What changed in the EYFS from September 2026.

The short version

The changes that landed in September 2026 are mostly about child safety in everyday routines — sleep, food and drink — and about being able to evidence that the adults around children are suitable. Very little of it is new thinking. Most settings are already doing the practice; what tends to be missing is the written record that shows it.

Safer sleeping

• Sleep routines should follow current safer sleep advice, including how babies are placed down and how sleeping children are monitored.
• Sleep checks should be recorded, with the time and the person who carried them out.
• Staff should know what to do if a parent asks for something that conflicts with safer sleep guidance, and that conversation should be written down.
• Sleep equipment should be checked and clean, and the space free of anything that could obstruct breathing.

Safer eating and weaning

• Children should be supervised by an adult who is within sight and hearing while eating.
• Food should be prepared in line with choking-risk advice for the child's age and stage.
• Allergy and dietary information should be current, visible to the staff serving food, and checked when a child's needs change.
• Staff should know the response to a choking incident, and that knowledge should be refreshed rather than assumed.

Suitability, volunteers and allegations

• Checks for volunteers and anyone in regular contact with children should be recorded in the same way as for employed staff.
• Staff suitability and vetting records should be complete, organised and easy to produce, including DBS checks, references, qualifications and right-to-work evidence.
• Ongoing suitability matters as much as recruitment: staff should know they must tell you about anything that affects it.
• You should be able to explain your process for handling an allegation against an adult, including who you would contact and when.

Screens and quality of experience

There is more emphasis on how screens are used with young children, and on the quality of adult interaction generally. If you use screens at all, be able to say why, for how long, and what the child gets from it. Inspectors are far more interested in your reasoning than in a blanket rule.

What to do this month

1. Read your sleep, food and safeguarding policies against the current framework and update the wording where it has drifted.
2. Pull three children's records at random and see whether the paperwork actually reflects what you do.
3. Check staff suitability and vetting records are complete, including records for volunteers and students where applicable.
4. Run a short team meeting on safer sleep, choking response and reporting concerns, and record who attended.
5. Write down one thing you are improving, with a date. Being able to show honest self-evaluation is worth more than a perfect file.

Want a hand with this?

If you would like a second pair of eyes on your policies, records and staff files before your next inspection, we can go through them with you. Our Early Years Essentials range also covers the day-to-day records most settings are asked for.

Important: This article is general information only. It is not produced, endorsed or approved by Ofsted or the Department for Education, and it does not replace professional or legal advice. Settings remain responsible for ensuring their own policies, procedures and practice meet current statutory requirements. Always check the latest published framework and guidance.