Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and home education: 2026 summary of amendments

January 2026 update following the end of Report Stage. How it affects Children Not In School in England.

What the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill proposes for home education

The bill includes a section called Children Not In School which covers home ed. Its intentions are about safeguarding and tracking children not in school. If it becomes law, it would require:

Mandatory registration
All children being home educated would need to be placed on a new national register. That includes children already being home educated and those taken out of school in future. You’d need to provide basic details to your local authority and keep them updated.

Permission to home educate
For some families, permission would be needed from the local authority before home education can start. This applies if your child is currently on a child protection plan, in care proceedings, or if they have been on a plan in the past five years. The local authority would assess if home education is in the child’s “best interests”.

Local Authority powers
Once a child is on the register, local authorities could request a home visit within a short window (for example, 15 days) and, if a family refuses, could start a School Attendance Order (SAO) procedure. That could eventually lead to a requirement for school attendance.

SAOs and enforcement
If a local authority thinks the education is unsuitable, it can issue a School Attendance Order. Under the new proposals, this may apply more readily if a visit is refused or if the best interests test isn’t met. There are also changes to how fines and penalties might work if an order is breached.

SEND
The bill does not stop parents from home educating children with SEND, but these families are more likely to be pulled into processes based on assessments or disputes around need and provision.

Key government amendments agreed

At the House of Lords Report Stage on 28 January 2026:

ALL government amendments passed
The government secured agreement on its proposed changes to this part of the bill.

Consent and child protection plans
An amendment was agreed that makes local authority consent necessary before withdrawing a child from school if there are current or past child protection enquiries or a child is classified as a child in need. This widens the group of families needing permission.

At this point no other major changes to the Children Not In School clauses were rejected, so the main structure remains as the government proposed.

Where things are now, end of Report Stage

The Lords have now finished debating and amending the Children Not In School (the home ed part of the bill, clauses 31-36) and the Independent Educational Institutions part (clauses 37-44). This marks the end of the Report Stage in the House of Lords for this part of the bill. Report stage gives peers a chance to change the bill after committee scrutiny, and the latest debate ran late into the night on 28 January.

The bill is still moving through Parliament, and the report stage for the whole bill may include a final day or two of business. Once that is completed, the bill will move to third reading in the Lords and then go back to the Commons if there are changes to agree.

Follow the bills progress here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909

What happens next

Final parliamentary stages
After Report Stage, the bill must complete the third reading in the Lords and return to the House of Commons if there are amendments to agree. Once both Houses agree to the final text, it can receive Royal Assent and become law (possibly by Easter 2026). The Wellbeing Bill could then come into force in late 2026.

Secondary legislation and guidance
Even after Royal Assent, the home education parts cannot actually take effect until regulations and statutory guidance are drafted, consulted on, and brought into force. These will set the details of how registration, consent, visits and assessments work in practice.

Consultations and timings
There will be further consultations on those regulations, and separate pieces of secondary legislation for England and Wales. That means each country may have different rules and timings for when requirements begin. For many parents, these next steps will be just as important as the bill itself. What seems to matter most is not just what the law says, but how local authorities interpret and apply these changes in everyday practice.

Practical advice

Stay informed
Follow updates from reliable home education sources and parliamentary reports. The details of the regulations and guidance could substantially change how these measures work.

For the latest detailed information on the Children's Wellbeing & Schools Bill, follow Ed Yourself's website page: https://edyourself.org/childrens-wellbeing-schools-bill/

And Stop the Children's Wellbeing & School's Bill: https://www.facebook.com/stopthecwsbill

Keep records sensible and clear
It is too soon to know exactly what evidence local authorities will ask for. But keeping clear notes on your child’s learning, routines, interests, and achievements now, could help in any future conversations or reviews.

Connect with other families
Talk with local home ed groups and advocacy networks. Shared experience helps families make sense of new expectations and prepare practical responses.

Consider your personal situation
If your family has had contact with child protection services or safeguarding plans in the past, it may affect how the new consent rules apply to you. Check reliable guidance specific to your local area.