The Information Sharing Duty 2026 comes into force on 30 September 2026 and is designed to improve the continuity of safeguarding information between organisations and practitioners working with children and families in England.
The Department for Education updated its statutory information sharing guidance on 10 September 2026 to reflect the new duty under section 16LA of the Children Act 2004. The guidance is accompanied by strategic and operational data-sharing agreement templates.
For Supported Accommodation and Residential Children’s Homes, the change is highly relevant even where the precise legal duty depends on the organisation, function and arrangement involved. Providers work within multi-agency safeguarding systems, so records need to be accurate, current, secure and usable when information must be shared with the right people.
What is the Information Sharing Duty 2026?
Short answer: section 16LA of the Children Act 2004 creates a statutory duty for specified persons and organisations to share information in defined safeguarding and welfare circumstances where the statutory test is met. The aim is to reduce avoidable gaps in information that can prevent professionals from seeing the full picture around a child.
The duty was inserted by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. The Department for Education’s guidance explains how the duty should be interpreted and applied in practice.
When does the new information sharing duty start?
The new duty comes into force on 30 September 2026. The statutory guidance was updated on 10 September 2026.
That timing matters because organisations should not wait for the first urgent safeguarding situation to review their processes. Data-sharing agreements, escalation routes, permissions and staff guidance should be clear in advance.
Who does the Information Sharing Duty apply to?
The legal duty applies to the persons and organisations specified in section 16LA. The DfE guidance is aimed at a wider safeguarding audience, including frontline practitioners, managers, senior leaders and organisations delivering services arranged by relevant agencies.
Supported Accommodation and Children’s Home providers should avoid assuming that every employee or every provider entity is directly captured in exactly the same way. Instead, managers should:
- check whether the duty applies directly to their organisation or role;
- understand the information-sharing responsibilities created by placement, commissioning and safeguarding arrangements;
- follow the DfE statutory guidance and relevant local multi-agency procedures;
- seek legal or specialist data-protection advice where applicability is unclear.
The operational lesson is broader: safeguarding information should not become trapped in organisational silos.
What changes in practice?
The duty is intended to create more consistent information-sharing practice. In practical terms, organisations need processes that help practitioners decide:
- what information is relevant;
- who needs it;
- why sharing may facilitate safeguarding or welfare functions;
- what should be recorded about the decision;
- how the information will be transferred securely;
- what follow-up is required.
A strong process does not simply encourage “more sharing”. It supports appropriate, purposeful and accountable sharing.
Do you always need consent to share safeguarding information?
No. One persistent myth is that consent is always required before safeguarding information can be shared. The Information Commissioner’s Office explains that data protection law can allow information to be shared for safeguarding purposes without relying on consent as the lawful basis.
The ICO’s safeguarding data-sharing FAQs make clear that organisations still need an appropriate lawful basis and must consider data-protection requirements. Consent should not be confused with safeguarding practice or other procedural requirements.
Providers should make sure staff understand this distinction. Unnecessary hesitation can delay action, while indiscriminate sharing can create privacy and governance risks.
What should good safeguarding records contain?
Information sharing depends on information quality. If the underlying record is vague, outdated or incomplete, the receiving professional may still be missing crucial context.
A strong safeguarding record should make it clear:
- what the concern is;
- when it was identified;
- who recorded it;
- what facts are known and what remains unverified;
- what action was taken;
- who was informed;
- what information was shared;
- why the information was shared or withheld;
- what follow-up is outstanding;
- what the outcome was.
This is closely connected to supported accommodation record keeping requirements and to good incident-management practice.
How should safeguarding information be shared securely?
The ICO states that organisations should use appropriate technical and organisational measures when sharing personal information. Children’s data requires particular care because poor sharing practices can expose young people to additional risk.
The ICO’s 10-step guide to sharing information to safeguard children is a useful companion resource. It covers the data-protection considerations that should sit alongside safeguarding judgement.
Key operational controls include:
- verifying the recipient;
- sharing only information that is relevant to the purpose;
- using an appropriate secure transfer method;
- recording the basis and purpose for the disclosure;
- ensuring access is limited to authorised users;
- maintaining an audit trail.
What should Supported Accommodation and Children’s Home providers do now?
Before 30 September, providers should review their information-sharing workflow rather than simply updating a policy document.
- Map your safeguarding information flow. Identify where concerns are first recorded and where they go next.
- Check escalation routes. Staff should know who to contact internally and externally.
- Review data-sharing agreements. Compare local arrangements with the new DfE templates where relevant.
- Review permissions. Make sure staff can access the information they genuinely need, without giving unnecessary access.
- Test retrieval. Can the manager quickly see previous concerns, actions and communications?
- Train staff on judgement. Technology cannot replace professional decisions about relevance, safeguarding and lawful sharing.
- Record decisions. The reason for sharing, or not sharing, should be clear where appropriate.
How can digital systems support better information sharing?
Digital systems cannot make safeguarding decisions, but they can reduce the friction around finding and understanding information.
A well-structured system can help by:
- keeping safeguarding records linked to the correct child;
- showing authorship and timestamps;
- creating a chronology of concerns and actions;
- using role-based access controls;
- reducing duplicate notes across email, spreadsheets and local folders;
- making outstanding actions visible;
- helping managers review patterns over time.
This matters because the wider children’s social care sector still relies heavily on manual information flows. The Department for Education’s 2026 digital maturity research found that 71% of surveyed local authorities used email attachments to receive safeguarding data from external partners, while only 25% used automated or API-based methods. Read our Digital Maturity in Children’s Social Care 2026 guide for the wider findings.
CareSync supports Supported Accommodation and Residential Children’s Homes with connected digital records, safeguarding information, incidents, forms and management oversight.
Related CareSync guides
- Ofsted Serious Incident Notifications: 2026 Guide
- Supported Accommodation Record Keeping: 2026 Essential Guide
- Digital Maturity in Children’s Social Care: 2026 Guide
- Children’s Home Records: Regulations 36, 37 and 38 Explained
Frequently asked questions
When does the Information Sharing Duty 2026 come into force?
It comes into force on 30 September 2026. The Department for Education updated its statutory guidance on 10 September 2026.
Does safeguarding information always require consent before it is shared?
No. Consent is not always the appropriate lawful basis for safeguarding information sharing. Organisations should identify the correct lawful basis and follow relevant safeguarding and data-protection guidance.
Does the new duty apply to every Supported Accommodation provider?
The direct legal application depends on the persons, organisations and functions specified in section 16LA and the relevant service arrangements. Providers should check their position rather than assume universal direct application. The DfE guidance is nevertheless highly relevant to organisations operating within safeguarding systems.
What should be recorded when safeguarding information is shared?
Good practice is to record what was shared, with whom, when, for what purpose, the basis for the decision and any follow-up action required.
Can digital systems replace professional safeguarding judgement?
No. Digital systems can improve access, chronology, consistency and audit trails, but safeguarding and information-sharing decisions require human professional judgement.
This article provides general operational information and is not legal or data-protection advice. Check the current DfE statutory guidance, legislation, ICO guidance and local safeguarding arrangements.