23/04/2026
Important info to share with anyone you know who provides activities for home ed …
👉 Home-ed groups & drop-off provision 👈
Important updates for England.
If you run a home-ed group, are thinking of starting one, or your child attends one, there are some upcoming legislative changes you need to be aware of.
📅 This is accurate as of 18 March 2026.
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The Government is looking closely at drop-off groups for school-age children that are not registered as a school (or as an out-of-school hours childcare provider).
This includes clubs running in the evening, weekends, holidays and term-time daytime.
So far, there are three main documents that providers need to be aware of. Links in comments.
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1. "After-school clubs, community activities, and tuition"
This document specifically mentions Home Ed groups and tutors and includes uniformed groups, youth clubs and religious education.
It is primarily focused on safeguarding, health and safety, suitable adults and governance.
👉 You need to know:
- This is guidance, not law.
- It is important to read and consider if it applies to you.
- Following it demonstrates to parents and any official body (if they were to get in touch) that you are taking the responsibility seriously.
- It will help you to ensure young people are safe when they are with you.
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2. "The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill"
This introduces a new classification of "Independent Education Institution" - e.g. either an independent school or somewhere providing "full-time" education and is not registered as a school.
👉 You need to know:
- The Government are concerned with regulating full-time education providers and "illegal schools" (which could be illegal due to intent, ignorance or disagreement on what is a school).
- Full-time has not been defined yet, may not be defined as a set number, and they have left flexibility to change and assess it in different ways.
- They may look at hours a child attends, how often and what time of day. They can look at other factors too.
- They can decide if breaks or other incidental activities are included.
- They may also look at the provider as a whole, how often it runs, when it runs and how.
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It also says that education providers may have to give information on children that attend, including name, address, DOB and hours / frequency attending.
👉 You need to know:
- This will be if the LA reasonably believe a provider is providing education out-of-school, to a child over a set time threshold (this is a different threshold to "full-time education") and without a parent "actively involved" in the education.
- They have not totally defined what "actively involved in education" means yet - they mention supervision and involvement in tuition, but with no clear definition, so best not to assume what this means yet.
- Information will be required on ALL children who ARE or ELIGIBLE TO BE registered on the Children Not In School Register. And it goes back 3 months.
⚠️ This is important.
It means that you could have to tell the Local Authority about children who are not currently registered, and you do not need parental permission to do so.
Failure to provide the information within 15 days or providing incorrect information can result in a fine (we do not know how much this could be).
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3. "Non-School Alternative Provision"
This gives guidance on how settings used by local authorities or schools should run.
It includes safeguarding, health and safety, quality of education and planning/targets etc.
👉 You need to know:
- If you have any children attending your provision who are on the school roll or placed by the local authority, this guidance applies to you.
- This guidance is actually a great starting point for setting up a more substantial home-ed drop-off provision and is highly recommended if you want children to access it as "Alternative Provision".
- This guidance will potentially become law.
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What you need to do now:
1. Don't panic.
It may feel like a lot of information and a lot of change. However, there will be consultation and secondary legislation coming, which will give you the opportunity to give your opinions and also to then take time to read and understand any new requirements.
And despite my many arguments with the Bill, I do agree that settings need to be safe.
From experience, I know that well-run drop-off groups can make a massive difference to young people and their families.
Not just in terms of education and wellbeing, but also in safeguarding, referral for mental health support and providing evidence for neurodivergence diagnosis, disability benefits and EHCPs.
2. Take this as an opportunity.
Lots of groups start as someone doing a lovely thing for families and grow into something bigger. They may not have all their policies, insurance and safeguarding processes in place. So now is the time to give your provision a "check-up".
The "After-school clubs, community activities, and tuition" is a really useful document for this.
3. Be honest and be prepared.
👉 Think about what it is you do and what you want to do.
👉 Consider a simple term that could describe what you offer.
👉 Run some projections on how adjusting your maximum attendance time could work - then if a minimum threshold is set, or you feel change is needed when the secondary legislation comes out, you are prepared.
👉 Be honest with yourself. Are you running a group for 3 hours a day that the same kids come to 5 days a week? If so, that is potentially going to be seen as "a school".
👉 If you need to make a change (or decide to register as a school), do the research and put the wheels in motion.
👉 Add a statement to your website that describes what you offer and how.
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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 on your family and your child’s education or your business or the children you support.
✅ 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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Drop-off groups are a fantastic addition to children in this country, no matter how they are educated.
These changes do not mean that you have to stop.
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.
So keep on doing good things.
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Disclaimer: For the past six years, I have run an education centre that provides home-ed drop-off groups and Alternative Provision.
I am not a legal professional and am not giving "advice".
This is written to communicate information in a simple, accessible way and to reduce fear.
It will not include all details and all legal terms.
Individuals are responsible for doing their own research.
I have put useful links in the comments 🙂
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If you run a group or your child attends one, I’d really value hearing your thoughts 👇
