Education secretary outlines plans to restrict freedoms to home educate

Education policy is devolved in the UK meaning each parliament – Holyrood, Senedd, Stormont and Westminster each legislate, fund and implement policies affecting children from early years through to higher education. 

The Education Act 1996 states that it is the responsibility of parents to seek out full-time education from five years to the age of 16. Section 7 of the act states: ​“the parent of every child of compulsory school age to cause them to receive efficient full-time education that is suitable to that child’s age, ability, aptitude and to any special educational needs.” In practice, this means parents have the freedom to send their child to an academy, state, faith, private school or to home educate; all are equally valued and permitted in law.

The government’s proposals in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill seem to shift from such principles. Several proposals in this bill shift the responsibility and powers from the parents to the state. There has been strong criticism also from backbench Labour MPs, opposition MPs and teachers in recent weeks.

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Seven months into a new Labour government, we are witnessing the start of a new education approach for children in England, and it is one we recommend parents pay close attention to – particularly as the outcome of the new national curriculum review will be announced later this year. 

At the Evangelical Alliance, we will continue to reaffirm parents as primary educators and will encourage politicians and decision makers to establish an education system where a child’s Christian beliefs and values are respected within the classroom and freedom to express those beliefs are reflected in national curriculum or in relationships and sexual health education. 

Since the pandemic, school absenteeism has grown exponentially. The reasons are varied and complex. 

The Children’s Commissioner 2022 report surveyed over 550, 000 children in England and found common themes of children becoming disengaged with education following the pandemic owing to poor provision for children with additional and special educational needs and poor mental health and wellbeing. For one or a combination of reasons, parents have withdrawn their child from school and opted for Elective Home Education (EHE).

The government statistics published December 2024, found 111,700 children were in EHE and are concerned many children are not receiving a good standard of education. They are concerned about the relationship between children being absent from school and their involvement in serious violent crime and/​or being the subject of exploitation. 

So, how has the Labour government chosen to address this? To place in law a ​“children not in school register” where all councils in England must keep a list of children in EHE. This includes powers to carry out home assessments; if judged unsuitable that children would be required to attend school. It will also require parents to list any and all providers of education for their children which could include church Sunday schools or involvement with other Christian organisations. 

A mandatory register was a policy explored under the previous Conservative government but was abandoned. The Evangelical Alliance’s position to this policy is the same then as it is today: The safeguarding of children and young people is of utmost importance and can be achieved without introducing intrusive and burdensome duties to parents who home educate and provide as good an education as if their child attended a state school.

There are multiple clauses throughout the bill that will cause alarm among parents, particularly those who home educate. We have sought to outline them briefly below, you can access the latest version of the bill in full on the UK parliament website.

Clause 4 creates a ​“consistent identifier” (also known as ​‘Single Unique Identifier). This is a code, or a number assigned to all children in EHE where personal details can be shared between agencies and practitioners working with children and families at risk. This rule bypasses informed consent from parents or carers of said child.

Clause 24 insists that a parent must seek the consent and approval of the local authority to home educate their child. This particularly applies to children on a child protection plan or who attend a special educational needs school provided by the local authority. 

Clause 25 seeks out the specific details of what information is contained in the register. Section 436C is an exhaustive list spread over three pages, but for brevity we will highlight those that could have a negative impact on Christian home educators and organisations working with children outside of school hours:

The register must include the child’s name, address, date of birth and sensitive information like protected characteristics. In addition, the name of each parent providing education as well as the time spent and addresses of each provider (individual/​organisation) and description of activity undertaken.

Clause 26 covers changes to the School Attendance Orders (SAO). In issuing a SAO it compels parents to submit information to the children not in school register. For the local authority to come to this conclusion, ​“they must consider all of the settings where the child is being educated and where the child lives”. Parent’s non-compliance with the SAO could lead to prosecution and/​or conviction and for the child to have to return to school.

Although this approach may have the overwhelming support of local authorities and some education bodies, our concern is that it vilifies home educators, many of whom are Christan families providing quality education in line with faith values and the specific needs of their children. 

In addition, a broad definition around out-of-school ​“education provider” in this bill allows for much of the guidance to be determined by secretary of state (once passed,) rather than scrutinised by parliamentarians. At present it is unclear how provisions in the bill will impact member organisations that provide holiday camps, residentials, summer festivals, sports clubs or provide online materials aimed at school age children and young people but where a home educated child attends. It is possible organisations will need to comply and provide a child’s personal information to local authorities.

The above clauses were core talking points during committee stage. 17 cross-party MPs over the past four weeks have listened to national leaders and professionals from across the education sector share their views on government’s position. Many support the children not in school register but raised concerns on its workability, below are a few points raised: 

Damian Hinds, Conservative MP for East Hampshire said: ​“People talk about a growth in elective home education as being a safeguarding concern. It is not. There is nothing about educating a child at home that is intrinsically a safeguarding concern, but it is also the case that if a neglective parent had the opportunity to take a child out of school, they might abuse that.” Mr Hinds also raised concerns around privacy and individual freedoms in introducing a digital code to every child.

Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham and party spokesperson for education put a question to the government minister attending committee as to whether an ​“onerous list of information” was necessary, particularly for parents with children with special educational needs.

Andy Smith, president for Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said: ​“From previous surveys that ADCS have done with local authorities on elective home education, it is evident that over the last 10 to 12 years, the capacity has been hollowed out… If you superimpose the changes envisaged by the bill, that provision would be significantly insufficient”.

The bill will now move on to Report Stage where agreed government and committee members’ amendments will be discussed and voted on by MPs before the bill moves on to the House of Lords for further scrutiny (date tbc). Questions remain about whether these proposals appropriately balance the state’s responsibility to safeguard children against individual freedoms to privacy and family life.

We encourage both home educators and member organisations to email your local MP and set out the concerns or questions you have about specific clauses in the bill. The advocacy team will continue to monitor the bill as it proceeds through parliament and seek to find a workable solution with government ministers, MPs and peers. It is important that the bill finds the right balance, not making too onerous demands on parents but ensuring the safety of children and young people.