New Child Sexual Abuse mandatory reporting duty and guidance
New mandatory reporting duty
A new mandatory reporting duty for suspected child sexual offences has been introduced through the Crime and Policing Act 2026. While the legislation is in place, the duty is not expected to come into force before 29 April 2027, giving organisations and practitioners time to prepare.
This is a significant development for safeguarding practice. Over the coming months, Devon SCP will work with partners across Devon to raise awareness, share guidance, and support the workforce to understand the new requirements. The duty will apply to adults carrying out certain safeguarding-related roles and activities in England and will require reports to be made where specific criteria are met.
You can find more information and advice on the NSPCC website.
You can also find free on-demand webinars around mandatory reporting on NSPCC’s learning portal below. These are also available on our online learning page.
- Mandatory reporting: All sectors
- Mandatory reporting: Schools and colleges
- Mandatory reporting: Sport and physical activity
- Mandatory reporting: Voluntary and community sector (VCS)
Guidance on information sharing
When responding to concerns about Child Sexual Abuse, professionals collect a lot of information about the children and families they work with, the nature of their abuse, and those who may have abused them.
It is therefore important that professionals receive proper guidance so that they can share this information effectively to support early identification, protect children from abuse, and support them in their recovery and wellbeing. So, to help explain who holds what information and how to make sure the right information is shared in a timely and proportionate way, The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse have developed sharing information to tackle child sexual abuse – an online resource for professionals.
The guide is designed for all professionals working with children in England and Wales – whether in statutory agencies or voluntary sector and community organisations – to learn how to use and share the information they hold with other professionals to ensure an effective multi-agency response. Legislation makes clear that secure information sharing is a legal and moral duty for all professionals involved in children’s welfare.