Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026: what changes for home education now?

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has received Royal Assent. What happens now? The key message for parents.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has now received Royal Assent and is an Act of Parliament. The Bill completed its final parliamentary stages on Tuesday 28 April 2026 and received Royal Assent on Wednesday 29 April 2026.

For home educating families, this is a significant moment. Many parents have followed the Bill for well over a year. There has been a lot of debate, a lot of worry, and a lot of changing information. It is completely understandable that many families now feel tired, overloaded, and unsure what happens next, I know I do.

The most important point is this: Nothing changes for home educating families overnight. Royal Assent means the Bill has become an Act. It does not mean all the new Children Not in School measures come into force immediately.

Does this change home education law immediately?

No. The current law and current guidance still apply for now.

Parents still have a legal duty to ensure their child receives a suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Home education remains lawful. Families do not need to suddenly change their provision, produce new paperwork, follow a new register process, or act as though the new system is already running.

The Act creates the legal framework for changes, but many of the practical details still need to be worked out through secondary legislation, regulations, statutory guidance, and implementation plans. This matters because a law can be passed before all of its parts are brought into force. Some provisions may begin sooner than others. Some may need consultation first. Some may depend on guidance being drafted and published.

What still needs to happen before the new measures begin?

For the Children Not in School measures, the next major stage is not another vote on the Bill itself. It is the secondary legislation and guidance process. That means the Government will need to set out the detail of how the new system is expected to work in practice.

This is likely to include areas such as:

How Children Not in School registers will operate.
What information parents will be expected to provide.
How local authorities should engage with home-educating families.
What support local authorities must offer.
How the School Attendance Order process will work under the new system.
How local authorities should consider home and other learning environments.
How consent rules will work for certain children.
What the mandatory meeting pilot will look like.
How education providers may be affected.

The Department for Education’s policy summary notes say the Bill introduces Children Not in School registers in England and Wales, a duty on local authorities to provide support to parents of children on those registers, changes to the School Attendance Order process, and a requirement for local authority consent to home educate in certain circumstances.

The same notes also describe areas expected to be covered by guidance, including how local authorities should engage with home educating families, how information should be recorded on registers, how register changes should work, information sharing, minimum support offers, and consideration of home and learning environments.

When will the new home education measures come into force?

We do not yet have a confirmed date. It is widely expected that the Children Not in School measures will not be fully in place until 2027 at the earliest. Ed Yourself, which has been tracking the Bill closely, states that after the Act becomes law it will take up to a year to sort out the necessary regulations and guidance before the new home education measures can come into force in England, with Wales on a separate timetable.

That does not mean families should ignore it. It does mean there is still an important gap between “the Act exists” and “the new system is operating”. England and Wales will have their own regulations, guidance, and implementation timetables. Families in Scotland and Northern Ireland are under different legal systems.

What are the Children Not in School measures?

The Children Not in School (CNIS) part of the Act is the section most directly relevant to home education.

The Government’s stated aim is to increase visibility of children who are not attending school and to help local authorities identify whether children are receiving a suitable education and are safe. The policy summary notes say the measures are intended to introduce compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority area in England and Wales.

In broad terms, the Act includes measures around:

A compulsory local authority register for children not in school.
A duty on parents to provide certain information.
A duty on local authorities to provide support, where requested.
Changes to the School Attendance Order process.
Consent requirements before some children can be withdrawn from school for home education.
Consideration of the child’s home and other known learning environments.
A pilot scheme for mandatory meetings before deregistration in some areas.
Duties connected to some education providers.

Some of these areas are still not fully clear in practical terms. Much will depend on the regulations and statutory guidance that follow.

What has not changed today?

This is the part many parents need to hear most clearly.

You do not need to change your home education approach today.
You do not need to register under a new Children Not in School register today.
You do not need to follow new guidance that has not yet been published.
You do not need to treat local authority requests as though the new law is already in force.
You do not need to panic-rewrite your provision to look more school-like.
The legal position right now has not switched overnight.

If a local authority suggests that everything has already changed, it is reasonable to ask them to clarify which current law or guidance they are relying on.

Consultations are the next important stage

The next thing for families to watch is consultation.

Draft regulations and guidance are expected to be published for consultation before key parts of the Children Not in School system are implemented. The Department for Education consultation website is likely to be an important place to monitor: consult.education.gov.uk

This stage matters. The Act gives the Government the power to create the system. The guidance and regulations will shape how that system works in real life. That is where details can make a huge difference. A register can be designed in a way that is proportionate, clear, and respectful. Or it can become confusing, intrusive, and inconsistent. Guidance can recognise the reality of home education, including autonomous, interest led, project based, neurodivergent friendly, and trauma informed approaches. Or, it could quietly drag everyone back towards school-shaped expectations.

This is why the consultation stage is not just a formality. It is the next major point where home educating families, organisations, advocates, and professionals can respond.

What should home ed families do now?

For now, the best approach is steady, informed, and calm.

Keep home educating in the way that works for your child.
Keep any records that are genuinely useful to you. This might be notes, photos, project lists, books read, outings, groups attended, conversations, interests followed, or examples of progress. These do not need to look like school records. Please note that all these things are private to you, and do not currently have to be shared with your Local Authority.
Know the current law and guidance. This is still what applies.
Be aware of your local authority’s current role and limits.
Watch for consultations and be ready to respond.
Do not assume every rumour or social media post is accurate. The detail is still developing.
Talk to other families, but avoid feeding panic. People are tired. Clear information helps more than constant alarm.

The key message for parents

Royal Assent is a big step, but it is not the same as immediate implementation. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 now exists. The Children Not in School measures are coming. But the practical system is not yet in place.

There is still a process ahead. Regulations need to be made. Guidance needs to be drafted. Consultations need to happen. England and Wales will set their own timetables. Local authorities will need to understand what they can and cannot lawfully do. For now, home ed families should not feel pushed into any sudden changes. Keep doing what is right for your child. Stay informed. Keep calm. Watch the consultation stage carefully.

And remember this: home education has not become unlawful. Your duty remains to provide a suitable education for your child. For many families, that is exactly what they are already doing.