The Essential Guide to Safeguarding Documentation & Record Keeping (2026)
Learn why accident records are kept until the child is 21 years and 3 months old, and how to use digital body maps to protect your setting.
How long to keep safeguarding records
Who this is for
Who this is forEvery 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
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 normal good practice: the EYFS only says records must be kept for a reasonable period after a child leaves, and leaves the length to you. 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 | Until the child is 21 years and 3 months old |
| Medication records | Until the child is 21 years and 3 months old |
| Safeguarding concerns | Until the child is 21 years and 3 months old |
| Personal plans | Until the child is 21 years and 3 months old |
| Safety checks | Until the youngest child in your care at the time is 21 years and 3 months old |
| Contracts | 6 years (HMRC) |
| Progress reports | A reasonable period (you decide) |
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
-
Is Your Home Ofsted Ready? A Room-by-Room Safety Checklist (2026 EYFS Guidance)
-
Natasha's Law & Food Safety: The Official Guide for Childminders (2026)
-
GDPR & Data Security: Is it Safe to Store Child Records on Your Phone?
-
Childminder Sickness Policy & Assistant Cover Guide: Contracts, Fees & 2026 EYFS Rules
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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