Elective Home Education Call for Evidence: What the 2026 CNIS Register Means for Families Deregistering Now

If you've been researching how to home educate in England, you've probably encountered references to government consultations, "calls for evidence," and a bill working its way through Parliament that's set to change how home education is monitored. The language is bureaucratic and the timeline is confusing. What follows is a plain-English breakdown of how we got here and — more importantly — what it actually means if you're planning to deregister your child from school in England right now.

What Was the Elective Home Education Call for Evidence?

In 2018 and again in subsequent years, the Department for Education (DfE) ran formal consultations and calls for evidence on elective home education (EHE). These exercises asked local authorities, schools, parents, advocacy groups, and professional bodies to submit evidence about how home education was working in practice — how many children were involved, what oversight mechanisms existed, and what gaps the government should address.

The headline finding from this evidence-gathering was that local authorities had almost no visibility over home-educated children. Unlike school-registered pupils, who appear in the School Census and are tracked through attendance systems, home-educated children could effectively be invisible to statutory services. Councils could not reliably identify how many children in their area were home educated, let alone assess whether they were receiving suitable education.

This concern was dramatically amplified by high-profile child protection cases, including the case of Sara Sharif, whose murder in 2023 prompted significant political pressure to reform the oversight of children outside the school system.

What Changed as a Result

The legislative response is the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which was progressing through the House of Lords in early 2026 and was widely expected to receive Royal Assent by Easter 2026. The home education provisions sit in Clauses 39 through 44 of the Bill.

The centrepiece change is the mandatory Children Not in School (CNIS) register. Once the legislation is implemented — likely by late 2026, following a public consultation on secondary legislation — every local authority in England will be required to maintain a register of home-educated children. Parents will be legally obligated to provide certain basic information to their council when they commence home education.

The mandatory information includes: - The child's name and date of birth - The parent's name and contact address - Details of any education provider being used

The legislation is explicit that "any other information" requested beyond this core data is optional. Parents are not legally required to provide timetables, curriculum plans, photographs of work, or assessment evidence as part of the CNIS registration process.

The 15-Day Window: A Critical New Risk

One of the most significant practical changes for families deregistering in 2026 onward is the introduction of a drastically accelerated School Attendance Order timeline when a parent fails to register on the CNIS register.

Under existing law, the SAO escalation process involves a notice-to-satisfy period of at least 15 days before the council can formally apply for a School Attendance Order. Under the new CNIS framework, parents who fail to register face a preliminary notice that creates a similar 15-day window to demonstrate suitable education is taking place.

This changes the risk profile of non-engagement significantly. Under the old regime, informal non-response could persist for some time before formal escalation. Under the new regime, the clock starts running much faster once a child appears on the council's radar without corresponding CNIS registration.

The practical implication: when the CNIS register goes live, register promptly. Provide the mandatory minimum information. Do not provide optional information unless you choose to.

What Has NOT Changed: The Deregistration Process Itself

It's worth being clear about what all this legislation does not affect.

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill does not change how you deregister your child from school. The legal mechanism for removing a mainstream-school pupil from the roll is unchanged and is governed by Regulation 9(1)(f) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

To deregister, you still simply write to the headteacher stating: - That you have decided to home educate your child - The specific last date of attendance - That the child will receive education otherwise than at school

The school must delete your child's name from the admission register once that date has passed. The school cannot demand your signature on a council form, cannot require a meeting before actioning the deregistration, and cannot delay pending a local authority welfare check.

This remains true after the CNIS register is introduced. Deregistration from the school and registration on the CNIS register are two separate actions. The deregistration comes first and is under the parent's complete control.

The One Exception That HAS Been Legislated

The Bill does introduce one significant change to the deregistration process for a specific group of families. If a child is subject to a Child Protection Plan (CPP) or has been subject to one within the previous five years, the local authority will have the power to refuse consent to home educate.

In these circumstances, the automatic right to deregister is removed. The local authority must assess whether home education is in the child's best interests and whether the proposed provision is likely to be adequate. They can formally refuse consent, which means the child remains on the school roll.

This provision does not affect the majority of families deregistering their children. But parents of children who have been involved with children's services — even historically — need to be aware that their pathway to home education may look different under the new legislation.

Why Online Advice Is Increasingly Unreliable

One practical consequence of the rapid pace of legislative change is that a significant proportion of the deregistration advice currently circulating online is outdated. Posts referencing the 2006 Pupil Registration Regulations — which were revoked in August 2024 — are no longer accurate. Advice written before the House of Lords amendments to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill may not reflect the final legislative position.

Forums and Facebook groups remain valuable for community support, but for legal mechanics, the sources that matter are the legislation itself, the DfE's statutory guidance, and organisations like Education Otherwise and Educational Freedom that actively update their materials.

For Families Deregistering Before the CNIS Register Goes Live

If your child is currently enrolled in a school and you want to begin home educating, the process under the existing 2024 Regulations applies. The CNIS register does not yet exist as a legal obligation. You deregister via written notification to the school, the school notifies the local authority, and the local authority may make informal enquiries.

The most important thing you can do now is ensure your initial deregistration letter is legally compliant with the 2024 Regulations — not the 2006 ones — and that you understand your rights if the school attempts to delay or the local authority requests more information than you are required to provide.

The England Legal Withdrawal Blueprint is written for the 2024–2026 legislative environment, covering Regulation 9(1)(f) of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations, your rights during local authority informal enquiries, and what you need to know about the incoming CNIS register before it becomes law. Get the complete guide.

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