Home Education Guidelines: What the Local Authority Can and Cannot Do

You've sent the deregistration letter. The school has finally removed your child from the roll. You exhale — and then, a few weeks later, a letter drops from your local authority. It mentions a "home visit," asks for curriculum plans, and references your child's educational provision. Your stomach tightens again.

This is one of the most anxious moments in the home education journey, and it is almost entirely avoidable if you understand what the home education guidelines in England actually say — and what the local authority (LA) is legally entitled to do versus what it merely prefers to do.

What the Law Actually Says About LA Involvement

England's home education guidelines sit within a legal framework that places the duty of education firmly on parents, not the state. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 requires parents to ensure their child receives "efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability, and aptitude" — either at school or otherwise. The word "otherwise" is the cornerstone. You have chosen "otherwise," and that choice is entirely lawful.

The local authority's role is defined by Section 436A of the same Act: it must make arrangements to identify children in its area who are not receiving suitable education. That is its job. It is not empowered to pre-approve your home education, inspect your home on demand, or dictate the curriculum you follow. Its role is reactive — it must identify a problem before it can act, not assume one exists and go looking for evidence.

The DfE's non-statutory guidance on elective home education (2019, currently under review) reinforces this: parents are not required to proactively "prove" that their education is suitable. The burden of establishing that a child is not receiving suitable education rests with the local authority, not with you.

What the LA Can Legally Do

Once your school notifies the LA that your child has been deregistered — which it is required to do under Regulation 13(4) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 — the LA will typically make what is called an "informal enquiry." This usually takes the form of:

• A letter or questionnaire asking about your educational provision
• A request to visit your home and observe learning in progress
• A request to meet and interview your child

None of these are compulsory demands backed by legal force. The LA cannot lawfully compel you to allow entry to your home, insist on interviewing your child independently, or require evidence in a specific format. Case law has established these limits clearly.

However, the LA does have escalation powers if it concludes — after making reasonable enquiries — that suitable education is not taking place. It can serve a formal notice under Section 437(1) of the Education Act 1996 requiring you to satisfy it, within no less than 15 days, that your child is receiving suitable education. If you fail to satisfy that notice, it can issue a School Attendance Order (SAO) naming a specific school. Ignoring an SAO is a criminal offence.

The practical implication: the LA's informal enquiry is not just bureaucratic theatre. It is the first step in a legal chain that can become serious if you disengage entirely.

What You Are Not Required to Do

This is where many parents are misled — often by the LA's own letters, which tend to be written to maximise the authority's access rather than to accurately reflect your rights.

You are not required to:

• Allow a home visit or inspection
• Show work samples, completed worksheets, or a portfolio
• Follow the National Curriculum
• Adhere to school term dates or hours
• Demonstrate that your child is working at the same level as their school peers
• Obtain any form of approval or certificate from the LA

Some LA letters cite Surrey, Kent, or other county policies that appear to require timetables, photographs of learning, and curriculum plans. These are preferences, not legal requirements. A local authority policy document cannot override primary legislation.

You should also be aware that "full-time" in the context of home education has no statutory definition. Home-educated children learn in concentrated bursts, often achieving more in two focused hours than a class of thirty manages in a school day. You are not expected to account for 21 hours of timetabled instruction per week.

The Smartest Response: The Educational Provision Report

Ignoring the LA entirely is almost always the wrong move. If the LA cannot obtain enough information to assess suitability, it is legally required to assume education is not taking place and escalate to formal action. That escalation — the Section 437(1) notice and potential SAO — is genuinely disruptive and stressful.

The optimal response is to decline the home visit in writing while providing a written Educational Provision Report. This is a 1–3 page document that satisfies the LA's duty to enquire without granting physical access to your home or handing over samples that invite subjective critique.

A good Educational Provision Report:

Articulates your educational philosophy. Briefly explain your approach — whether that is structured learning, Charlotte Mason, child-led unschooling, or a blend — and why it suits your child's specific needs. This frames all the detail that follows.

Demonstrates progression, not perfection. The LA needs to see that your child is advancing. List topics covered in recent months and the resources used. For example: "We have studied early modern history using English Heritage site visits, BBC Bitesize, and Horrible Histories series. My daughter has produced written summaries of each unit." Narrative examples are more powerful than physical samples — and they do not invite line-by-line grading.

Avoids physical sample submission. Do not send exercise books, photographs of worksheets, or test results unless you choose to. Providing samples invites the LA officer to assess your child against school-based benchmarks that are legally irrelevant. Written descriptions of learning activities are sufficient and much harder to critique arbitrarily.

Declines the home visit politely but firmly. Include a sentence such as: "I am happy to engage with your enquiry in writing but am not in a position to facilitate a home visit at this time. I trust that the information provided above is sufficient to satisfy your duty under Section 436A." You do not need to explain or justify this decision.

The 2026 CNIS Register: What Changes

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which passed the House of Commons and is expected to receive Royal Assent by spring 2026, introduces mandatory "Children Not in School" (CNIS) registers across all local authorities in England.

Under the new legislation, parents will be legally required to provide basic information — your child's name, date of birth, address, and details of the person providing education — to the local authority when commencing home education. This is new. Previously, no registration requirement existed for children withdrawn from mainstream schools.

What the legislation does not require is equally important. The provision of "any other information" — curriculum plans, resources, learning objectives, assessment records — remains optional. Understanding exactly where the legal boundary sits is critical. Providing more than the minimum required hands the LA information it can use to judge your provision against school-based standards, which is not the legal test.

The new register also introduces a consent mechanism in specific circumstances: if your child is currently subject to a child protection plan, the LA must consent to home education before you can proceed. For most families, this provision will not apply, but it is essential to check your child's status before deregistering.

What Happens If Things Escalate

If the LA decides, after your written response, that it is still not satisfied with the educational provision, it will issue a formal notice requiring you to provide evidence within at least 15 days. This is not the end — it is an opportunity to respond with more detailed information, which typically resolves the matter.

If you receive a School Attendance Order, you can challenge it in the magistrates' court. The court assesses whether suitable education is currently taking place, not whether you made mistakes during the initial enquiry. Arriving with a well-documented Educational Provision Report and a clear account of your child's learning since deregistration gives you a strong foundation.

Most families who respond thoughtfully to the LA's initial enquiry never reach this stage. The system escalates primarily when parents either disengage entirely or are caught with no documentation at all.

The England Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the full deregistration process in England — from the legally compliant withdrawal letter through to handling LA enquiries and the new 2026 CNIS register requirements. It includes an Educational Provision Report template and scripts for declining home visits while satisfying the LA's statutory duty.

Get the England Legal Withdrawal Blueprint

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