Changes to UK Home Education Law: What the Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 Actually Means

Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 : What’s Actually Happening

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 affects families choosing Elective Home Education in England and Wales and is the law governing home education as of April 2026. The new law does not prohibit elective home education, define what exactly you need to teach your child or prescribe a set number of hours that must be spent learning each week.

What it does do is :

• introduce a mandatory Children Not in School (CNIS) register
• expand the scope of families who need to get local authority consent before deregistering their children.

Exactly how the law will be applied is not yet confirmed. These provisions will be established via secondary legislation at a later date and the earliest they are likely to come into force is late 2026. That means if you’re already home educating, you don’t need to do anything yet, except stay on top of the rules as they’re finalised.

Children Not in School Register

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 states that all parents choosing to home educate their children will be required to sign the new Children Not in School (CNIS) register.

Parents choosing elective home education will be required to register with the local authority within 15 days of deregistration.

This is the law as it stands at the moment, but while the legal framework has been enacted, the detailed implementation of the law, including the registration processes, has yet to be finalised.

If you’re currently home-educating, you do not need to register with the local authority until the secondary legislation has been passed. The earliest timeline for this is the end of 2026.

Who are ‘relevant children’?

A consent requirement before deregistration will apply to families whose children have been subject to a child protection enquiry, section 47 action, or currently attend a Special Education School.

This means parents need to receive permission from the relevant local authority before deregistering their child.

If your child sits inside these categories, legal guidance is recommended before starting the process of deregistration: Education Otherwise is a good place to start.

What we don’t yet know

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act becoming law is not when the rules change. Secondary legislation and statutory guidance have to be consulted on and published.

The practical details — what information you’ll need to provide when signing the CNIS register, how local authority contact will work, what will actually be required as evidence of education — none of these are confirmed yet. The earliest any of these measures is likely to come into force is late 2026, and that timeline could extend further.

What hasn’t changed

The legal right to home educate in England and Wales remains in place. There is no requirement to follow the National Curriculum, no requirement to replicate school at home, and no change to the standard by which home education is judged. “Suitable education” was the measure before this Act and it remains the measure. That standard has always allowed for approaches that look nothing like school. The law states parents must ensure their children receive an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, ability, and aptitude.

What to do now

Secondary legislation is expected to bring in documentation requirements and having a template already in use will make any future conversation with the LA significantly simpler. The Evidence of Education report template here is designed specifically for education that doesn’t follow the National Curriculum or a textbook structure. It includes a fully completed example so you can see what a finished report looks like before you start your own. If you’d like to dive straight in, the Home Education Evidence Report Builder can help you build the report directly in your browser.

Nb. the finalisation of details to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act may introduce a specific template format for recording the education your children are receiving at home. This is not a legal template: it’s a starting point to help you think about how your approach to home education translates into an official document.

If you’re currently in the process of withdrawing your child from school, the Deregistration Pack covers the procedure step by step: a template letter (including a version for children with an EHCP), and a guide to what happens after the legal deregistration letter is sent.

Stay on top of the statutory guidelines as they’re implemented

If you want to read the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act as it applies to home educating families, you can find the legislation here.

The practical application of the law — how registration will work, what evidence of education parents will be required to provide, how local authorities will work with home-educators — is likely to be finalised following a consultation. Track Department for Education Consultations here.

The government’s official Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 page will be updated as regulation is finalised. Find that here.

If you’ve been home educating for any time, you’ll already know that home-educating parents are often the best source of information. EdYourself is run by a home-educating parent who advocates for and supports families whose children are educated otherwise than at school. The site is a reliable source of information.

Education Otherwise is a home education charity that offers professional, insured advice and report checking services which are subject to data protection. If you’re in need of legal support, this is a good place to start.

A note on how this page works

Kitchen Table School is run by a home-educating parent, not a solicitor. This page will be updated as secondary legislation is published, but please do not rely on it as legal advice — it’s an attempt to keep the picture clear, not a substitute for professional guidance. Last updated: June 2026.

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