Articles

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. The Act is for England and Wales. Families in Scotland and...

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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,...

Music Technology Club: Online music sessions for home-educated teens

Music Technology Club opens new sessions for home ed learners

One of the joys of home education is discovering learning that feels truly alive - the kind that ignites curiosity and confidence. The Music Technology Club , part of Education & Bass , does exactly that. It gives young people the tools to explore music, sound and self-expression - no expensive gear, no rigid rules, just...

How a home education photography course helped a Suffolk teen find her passion

With results day around the corner, Suffolk teen Caitlin Banham is an example of how home education can transform your relationship with learning.

Teacher and founder of Aced Qualifications , Deborah Hayward, is currently celebrating the successful impact their photography course has had upon recent student Caitlin who, after being inspired by her studies at Aced Qualifications, has...