UK home education guide
The Children Not in School register explained, plainly
Updated · 2 min read
The register has produced more misinformation than any other topic in UK home education. It is worth reading what the law actually does before deciding how worried to be.
Bans. Permission slips. Home inspections. None of that is in the text.
Two years of research before my daughter's old enough for school — so this one I did properly.
Rumour 1: "They're banning home education"
No. The Children's Wellbeing & Schools Act creates a register of children not in school.
- A register is a list, not a licence
- Your right to home educate is untouched
- Nothing about the decision changes
Whoever told you otherwise hasn't read it.
Rumour 2: "You'll need permission to take your child out"
Deregistration works exactly as it does today — and will after the Act, too.
- One letter to the head teacher
- Child off the roll — legal the same day
- No panel. No approval process.
So what actually changes — and when?
The register timeline
- Act passed
- 2026
- Guidance written
- in progress
- Registers begin
- ~2027
Nothing is in force yet. Ignore any post that says it's happening 'now'.
The bit nobody quotes
When registers begin, your local authority can ask for:
- Your child's name and address
- Details of the education you provide
That's ten minutes of admin — if you can show a plan.
Being able to describe your provision is the whole of what is being talked about. Your child's details, and an account of the education you provide. Not an inspection, not a curriculum audit, not an exam.
How to be ready before it's even law
- Know the position: register, not ban
- Keep a simple record of what you teach
- Be able to show a plan for the year
- Ignore the Facebook lawyers
Getting ahead of it
Nothing here is in force yet, so there is nothing to comply with today. The sensible move is to be ready anyway.
Know the position, keep a light record of what you teach, and be able to show a plan for the year. Families who can do those three will experience the change as paperwork. Families who cannot will experience it as stress, and which one you get is almost entirely within your control.