Early years provision in schools: what the EYFS adds for the designated safeguarding lead

What the framework says

The early years foundation stage statutory framework applies to a school's nursery and reception classes as it does to a nursery. On safeguarding it says: “In every setting, a practitioner must be designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children. The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is responsible for liaison with local statutory children's services agencies, and with the Local Safeguarding Partners. Every person looking after children must be alert to any issues of concern in the child's life at home or elsewhere” (paragraph 3.4).

A school does not need a second policy. “Schools are not required to have separate policies to cover EYFS requirements provided the requirements are already met through an existing policy” (paragraph 3.5). The child protection policy a school already reviews each year can carry the early years requirements, if it says what the framework asks for.

What the policy must cover for the youngest children

The framework lists what a safeguarding policy must include. Two items matter most where children are too young to say what has happened: “The action to be taken when there are safeguarding concerns about a child” and “The action to be taken in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff” (paragraph 3.6). Working Together to Safeguard Children asks each local authority to designate an officer to oversee such allegations, commonly called the local authority designated officer. The policy should name where that officer's referral route is published.

Why the local context matters more, not less

Working Together says that “Early years provision within schools and maintained nurseries are relevant agencies and help to safeguard some of the most vulnerable children” (paragraph 72). For children under five, the harm children's services record is mostly at home. Across England at 31 March 2025, 17 per cent of children in need were under five, and for 72 per cent of them the primary need recorded was abuse or neglect (Department for Education, Children in need). Staff in a nursery class see a child most days; they may be the only adults outside the family who do.

What an inspector may look at

Ofsted's school inspection toolkit says the early years evaluation area considers whether a school offers “a high-quality early education for children, especially disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing”. It asks whether leaders “have an accurate understanding of the provision's context, strengths and areas for development”.

The public figures that describe that context are published for the local authority, not for the school: obesity in reception, dental decay at five, hospital admissions for injuries to under-fives, the share of children reaching a good level of development, and how many eligible two-year-olds take up their funded place.

What a DSL can put behind it

• The authority's young children's health and early education figures beside England's, with their dates.
• A sentence in the child protection policy saying it covers the early years requirements, so the nursery has no separate policy.
• Training for staff in the nursery on the signs of abuse and neglect in children who cannot yet talk.
• Where the designated officer's referral route and the local family hubs are published, checked each year.

For a school that takes children aged three or under, a Safeguarding Context report carries these as four early years chapters, beside the chapters on the streets around the school. They describe the authority, never the school or its children. See a sample, or find your school.

In Wales

The early years foundation stage is England's framework. Schools in Wales follow the Curriculum for Wales and Keeping learners safe, and the early years chapters are not written for them.

Quotations are from Department for Education and Ofsted publications, Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.