguarding to life in a way that’s real, relevant, and rooted in everyday practice.
For our very first blog post, we’ve chosen to explore a topic that’s both urgent and often misunderstood: "Victims in their own right? Babies, children and young people’s experience of domestic abuse."
We’ve started here because too often, children are seen as bystanders when it comes to domestic abuse — when in fact, they are victims in their own right. This blog post looks at how domestic abuse affects babies, children and young people directly, and how professionals working with families can respond with understanding, sensitivity and confidence.
It’s a subject close to our hearts and one that sits at the core of effective safeguarding. We hope it prompts reflection, conversation and, most of all, action.
Victims in Their Own Right? Babies, Children and Young People’s Experiences of Domestic Abuse
In April 2025, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, released a pivotal report titled "Victims in Their Own Right? Babies, Children and Young People’s Experiences of Domestic Abuse." This comprehensive document sheds light on the often-overlooked experiences of children affected by domestic abuse, emphasizing that they are not merely witnesses but victims in their own right.
Key Findings:
Legal Recognition vs. Practical Implementation: While the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 legally acknowledges children as victims of domestic abuse, the report highlights a significant gap between this recognition and the actual support provided to them.
Inadequate Support Services: Only 29% of victims and survivors reported being able to access the specialist support they desired for their children.
Funding Challenges: The report reveals that 27% of support providers had to turn away children due to capacity issues, 51% placed them on waiting lists, and 56% faced funding cuts over the past five years.
Children's Voices: Through the "Tell Nicole" initiative, over 100 children shared their experiences, expressing feelings of being "lost, alone, sad, different, worried, lose control, terrified, anger, unhappy, nervous, scared, not heard."
Recommendations:
The report outlines 66 recommendations across seven key themes:
Centring Children’s Voices: Ensuring that children's experiences and perspectives are integral to all responses.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Promoting stronger coordination among various government departments and agencies.
Holistic Funding: Advocating for comprehensive and sustained funding for services supporting child victims.
Data and Evidence: Improving data collection and research to inform policy and practice.
Specialist Training: Providing training for frontline professionals to recognize and respond effectively to child victims.
Safeguarding: Enhancing protective measures to ensure children's safety.
Specialist-Informed Practice: Ensuring that interventions are guided by specialists with expertise in child welfare and domestic abuse.
At Secure Foundations Training, we understand that recognising children as victims in their own right requires more than awareness—it demands action. Our training is grounded in real-life experience and equips staff in schools and other settings to spot the signs of domestic abuse, understand its impact on children, and respond appropriately and compassionately.
Unlike generic e-learning, we offer practical, face-to-face safeguarding training that gives professionals the tools, confidence and language to support child victims and work in a truly trauma-informed way. By helping staff feel prepared, we contribute directly to bridging the gap between legislation and lived experience.
We believe that every adult working with children has a role to play in creating safer environments—and we’re here to help them do just that.
Conclusion:
The report underscores the urgent need to move beyond mere legal recognition and to implement tangible actions that address the unique needs of child victims of domestic abuse. It calls upon policymakers, practitioners, and society at large to acknowledge and respond to these children's experiences with the seriousness they deserve.
For a more in-depth understanding, you can access the full report here: Victims in Their Own Right? Babies, Children and Young People’s Experiences of Domestic Abuse.