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Department for Education confirms planned changes to early years safeguarding requirements

On
Oct 17, 2024

by Jess Gibson

The Department for Education has today published its response to the recent consultation on safeguarding in the early years. 

The response confirmed several鈥痵afeguarding changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework, which will come into effect on 1 September 2025. 

These changes are being implemented to 鈥渟trengthen the EYFS safeguarding requirements and make them more comprehensive for early years providers" and 鈥渆nsure that all children are kept as safe as possible in early years settings鈥.  

The main changes include: 

  • amendments to promote safer recruitment, such as: new expectations to provide references; requirements to obtain references; and a requirement for safeguarding policies to include procedures to help ensure that only suitable individuals are recruited.  

  • new requirements for providers to follow up if a child is absent for a prolonged period of time and amendments to ensure providers hold additional emergency contact details.  

  • new requirements to ensure safer eating.  

  • creation of a safeguarding training criteria annex and a requirement for safeguarding policies to include details of how safeguarding training is delivered, including how practitioners are supported to put it into place.  

  • amendments to ensure that early years students and trainees are required to have paediatric first aid (PFA) training for them to be included in ratios at the level below their level of study.  

  • new requirements to support whistleblowing.  

  • amendments to ensure that children鈥檚 privacy during nappy changing and toileting is considered and balanced with safeguarding considerations.  

  • a small number of other minor changes to the structure and wording of the safeguarding requirements to improve clarity. 

The consultation was open for 8 weeks between 22 April and 17 June 2024. Views were sought from a range of people and organisations to help the government reach decisions about the EYFS safeguarding reforms. 

More information can be found .