Police to notify schools in England and Wales, 7 Nov
From 7 November 2025, police in England and Wales must have arrangements to tell a child’s school, college or other educational setting if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe the child may be a victim of domestic abuse. This new legal duty is created by section 49A of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, brought into force by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 8) Regulations, made on 5 November 2025 and published on legislation.gov.uk.
If you lead safeguarding in a school, this means you should expect timely notifications from your local force “as soon as is reasonably practicable”. Many areas already share information; the duty now applies to all forces across England and Wales. The Regulations also allow for specific exceptions to be set later in secondary legislation.
To be ready, we suggest simple checks now. Update your safeguarding policy so it explains how police notifications are received, recorded and acted on. Confirm who picks up notifications before school, after hours and during holidays. Make sure contact details with your local police are up to date and that senior staff understand that a safeguarding disclosure may arrive at short notice.
When a notification arrives, keep actions calm and proportionate. Record it securely, review attendance and welfare plans for the named child, and share the information only with colleagues who need it to keep the child safe. Contact parents or carers only where it is safe and appropriate. Keep a brief, factual note of decisions and outcomes.
Privacy still matters. The law requires the police to notify educational establishments, not to share details more widely. Treat notifications as highly confidential, restrict access on a need‑to‑know basis, and align handling with your data protection policy. The Home Office may set further exceptions in regulations, so build in space to update procedures.
Further changes come on 12 January 2026. Sections 28–30 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will commence, creating duties in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 for how the police and other authorised persons request information about victims from third parties. The Secretary of State must also prepare a statutory code of practice to guide those requests.
For schools, colleges and counselling services, this January shift matters when external agencies ask for counselling notes or other sensitive records. Requests will need to follow the new framework, and the duties also apply to the service police. Expect clearer rules on necessity, proportionality and record‑keeping once the code is issued.
The Act also requires the Secretary of State to produce a report reviewing how these counselling information request powers operate over a set period. That report should help test whether practice protects victims while allowing proportionate information sharing.
For planning, fix these dates now: the Regulations were made on 5 November 2025; the school‑notification duty takes effect on 7 November 2025; the victim‑information request provisions start on 12 January 2026. This is the eighth set of commencement regulations under the 2024 Act and is signed by Home Office minister Jess Phillips.
The Explanatory Note says no significant impact is expected on the private, voluntary or public sector. Even so, most schools will make small adjustments-clear points of contact, secure recording, and time in staff briefings. The aim is simple and humane: when harm happens at home, school finds out quickly enough to keep a child safe that day.