Children Not in School Register Wales: What the 2026 Law Means for Home Educators

On 17 March 2026, the Senedd agreed to a Legislative Consent Motion that brings Wales into the children-not-in-school provisions of the UK's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Within days, online home education communities across Wales were flooded with alarmed posts, confused questions, and strongly worded warnings about state surveillance.

Some of those concerns are legitimate. Many are not. What is missing from most of the discussion is a clear account of what the legislation actually says, what it requires of Welsh parents in practical terms, and — critically — what it does not change about your existing rights.

This post sets out the facts as they currently stand, with the important caveat that the secondary legislation governing exactly how the register will work in Wales has not yet been written.

What the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill Does

The UK Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is a piece of UK-wide primary legislation that, in its current form, contains specific clauses relating to "children not in school." These clauses establish a framework for compulsory local authority registers of home-educated children — replacing the current system, which relies on schools notifying LAs when pupils are deregistered and LAs relying on voluntary contact for children who have never been enrolled.

By passing the Legislative Consent Motion on 17 March 2026, the Senedd agreed that these clauses should apply directly to Wales rather than waiting for the Welsh Government to introduce equivalent legislation separately. This is a significant decision. It means Wales will operate under the same primary legislative framework as England on this specific issue, while still retaining the power to shape implementation through Welsh secondary legislation and statutory guidance.

Royal Assent for the Bill is expected in May 2026. Full public consultation on Welsh-specific implementation is anticipated during the new Senedd term.

What the Mandatory Register Will Require

Under the incoming framework, parents who home educate in Wales will be legally required to register with their local authority. The register will be maintained by the LA and will contain information about the child and their educational provision.

The legislation also introduces a new restriction on deregistration: children who are subject to active child protection enquiries under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989, or who are on a child protection plan, cannot be removed from a school roll without the prior consent of the local authority. This is the single most practically significant change for families with safeguarding involvement at the point they wish to withdraw.

What the law does not do — and this is crucial — is grant local authorities new inspection powers over home-educating families, change the legal standard for "suitable education," lower the threshold for School Attendance Orders, or require parents to follow the Curriculum for Wales. The existing parental right to educate otherwise than at school, established under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, remains intact.

What We Do Not Yet Know

Because Royal Assent has not yet occurred and the Welsh secondary legislation has not been drafted, several important details remain unresolved:

• What specific information parents will be required to provide when registering (the Welsh Government has delegated powers to determine this)
• How frequently the register will need to be updated
• What the consequence of failing to register will be
• Whether existing home-educating families will need to re-register under the new system or whether the LA's existing records will transfer automatically
• What safeguards will govern how the data held on the register is used and shared

Anyone claiming to know the definitive answer to these questions before the secondary legislation is published is speculating. The framework is real — the operational detail is not yet set.

Why This Does Not Change the Deregistration Process Right Now

For the vast majority of families considering withdrawing their child from a Welsh school today, the incoming register does not change the mechanics of deregistration. The process remains the same: you write to the headteacher invoking Regulation 8(1)(d) of the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010, the school deletes your child's name from the admissions register, and the school notifies the local authority within ten school days.

The one meaningful exception — also already noted in the Bill's provisions — is for families with active child protection involvement. If your child is currently subject to a Section 47 enquiry or is on a child protection plan, you will need the LA's consent before deregistration can proceed. This restriction was flagged in Welsh Government communications about the Bill before the LCM vote, and it applies from the point the Bill receives Royal Assent.

The Pre-2026 Registration Pilot: What Wales Already Tried

Before the LCM vote, Wales had already been running a related pilot. The Children Act 2004 (Children Missing Education Database) (Pilot) (Wales) Regulations 2025 established an information-sharing arrangement across seven Welsh local authorities, allowing health and education services to exchange data to identify children who might be missing from education entirely. This was a passive database, focused on children who had fallen through administrative gaps, not a monitoring tool for active home-educating families.

The transition from that passive pilot to the active, mandatory CNIS register represents a significant philosophical shift — from identifying "missing" children to formally accounting for all children not in maintained schooling. That is the genuine structural change the 2026 legislation introduces.

What the Register Means for Families Who Have Never Enrolled

The register's most significant operational impact is on families whose children have never been enrolled in school. Under the current system, there is no requirement to notify the local authority at all if your child reaches compulsory school age and begins home education without ever attending a maintained school. The incoming register eliminates this status. All home-educating families — including those who have never had school contact — will need to register.

For families already known to their LA through the standard deregistration process, the practical change is primarily administrative. For "unknown" home educators, it is a fundamental shift.

Community Concerns: Separating Reasonable Worry from Misinformation

The online reaction in Welsh home education communities to the LCM vote was swift and intense. Some of the concerns being circulated are based on legitimate readings of the legislation. Others are misreadings, extrapolations, or carryovers from English social media discussion that do not accurately reflect the Welsh implementation.

Specific concerns worth addressing:

"The LA will be able to inspect my home." The register does not grant LAs new access rights. LAs have never had the right to enter a home without consent. That position does not change.

"You will need LA approval to start home educating." The legislation does not change the parental right to home educate under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996. You do not need approval — you need to register.

"This is a step toward licensing home education." That is a concern about future policy direction, not a description of what the current legislation does. Registration and licensing are different things.

"Children under child protection cannot ever be home educated." Not correct. The restriction is that deregistration requires prior LA consent when active child protection proceedings are underway. It does not permanently bar home education for children with a child protection history.

How to Stay Informed as the Detail Develops

The secondary legislation and statutory guidance that will govern the Welsh CNIS register are expected to be consulted on publicly after Royal Assent. The Welsh Government's GOV.WALES pages on elective home education are the authoritative source; updates will also appear through organisations like Education Otherwise and Home Education Wales.

If you are planning to deregister your child now, the framework that governs your deregistration is the current one — Regulation 8(1)(d) of the 2010 Regulations, Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, and the 2023 Welsh Government EHE Guidance. The incoming register is a future administrative layer, not a reason to delay withdrawal if your child needs to leave school now.

The Wales Legal Withdrawal Blueprint is built on the current Welsh legal framework and includes a specific section on how the incoming CNIS register affects deregistration — including the child protection consent caveat and how to handle LA contact in the transitional period before the secondary legislation is finalised.

See more United Kingdom homeschool guides →