Allegations against staff: the record

The rule: what counts as an allegation, and who oversees it

Part four of Keeping children safe in education 2026 (KCSIE 2026) deals with safeguarding concerns and allegations about people working in or on behalf of schools and colleges in England, paid or unpaid. Its first section covers allegations that may meet the harm threshold. It applies where it is alleged that anyone working in the school or college, "including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors", has:

• "behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child",
• "possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child",
• "behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she may pose a risk of harm to children", or
• "behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children".

The last limb includes behaviour outside school that might make someone unsuitable to work with children – conduct in a person's personal life that raises safeguarding concerns – which KCSIE calls transferable risk (paragraph 438). Every school and college should have "their own procedures for dealing with safeguarding concerns or allegations" against staff and volunteers (paragraph 434), consistent with the procedures of the local safeguarding children partnership (paragraph 436). Concerns that fall below the threshold are low-level concerns, handled under Part four's second section and a separate policy; our low-level concerns guide covers that record.

Oversight sits outside the school. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 requires local authorities to designate an officer, or team of officers, "to be responsible for the management and oversight of allegations against adults working with children in a paid or voluntary capacity", a role "commonly referred to as the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)" (paragraph 262). It adds that the LADO "should also be informed within one working day of all allegations that come to an employer's attention or that are made directly to the police" (paragraph 264). The same framework covers all people who work with children, in charities, sport, early years and care as well as schools, so an allegation against a youth club volunteer follows the same local route. KCSIE is clear about the division of labour: "The role of the LADO is not to investigate the allegation, but to ensure that an appropriate investigation is carried out" (paragraph 451).

Who it covers, and where an allegation goes

Part four covers everyone working in or on behalf of the school or college: employed staff, supply teachers, trainee teachers, volunteers and contractors. It also reaches governors, where the school follows its own procedures and, if an allegation is substantiated, considers removal from office, and organisations using the school premises to run activities for children, where the school informs the LADO as with any allegation.

Paragraph 78 in Part one sets the route every member of staff needs to know, and the staff behaviour policy should set it out:

• an allegation about a member of staff goes to the headteacher or principal, who considers whether an onward referral to the LADO is required,
• an allegation about the headteacher goes to the chair of governors, the chair of the management committee or the proprietor of an independent school, and
• where the headteacher is also the sole proprietor, or there is a conflict of interest, it goes directly to the LADO.

The person who then leads is the case manager: the headteacher or principal, or where the headteacher is the subject, the chair of governors or management committee, or in an independent school the proprietor (paragraph 440). The designated safeguarding lead has a separate job running alongside: making sure the child is not at risk and referring to children's social care where needed (paragraph 442).

Early years. Registered early years providers have an extra duty. The EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers from September 2026 requires them to inform Ofsted, or their childminder agency, "of any allegations of harm or abuse by anyone living, working, or looking after children at the premises", and of the action taken, "as soon as is reasonably practicable, but in any event within 14 days" (paragraph 3.10). Failing to do so without reasonable excuse is an offence. That notification, and its date, belongs on the allegation file.

Supply staff are a common gap. KCSIE says the school remains responsible for gathering the facts and managing the safeguarding process while working with the agency, which usually leads on any disciplinary action, and that "in no circumstances" should a school stop using a supply teacher over a safeguarding concern "without finding out the facts and liaising with the LADO" (paragraphs 455 and 456). The same expectations apply to trainee teachers, with the training provider in the agency's place.

What to record at each stage

An allegation file is built in stages, and a gap at any one of them shows. Each entry should be dated, say who wrote it, and separate what was reported from what was found and what was decided.

