This week I report on the publication of KCSIE 2026 which comes into force on 1 September; confirmation that statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions will be updated and new statutory guidance on allergy safety in schools has been published; new non statutory guidance on tackling bullying and harassment of school staff has been published; updated guidance on the cost of school uniforms has been published and new Regional RISE plans have been released.

KCSIE 2026 published
On Tuesday the DfE published the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 which will take effect on 1 September. Key additions include:

• The requirement for boards to review filtering and monitoring systems annually.
• Guidance for schools supporting children questioning their gender with greater clarification on rules relating to toilets, changing rooms and school sport.
• Robust cover arrangements for when the Designated Safeguarding Lead is unavailable, such as using a confidential shared email inbox.

Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school
The DfE has confirmed that it will revise the statutory guidance Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school to reflect the points raised in the recent consultation. Further work will take place to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of education settings and of healthcare professionals before publishing the updated guidance.

The DfE has published new statutory guidance on allergy safety in schools. From September governing bodies must ensure that their school has an allergy policy, supports pupils with allergies through appropriate healthcare plans, and holds spare adrenaline auto-injectors for emergencies. All staff should also undergo dedicated allergy awareness training.

Preventing and tackling bullying and harassment of school staff
New non statutory guidance on how to prevent and tackle intimidation, harassment and bullying of school staff has been published by the DfE. The guidance outlines the government’s expectations of schools and provides clarity for employers on:

• their legal duties to prevent and address bullying and harassment
• the actions they should take to ensure all staff are supported, respected and protected in line with the school’s behaviour policy; staff behaviour policy or code of conduct; parental code of conduct, or any similar shared agreement between the school and parents or carers

As well as a list of resources that provide useful tools or further information on specific issues.

Updated Cost of school uniforms guidance
The DfE has published updated guidance on the cost of school uniforms. From September all schools must limit the number of compulsory branded items of uniform and PE kit to three or fewer; secondary and middle schools are allowed a tie as a fourth.

New Regional RISE plans unveiled
The regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) programme is set to deliver nine regional plans which explain how support will be delivered locally to improve outcomes.
The plans will focus on regional challenges for schools and trusts and are in addition to the
four national RISE priorities, which include:

• raising attainment
• developing an inclusive mainstream
• support for reception
• improving attendance

You can access the North East’s plan using this link.