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What the government’s new education white paper means for SEND families and home educators

Every Child Achieving and Thriving: What the white paper means for SEND and home education

Government schools education white paper 2026 summary. The impact explained.

The government has published a new education white paper titled Every Child Achieving and Thriving

It sets out a long-term vision for education in England through the 2030s. On the surface, it speaks of inclusion, enrichment, belonging and high standards. But when read carefully, especially alongside the Children’s...

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Keir Starmer speech on home education: why families are concerned

What Keir Starmer said about " homeschooling " and why it matters

I am genuinely outraged.

Listening to recent comments from Keir Starmer's speech in Hastings left me stunned. To hear home education spoken about in the same breath as extremism. To hear it framed as something that needs “tougher regulation” because schools are supposedly essential for integration. It felt deeply...

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Update: How to contact your MP

Mass email to MPs as Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill reaches amendments stage

In response to the 3rd Reading of the Bill in the House of Lords, the Stop the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill group are coordinating a mass email to be sent to all MPs. The bill is now in the Consideration of amendments stage.

Feel free to use the template (link below), just edit your name,...

Are local authority visits compulsory for homeschooling families?

Local authority home visits and home education: what families need to know

Are local authority visits compulsory for home educators? Why many homeschooling families choose not to accept LA visits. From time to time, local authorities contact home ed families and ask for a home visit, a phone call, or samples of work. These requests are often presented as informal or supportive. Many families agree in good faith. It is important to understand why a large number of...

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...

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Summary and Protest

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2026 Protest

What the January 17 rally reveals about opposition to the Bill. Yes to children’s wellbeing. No to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

On the 17th of January, families and campaigners gathered in central London to protest the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. They came from across the country. Home educating parents. Parents of children with special educational needs. Teachers,...

Christmas and home education: creating a calmer, more connected December at home

Christmas with home education feels different. In the best way.

One of the things I love most about home ed at this time of year is the pace. We can slow right down. We can stay home when the weather is wild. We can choose quiet mornings with fairy lights, biscuits, and a box of decorations tipped across the table. There’s no rush to get out of the house. No last minute costume dramas. No...

Why home educators must help shape national policy: lived experience matters

Why alternative educators should help shape education policy: lived experience matters

Policy made without listening to home educators will always miss the point. The real expertise is with them, not Whitehall.

Here’s a simple idea that shouldn’t be radical at all, but is…

The DfE needs more than data. It needs the people who know children best.

If the government wants to understand elective home education, it makes sense to involve the people who actually do...

Home education as quiet rebellion: the power of connection over control

Why community is the quiet revolution in home education

“The most revolutionary thing one can do is to introduce people to one another.” — Howard Zinn

Home education is often seen as an act of quiet rebellion — a decision to step away from systems that no longer serve our children, and to build something smaller, slower, more human. But if Oscar Wilde reminds us that disobedience can...

School is the newcomer: why children learn best outside the classroom

The industrial revolution and the birth of modern schooling: what history tells us about learning

For most of human history, children learned by taking part in life. They absorbed skills and knowledge through family life, apprenticeships, play, and community. Learning happened as they joined in with the real work of their world; watching, listening, experimenting, asking questions, and...

Home education is creation, not escape - nurturing curiosity and childhood

Creating learning that fits your child, not the system

People sometimes assume home education is about escape, or ‘running away from the system’. As though we turned away from school out of fear, avoidance, or rebellion. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Home education is not an act of retreat. It is an act of creation — a deliberate choice to build something new,...