15/03/2026
This is a simple summary of what you need to know about what is changing (and when) around Home Education in the UK.
Note: Everything is accurate as of today! Sometimes unexpected things happen, like wars, elections and MP misconduct, which can change everything.
Please also note, this post is designed to be an easy-to-digest summary to inform parents, it is not meant to be used as a legal document, so some language will have been simplified.
Abbreviations:
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: CWSB
Children Not in School Register (Home Ed register): CNIS
1. Home Education is legal and will remain legal.
2. You do not need to follow a curriculum or take GCSEs, but you do need to provide a full-time education that meets your child’s age, ability, aptitude, and any special educational needs and disabilities.
2a. There is no definition of full-time, and the 32 hours a school child attends is not comparable to 1:1 tuition or self-directed learning.
However, many home educators would argue that their child learns at all times - including evenings, weekends & school holidays.
2b. An important court case in 1985 suggested full-time education may be when an education is:
- Efficient (it achieves that which it sets out to achieve).
- Suitable (education that prepares the child for life in modern civilised society and enables the child to achieve their full potential according to their age, ability and aptitude).
3. Home education is just one part of the CWSB. Other sections impact kinship care, schools, teachers and all parents.
4. The CWSB introduces changes to the way Home Education is regulated and overseen in England. It may also apply to Wales, but they have not agreed yet.
5. These (home ed) changes will most likely come into effect in 2027.
It is "possible" that it could be delayed by the process itself, or put on hold by something major happening on a national level or stopped by a general election.
6. The CWSB introduces a register of children not in school (CNIS register). It is called this (and not a home ed register) because not all children out of school are being electively home educated, and some are classed as missing from education.
6a. The register is NEW and replaces the current register that local authorities hold of children who have been de-registered from school or have voluntarily opted to join it.
6b. It will require more information than any existing registers, and local authorities will be able to hold additional information if they decide it is suitable to do so.
6c. Failure to join the CNIS register can result in a fine and a "notice to satisfy", which is the first step to issuing a School Attendance Order (SAO).
7. The CWSB requires certain parents to seek "permission" to home educate. These are:
- Parents of children with SEND who have been placed in a specialist school by the local authority. Eg they fund it.
- Parents of children who have been subject to child protection investigations or plans (or have been in the past 5 years).
8. Local authorities will be required to "consider the child’s home" when a family join the CNIS register. This includes new and existing home educators. This will likely result in home visits for many families.
8a. Refusing a home visit can trigger a "notice to satisfy", which is the first step to issuing a School Attendance Order (SAO).
9. Failure to comply with a School Attendance Order (SAO) can result in fines and ultimately 51 weeks in prison for a parent.
10. The CWSB is initiating a pilot of "deregistration meetings" in parts of the country; if “successful”, it will roll out nationwide in the future. This would require all children to remain in school and attend until a meeting can be arranged with the local authority and school to "discuss" your decision.
10a. This meeting cannot block you from home educating (if point 7 above does not apply) - but depending on what you say, it could trigger a "notice to satisfy" which is the first step to issuing a School Attendance Order (SAO).
11. Once on the CNIS register and having had your home "considered" by the local authority, you will need to provide information on the education you are providing. They will assess this and either approve it, ask for more information or issue a "notice to satisfy", which is the first step to issuing a School Attendance Order (SAO).
12. After this, you will be required to keep them updated on any changes, such as, but not limited to: moving house or using a new education provider (eg a tutor or drop-off home ed group).
13. If you use a drop-off home education group, they will be required to meet certain requirements as part of different legislation that is due to come soon for alternative provisions (it is currently guidance but planned to become law). They will also be required to provide information on any home-educating child who is attending to the local authority.
13a. Failure to provide this information will result in a fine.
14. Drop-off home educating groups will have a limit imposed on them for how often any individual child can attend. This will be judged across a number of factors which will be more clearly defined in secondary legislation (e.g. what will happen between the bill becoming law and it coming into force), and could be adjusted in the future.
14a. Any drop-off home education group that is assessed as providing the majority of a child’s education will be viewed as an Indepedent Education Institution or school and will be bound by any consequences that come with it.
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Important Point to remember:
So this isn't in the Bill - but I am allowing myself a bit of context.
Some local authorities have reportedly said that they want Home Ed numbers cut by a third. Various MPs (including Keir Starmer) are publicly linking home ed and extremism and saying that school is essential to social cohesion.
Taken together, it is understandable that many people fear this bill is not truly about safeguarding, but about getting children into mainstream school and their education under state oversight.
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All families who are, or are considering home education, need to be prepared and to understand what is coming.
However, to coin a phrase from the wonderful Douglas Adams.
Don’t Panic.
Fear, worry, anxiety and stress are understandable, but don’t let them take control.
- Nothing will happen suddenly.
- This page, and many others, will keep you updated and make sure you have everything you need to know.
- Some local authorities will handle this transition well, some will not – but you have a community across the UK and across the world who will be there for you with information, advice and support.
- There are a lot of people who will not give up on defending home education and will resist it being controlled further or outlawed. You can join them.
- Legal challenges will come. And that can have a real change on what is happening.
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If any of this concerns you, you can:
✅ Email your MP (and Lords), and keep emailing them. They need to understand the impact this Bill will have and that you will be in touch with them regularly if it starts having a negative effect in your family and your child’s education.
✅ Sign Petitions. There are always a few good ones on the go, and you can find them in various online spaces or search for them on the Government petition platform.
✅ Share posts (like this one!) and create your own about your thoughts, concerns and experiences.
✅ Comment on relevant Department for Education (or other governmental) social media posts with your thoughts and feelings.
✅ Attend events about home education and/or the bill
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Whatever you do, don’t be silent and don’t give up.
This isn’t about politics; it is about children and their right to receive a safe and suitable education that works for them, now and in the future.
