If you’re already home educating in England or Wales, you don’t need to register again immediately because of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. The Act introduces new registration and information-sharing requirements, but the relevant duties have not yet fully come into force. For now, continue providing a suitable education and keep an eye on official updates.
What is changing for existing home educators?
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026.
One of its significant changes is the introduction of Children Not in School (CNIS) registers in England and Wales.
Once implemented, local authorities will have to maintain registers of eligible children of compulsory school age who are not receiving all their education at a relevant school. This includes many children who are already being home educated.
Parents covered by the new requirements will also have duties to provide certain information.
Importantly, the Act becoming law does not mean every provision started operating immediately.
Will you need to register your home-educated child?
Under the new system, eligible home-educated children will need to be included on their local authority’s register, including children who were already being home educated before the law changed.
Once the relevant provisions commence, parents will have responsibilities to notify their local authority and provide required information.
The legislation provides for information including:
- Your child’s name, date of birth and address.
- Details of parents and who provides their education.
- Estimates of time spent receiving education from parents and other providers.
- Details of certain other education providers, where applicable.
The exact implementation arrangements and further details will depend on commencement regulations, additional regulations and official guidance.
As of October 2026, the new registration duties are not yet generally in force. There is no need to submit information solely because these future requirements appear in the Act.
Do you need to start collecting more evidence?
The new registration provisions do not automatically require parents to create school-style portfolios, daily lesson plans or detailed learning outcomes for every activity.
However, keeping a simple record of your child’s education is a sensible way to prepare.
You might record:
- Activities and projects: What has your child been exploring or creating?
- Books and reading: What have they read, listened to or discussed?
- Practical learning: What skills have they developed through everyday experiences?
- Progress: What can they do or understand now that they couldn’t before?
- Photos and examples: What would help illustrate their learning?
There is no need to turn every day into a paperwork exercise.
A few meaningful notes each week can help you see how your child’s education develops over time.
These records can also be useful if your local authority asks about the education you’re providing. That is separate from the new registration information duties.
What should you do now?
For families already home educating, the immediate steps are straightforward:
- Continue providing an education suitable for your child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs.
- Follow official updates about when the new requirements will begin.
- Keep manageable records of learning if they’re useful to you.
- Check what information your local authority requires once the new provisions come into force.
For the legislation itself, see the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.
The Department for Education also publishes elective home education guidance for families in England.
Using Strew
Strew makes it easy to record activities, books, photos and learning milestones as they happen. Over time, those records can help you understand your child’s progress and create a home education report if you need one.
Video transcript
Already home educating? There’s something important to know about the new Act.
If your child is already being home educated, you might be wondering: do I need to do anything differently now?
The answer is don’t panic, but do pay attention to the changes as they come into force.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act does introduce a new Children Not in School register.
Once the relevant provisions are implemented, parents of eligible children have responsibilities around providing information to their local authority.
But exactly what information and how the system operates in practice will be set out by legislation, regulations and guidance.
You might be surprised to hear this. This isn’t suddenly about having to create a huge folder of school-style evidence.
However, it is a really good time to get organised.
Start keeping a simple record of your child’s learning.
What have they been working on? What projects have they completed? What books have they read? What skills have they developed? What progress have you noticed?
Not every day has to be a paperwork exercise. The idea is to simply look back and see your child’s learning journey.
And that’s where Strew can help.
You can record learning as it happens, keep everything organised and build a useful picture of your child’s learning over time.
Download the Strew app today on Google Play or iOS.
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