1. The report. Who raised it, when, how and to whom; the words used, as close to verbatim as possible; the child or children involved; and the time it reached the headteacher or case manager.
2. Immediate safety. Whether a child had been harmed or was at immediate risk, and if so the call to children's social care or the police and its time (paragraph 441). The designated safeguarding lead's actions for the child belong in the child's own file as well.
3. Basic enquiries. KCSIE expects schools to establish basic facts before contacting the LADO, "being careful not to jeopardise any future police investigation" – for example whether the individual was in school at the time, whether they could have come into contact with the child, whether there were witnesses and whether there is any CCTV footage (paragraph 444). Record what was checked and what was deliberately not done.
4. The LADO contact. The date and time, who spoke to whom, the information given and the advice received, including on when and how to tell the individual (paragraph 446).
5. No further action, if that is the decision. The case manager and the LADO should "record the decision and justification for it" and agree what is put in writing to the individual and by whom (paragraph 450).
6. Suspension or its alternatives. Suspension "should not be an automatic response". If it is considered necessary, the case manager "should record the rationale and justification", including the alternatives considered and why they were rejected (paragraph 467), and give written confirmation "within one working day" (paragraph 468).
7. Support and communication. The employer's duty of care to the accused member of staff: informing them "as soon as possible", advising them to contact a trade union representative or colleague, and appointing "a named representative to keep the person informed about the progress of the case" (paragraph 471). The child's parents should be formally told about the allegation as soon as possible and "kept informed about the progress of the case, only in relation to their child" (paragraph 472). Record who else was told what, with the advice agreed on managing speculation, leaks and gossip (paragraph 481).
8. Reviews. The first review should take place "no later than four weeks after the initial assessment" where possible, with later reviews "ideally at fortnightly (and no longer than monthly) intervals" (paragraphs 453 and 454). Each review is an entry.
9. The outcome and referrals. The outcome, using KCSIE's definitions (section 04), and any referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service or consideration of a referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency, with the reasoning.

Confidentiality runs through all of it. The school "must make every effort to maintain confidentiality and guard against unwanted publicity while an allegation is being investigated or considered" (paragraph 476). Information "should not ordinarily be shared with other staff or with children or parents who are not directly involved in the investigation" (paragraph 470), and reporting restrictions under the Education Act 2002 prevent publication of material that may identify a teacher accused by a pupil at the same school, until they are charged with a relevant offence or the Secretary of State publishes information about an investigation or decision (paragraphs 476 to 479). The record should show that the school told parents about those restrictions where it needed to.

The outcome, what stays on file, and for how long

KCSIE 2026 sets five outcome definitions (paragraph 482), and the record should use them exactly, because each has a different consequence for the file and for references:

• Substantiated: "there is sufficient evidence to prove the allegation".
• Malicious: "there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation and there has been a deliberate act to deceive or cause harm to the person subject of the allegation".
• False: "there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation".
• Unsubstantiated: "there is insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation", which "does not imply guilt or innocence".
• Unfounded: "no evidence or proper basis which supports the allegation being made".

Paragraph 498 then divides the file. Details of allegations found to be malicious or false "should be removed from personnel records unless the individual gives their consent for retention of the information". For substantiated, unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations, the following should be kept on the file of the person accused:

• a clear and comprehensive summary of the allegation,
• details of how the allegation was followed up and resolved,
• a note of any action taken, decisions reached and the outcome,
• a copy provided to the person concerned, where agreed by local authority children's social care or the police, and
• a declaration on whether the information will be referred to in any future reference.

KCSIE gives the purpose in paragraph 499: to allow accurate information in any future reference, to provide clarification where a later DBS check discloses police information about an allegation that did not lead to a conviction, and to "help to prevent unnecessary re-investigation if, as sometimes happens, an allegation re-surfaces after a period of time". Retention follows from that: records should be kept "at least until the accused has reached normal pension age or for a period of 10 years from the date of the allegation if that is longer" (paragraph 500). The Department for Education's record-keeping guidance for schools sets the same period for allegations, "including unfounded allegations".

Two practical points follow. The record is a personnel record, held securely and separately from the child's child protection file, which holds its own account of the welfare response. And access should be limited to the people who need it: the headteacher, HR and the designated safeguarding lead, not the wider leadership team by default.

References, leavers and lessons learned

References. Allegations found to be false, unfounded, unsubstantiated or malicious "should not be included in employer references", and neither should repeated concerns that have all been found so. A false allegation therefore does not reach the person's next employer in a reference from the school. "Substantiated safeguarding allegations that meet the harm threshold should be included in references, provided that the information is factual and does not include opinions" (paragraph 502). The declaration kept on file under paragraph 498 is what makes that decision consistent when the reference request arrives years later and the case manager has moved on.

