EYFS 2025 - Safeguarding & Welfare Requirements

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has been updated for September 2025.

The EYFS (DfE, 2025) is the statutory framework for all early years providers in England including nurseries, pre-schools and childminders.

There are 2 version of the EYFS – one for childminders and one for group providers.

The EYFS is separated into 3 sections:

• 1 – The learning and development requirements.
• 2 – The assessment requirements including information about the progress check at 2.
• 3 – The safeguarding and welfare requirements.

You will notice when you look at the revised statutory framework that DfE have not removed any information. The learning and development and assessment requirements remain the same.

However, the following sections have been added to the safeguarding and welfare requirements:

• New Safeguarding Policy requirements:
  • Procedures to follow to check the suitability of new recruits.
  • Detail of how safeguarding training is delivered and how practitioners are supported to put this into practice. From September 2025, all childminders must complete safeguarding training in line with the requirements in Annex C. The lead practitioner is the childminder. The childminder is responsible for ensuring the Safeguarding Policy is up to date and sets out what to do if there is a concern about a child (contact the Local Safeguarding Partners) or adults in the setting (contact the Local Authority Designated officer (LADO).
• Whistleblowing – including the requirement to write a Whistleblowing Policy. A written whistleblowing procedure provides you with information about what to do if you want to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice. Everyone working in the setting needs to know how to follow the procedures.
• Child absences – including the requirement to write an Attendance Policy. A written policy must be shared with parents / carers and include expectations for reporting child absences, including if children are absent without notification or for a prolonged period of time. Settings should consider patterns and trends in a child’s absence when deciding whether an absence is prolonged. Absences must be followed up in a timely manner and any concerns must be referred to local children’s social care services. Settings may also request a police welfare check.


• Suitable people – including the requirement to have a Safer Recruitment Policy if you have staff. Procedures will allow you to check assistants are suitable to work with children and the EYFS states that, for childminders, new recruits must not be in ratio or unsupervised until they have received their Ofsted suitability letter. A referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) must be made if a person looking after the children leaves or is dismissed because they have harmed a child or put a child at risk of harm.


• References – the requirement to request a reference before a new staff member starts working in the setting. References must come from the applicant’s current employer, training provider or education setting and must be written by a senior person with appropriate authority.


• Harm test – there is information in a footnote about the ‘harm test.’ If someone is disqualified from working with children, they must not continue working in the setting. If there are concerns, the LADO will be able to provide advice and Ofsted must be informed.


• Safeguarding training – the requirements for training are extensive and linked to Annex C. Safeguarding training must be repeated every 2 years and might be refreshed annually.


• Staff-child ratios – this section of the EYFS has been updated to state that children must be in sight and hearing when eating. At other times, the requirements are that children must be ‘in sight or hearing’.


• Food and drink – a new link has been added to the DfE Nutrition statutory guidance (April 2025) - This replaces the previous menu guidance which DfE state no longer aligns with their latest advice on healthy eating. The DfE Help for early years providers website has also been updated with ‘Safer Eating’ guidance.


• Safer eating – a new section that has been added to include information about:
  • Supervision when eating.
  • Requesting information from parents.
  • Staff awareness of allergies and anaphylaxis (symptoms and treatments).
  • Weaning and food preparation.
  • Minimising choking risks and record keeping if there is a choking incident that requires intervention.
  • Sitting with children when eating to reduce the risk of choking, monitor allergic reactions and prevent food sharing.


• Toileting and intimate hygiene – nappy and toileting times must be planned to balance privacy with safeguarding. Providers must be able to provide privacy while still keeping an eye on the other children in the setting – this might mean, for example, using their body as a screen.


• Information about the child – where possible, the EYFS states that settings should hold more than two emergency contact numbers for each child.

Childcare.co.uk has a comprehensive series of support materials available to all providers including:

• Updated safeguarding policies including:
  • Safer Recruitment.
  • How safeguarding is delivered and how staff are supported.
  • Whistleblowing.
  • Attendance.
  • Toileting and intimate hygiene.
  View Safeguarding Policies


• Safeguarding training webinars and additional webinars focusing on different areas of provision including whistleblowing and safer recruitment – search EYFS 2025.


• Revised record form to note children’s emergency contact details


• Safer Eating Changes blog


• Updated Health and Safety Toolkits


• Food and Drink guidance


• A comprehensive Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements audit


• Updated staff / assistant information including safer recruitment guidance


• Updated staff / assistant training modules