Working Together to Safeguard Children

The multi-agency statutory framework for safeguarding children in England. The 2026 edition came into force on 18 March 2026, replacing the 2023 version. It places education providers explicitly within the local safeguarding architecture, not on its edges.

Official Documents

• 01Working Together 2026 is fully live from 18 March 2026. It replaces the 2023 edition and applies to all education providers and childcare settings in England.
• 02Statutory safeguarding partners must ensure schools, colleges, early years and childcare settings are fully engaged in local safeguarding arrangements — at both operational and strategic levels.
• 03The guidance now explicitly applies to children in kinship care, children who are adopted, looked-after children, and introduces consideration of unborn children where there are concerns.
• 04Chapter 3 introduces Family Help — combining targeted early help and section 17 support into a more seamless offer with a multi-disciplinary family help plan.
• 05The guidance strengthens expectations around inclusive, anti-discriminatory cultures with an explicit requirement to challenge racism and discrimination.
• 06Harm is framed more broadly to include coercive control, online harms, group-based exploitation, teenage relationship abuse, infant abuse, and honour-, faith- or belief-based abuse.
• 07Local safeguarding partners must publish arrangements and yearly reports showing how education settings are engaged and how they can escalate concerns.
• 08Settings should prepare for external scrutiny through safeguarding audits of quality and compliance.
• 09Rapid reviews must be completed within 15 working days of a serious incident notification. Local child safeguarding practice reviews must be completed within 6 months.
• 10Working Together is no longer something schools "have regard to" from a distance — education is expected to be a visible, contributing partner in the local safeguarding architecture.