Staff code of conduct
The staff behaviour policy, sometimes called the code of conduct, covering low-level concerns, allegations and whistleblowing, acceptable use of technology, and staff and pupil relationships including social media. Schools should publish it.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When is it due?
- Renewal
- No fixed date
The official sources set no renewal date. Keep it accurate whenever it changes.
What's needed
Publish the staff behaviour policy or code of conduct on the policies page, or link to the trust's (guidance says schools should).
What it must contain
3 parts- Covers low-level concerns, allegations against staff and whistleblowingShould
- Sets out acceptable use of technologies, including mobile devicesShould
- Sets out rules on staff-pupil relationships and communications, including social mediaShould
What the official sources say
Set out in 1 official source:
Keeping children safe in education 2026
• a staff behaviour policy29 (sometimes called the code of conduct) which should, amongst other things, include low-level concerns, allegations against staff and whistleblowing, plus acceptable use of technologies (including the use of mobile devices), staff/pupil relationships and communications including the use of social media, and
Should§ para 123, page 37
As good practice governing bodies and proprietors should set out their low-level concerns policy within their staff code of conduct and safeguarding and child protection policies as set out in Part two of this guidance.
Good practice§ para 513, page 121
Questions schools ask
Does every school have to publish the staff code of conduct?
The official sources we check set no requirement for academies. The official sources we check set no requirement for maintained schools.
When does the staff code of conduct need to be published?
Renewal: No fixed date. The official sources set no renewal date. Keep it accurate whenever it changes.
What must the staff code of conduct include?
Covers low-level concerns, allegations against staff and whistleblowing; Sets out acceptable use of technologies, including mobile devices; Sets out rules on staff-pupil relationships and communications, including social media.
Where does the requirement for the staff code of conduct come from?
It is set out in Keeping children safe in education 2026.
Changes to the official sources
The sources for this item do not publish dated change notes. Their current versions are listed above.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
Is this on your school's website?
We check your site the way an inspector or a parent would find it: page by page, against the official wording of each requirement. If it's there, you get the page and the words we found. If it isn't, you get every place we looked.
Check this one requirement free, or scan your whole site against every requirement.
Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4