1. Statutory and official guidance

- EYFS statutory framework, including the group and school-based version and the childminder version.

- EYFS changes from September 2025

- EYFS nutrition guidance, which providers must have regard to from September 2025.

- Health and well-being guidance for early years providers Includes safer sleep, oral health, mental health, internet safety, nutrition and food safety

- Early Years Inspection Toolkit, Operating Guide and Information for Providers, including the versions taking effect from September 2026.

- Ofsted’s June 2026 summary of changes, which is much easier to use than comparing the old and new toolkits.

Ofsted notifications, incidents and complaints

Report a serious childcare incident

Significant events to notify Ofsted about

Reporting children’s accidents and injuries

Complain about childcare Useful for explaining the formal route available to families.

Early years and childcare: Ofsted enforcement policy

- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, together with the government summary of changes.

- What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused Practical government guidance on recognising abuse and neglect and what action practitioners should take.

- Information Sharing: Advice for Practitioners, including the seven golden rules.

- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, applying from 1 September 2026 to schools and colleges, including school-based early years provision, rather than private and voluntary settings.

- SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 Years.

- Prevent Duty Guidance.

- Education for a Connected World and the government’s early years online-safety guidance.

New legislation being implemented

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 Major legislation covering children’s safeguarding, welfare, social care and education. Some provisions are already in force, while others are being introduced in stages.

Children’s social care implementation plan 2026–2029 Explains how relevant reforms arising from the Act will be rolled out.

2. Trusted specialist guidance

These are not legislation, but they translate responsibilities into usable practice.

Information sharing and data protection

- The Information Commissioner’s Office has particularly clear safeguarding information-sharing guidance, including its ten-step guide and FAQs explaining that data protection does not prevent necessary safeguarding information from being shared.

Cybersecurity

- The National Cyber Security Centre has guidance written specifically for early years settings on protecting sensitive information, accounts and devices.

Safeguarding and child protection

NSPCC Learning provides early years-specific safeguarding guidance and useful summaries of changes to documents such as the EYFS and Working Together.

Safer sleep

The Lullaby Trust provides specialist safer-sleep guidance designed for nurseries, childminders, nannies and other early years providers.

Food safety and allergies

Food Standards Agency provides free food allergy and intolerance training.

Health, safety and appropriate risk

The Health and Safety Executive is helpful for health and safety management and for maintaining a balanced approach to risk and challenging play, rather than removing all risk from children’s experiences.

3. Local safeguarding information

We would also remind settings to link from their own policies to:

their local safeguarding children partnership;

local threshold and referral documents;

the local authority designated officer arrangements;

local early help procedures;

local emergency and out-of-hours contacts.