The Essential Guide to Safeguarding Documentation & Record Keeping (2026)
Learn why accident records must be kept for 21 years and how to use digital body maps to protect your setting.
How long to keep safeguarding records
ℹ️Who this is for
Every childminder. This is reference reading rather than a walkthrough, so there's no video. It takes about five minutes to read.
As your setting's Designated Safeguarding Lead, your records are your best protection if a question is ever raised. In early years, if it isn't written down, it didn't happen.
Recording an existing injury on the body map
Three kinds of record
[!TIP] Related Deep Dive: Explore our comprehensive guide on Is Your Home Ofsted Ready? A Room-by-Room Safety Checklist (2026 EYFS Guidance) for specific compliance checklists, statutory dates, and templates.
[!TIP] Related Deep Dive: Explore our comprehensive guide on Natasha's Law & Food Safety: The Official Guide for Childminders (2026) for specific compliance checklists, statutory dates, and templates.
[!TIP] Related Deep Dive: Explore our comprehensive guide on "He fell off the bed": Why Recording the 'Voice of the Child' is Your Most Important Safeguarding Duty for specific compliance checklists, statutory dates, and templates.
[!TIP] Related Deep Dive: Explore our comprehensive guide on GDPR & Data Security: Is it Safe to Store Child Records on Your Phone? for specific compliance checklists, statutory dates, and templates.
[!TIP] Related Deep Dive: Explore our comprehensive guide on Childminder Sickness Policy & Assistant Cover Guide: Contracts, Fees & 2026 EYFS Rules for specific compliance checklists, statutory dates, and templates.
Accidents in your care. Record every injury that happens while the child is with you. Mark where it is on the body map, and log the first aid you gave and when.
Injuries from home. When a child arrives with an injury, record it at drop-off, before you take over their care. Write down what the child says in their own words, without rewording it, and ask the parent to sign.
Near misses. Record anything where nobody was hurt but a child could have been, such as a child trying to open a gate. It shows you notice risks and act on them.
How long to keep records
These periods are legal requirements. Under the Limitation Act 1980, a child can bring a personal injury claim until three years after they turn 18.
| Record | Keep it for |
|---|---|
| Accidents and incidents | 21 years and 3 months after the child leaves |
| Medication records | 21 years and 3 months after the child leaves |
| Safeguarding concerns | 21 years and 3 months after the child leaves |
| Safety checks and personal plans | 21 years and 3 months after the child leaves |
| Contracts | 6 years (HMRC) |
| Progress reports | 6 years |
KinderStart keeps these records while your account is open. If you delete one, it shows the retention period first. Deleting hides the record rather than destroying it, so you can restore it from Business Settings → Recently Deleted.
⚠️Medication and sleep need extra care
Get a parent's written permission before giving any medicine, and record every dose. For sleeping children, record each sleep check against the child's nap in the Daily Diary.
Showing your records
- At an inspection: open Tools → Compliance Logs to show your records in date order.
- Exports: use Business Settings → Storage & Data to create an Inspector Export, or an archive of a child's records.
✅Why KinderStart does it this way
Paper records get lost and can't show when they were written. Records in KinderStart are timestamped and kept for their full retention period, so you can always show what happened and when.
What to do next
- Adding your policies and risk assessment: your safeguarding policy and risk assessments.
- Setting up your consent forms: the permissions every family is asked for.
Related Deep Dives & Statutory Updates
-
Is Your Home Ofsted Ready? A Room-by-Room Safety Checklist (2026 EYFS Guidance) — Detailed 2026 statutory walkthrough and checklists.
-
Natasha's Law & Food Safety: The Official Guide for Childminders (2026) — Detailed 2026 statutory walkthrough and checklists.
-
"He fell off the bed": Why Recording the 'Voice of the Child' is Your Most Important Safeguarding Duty — Detailed 2026 statutory walkthrough and checklists.
-
GDPR & Data Security: Is it Safe to Store Child Records on Your Phone? — Detailed 2026 statutory walkthrough and checklists.
-
Childminder Sickness Policy & Assistant Cover Guide: Contracts, Fees & 2026 EYFS Rules — Detailed 2026 statutory walkthrough and checklists.
Go digital with safeguarding
KinderStart stores accident records, body maps, and incident logs securely for the full 21-year retention period.
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KinderStart strives for accuracy. Competitor features and pricing comparisons are based on publicly available information as of May 2026. Details are subject to change by respective providers.