Every child has the right to an education. Parents can choose to educate their child at home instead of sending them to school.
If you decide to educate your child at home, you are responsible for making sure they receive a suitable education that meets their needs. We provide information to help you understand what this means and how we work with families.
In this guidance, ‘parent’ means anyone with parental responsibility, including parents, carers and legal guardians (as set out in section 576 of the Education Act 1996).
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 – update for families
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 includes new measures for children who are educated at home or not on a school roll.
These changes are intended to help local authorities know which children are not in school and make sure they are safe and receiving a suitable education. The new measures are not in force yet.
For now, nothing has changed. We will continue to follow the current law and guidance, including the Elective Home Education guidance (2019) and Children Missing Education guidance (2025).
We will update this page once we know when the new measures will begin.