When the person leaves. Schools "should not cease their investigations if the person leaves, resigns or ceases to provide their services" (paragraph 493). The process of recording the allegation and reaching a judgement should continue even if the person does not cooperate, because "it is important to reach and record an outcome wherever possible" (paragraph 494). Settlement agreements should not be used where an allegation indicates a risk of harm to children, and none should stop the employer referring to the DBS, giving a reference or considering a referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency (paragraphs 492 to 497).

The referral duties. There is a legal requirement to refer to the DBS where the school removes someone from regulated activity, or would have done had they not left, and believes they have engaged in relevant conduct, satisfied the harm test or been cautioned or convicted of a relevant offence (paragraph 428). For teachers, employers must consider a referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency where they dismiss or cease to use a teacher for serious misconduct (paragraph 432). The decision and its reasoning belong on the file whether or not a referral is made.

Lessons learned. At the end of a substantiated case the LADO and the case manager review whether the school's procedures should change, including any use of suspension (paragraph 503); for other outcomes the case manager should consider whether lessons can be learned (paragraph 504). Record the review and what changed. Non-recent allegations are handled differently: an adult reporting abuse as a child is advised to go to the police, and a non-recent allegation made by a child is reported to the LADO (paragraph 505).

Where the allegation first arrived

Part four assumes a report arrives at the headteacher's door. In practice the first sign is often a message. A parent texts the class teacher whose number they have: "can I speak to you about something Mr X said to my daughter?" A teaching assistant messages the deputy head on a Sunday evening: "I'm not sure if this is anything, but…" The head replies from home, "leave it with me, I'll speak to him first thing", and has in that sentence made a decision the file should record. By Monday lunchtime there is speculation in a staff group chat that the case manager will later be asked to manage.

Each of those messages is part of the allegation record. The words first used, the time the school first knew and the first decision are exactly what a LADO, a tribunal or a future reviewer will ask about, and what paragraph 498's "clear and comprehensive summary" has to be built from. When they sit on personal phones, the school's record starts at the point someone typed it up. If the account later changes, or the member of staff who received the text leaves, the school cannot show what was actually said.

The answer is not to discourage people from raising something the way that comes naturally to them. It is to give work conversations somewhere to happen that the school controls. ComplyChat provides a channel for them, with everyone added told it is on the record, and a mobile number verified by SMS is an identity on it, so a parent or a volunteer without a school account can be in the conversation. Messages are recorded on the server as they are sent, and on paid plans, once the school's Microsoft 365 tenant is connected, the lasting record files there under the school's own retention rules. ComplyChat is not an HR or case-management system and does not replace the allegations file; it is where the first words can be kept. ComplyChat Free is personal messaging with one private group, direct messages and three calendar months of recent history, with no Microsoft 365 archive, so it is not somewhere to keep a record for the retention period above.

A question for the next leadership or governors' meeting: for the last allegation the school handled, could we produce the first message in which it was raised, and the first reply – and if not, where are they?

Official guidance and your next step

The primary source is Keeping children safe in education 2026, Part four, section one (paragraphs 434 to 505), with paragraphs 77 to 79 in Part one on reporting and paragraphs 427 to 433 on the DBS and Teaching Regulation Agency referral duties. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 sets out the local authority's role at paragraphs 261 to 266. Your local authority publishes its own allegations procedure and LADO contact details, and the information it expects on referral. KCSIE also points to the ICO's guidance on employment records; data protection law has been amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, whose data protection provisions are now all in force, so check that any ICO page you read reflects the amended law. Quotations here are from the 2026 editions as published.

This guide is a practical summary for schools and colleges in England, not legal or employment advice about an individual case. Take advice from your LADO, your HR provider and, where needed, a solicitor.

Then do one thing: open the allegations records for the last three years and check each against the list in paragraph 498. For every file, is there a summary, the follow-up, the outcome in KCSIE's terms and a declaration about references – and have the malicious and false ones been removed?