12th January 2026 - The Government’s Intentions Revealed

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12th January 2026 - The Government’s Intentions Revealed

Jan 12, 2026

The latest list of amendments submitted by Baroness Smith of Malvern has laid bare the government’s clear direction of travel regarding the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. These changes are significant and will affect every home educator in the country.

Skip down to the reading list and latest updates

It is vital to stress that nothing has legally changed yet. These amendments represent the government’s intentions regarding what they hope to introduce into law. They are proposals rather than current legislation but indicate that the Bill could go a step further than many originally feared.

View the full list of proposed amendments: HL Bill 135 Running list of amendments
Read the government’s revised policy summary: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill policy summary

The Good News (And The Bad)

There is a small amount of positive news to report. The government appears to have realised that demanding the personal names and addresses of every individual tutor was unfeasible. Consequently the requirement to provide these details for individual tutors has been removed. Please note that this requirement still stands for organisations.

On the flip side a new administrative requirement has been added. Parents will now be expected to provide previous addresses to help councils coordinate tracking. This means you can no longer simply provide your current details as your history is now part of the registration process.

Proposed Changes to Deregistration

The most concerning proposal involves a fundamental change to how families exit the school system. Under these new amendments deregistration on demand would effectively end. Before a child’s name could be removed from a school register the parent and child would need to attend a meeting with the local authority.

Currently there is no specified timeframe for how long the LA could take to arrange this meeting. This ambiguity leaves families in limbo and potentially at risk of truancy fines while they wait for administrative hurdles to be cleared.

The government intends to introduce these measures via a “pilot scheme” which could initially cover up to 30% of local authorities. If you live in one of these designated areas the process of removing a child from school will become significantly more difficult.

Analysis of the changes: Ed Yourself: Government Changes Wellbeing Bill

Home Visits and Safeguarding

The amendments also suggest a shift regarding home visits. The proposal is that local authorities would have the power to request entry to your home before a preliminary notice is even issued. While they would not have the power to force entry a refusal to allow them in would have to be “factored into” their decision about the suitability of the education being provided.

Additionally the rules around Child Protection Plans are set to tighten. The proposal states that consent to deregister would be required if a plan has existed at any point in the last five years. This blanket approach would apply even if the plan is historic and the issues have been fully resolved.

Read more on the regulation powers: Multi-agency child protection teams

Questions in Parliament

A recent Parliamentary Question from Baroness McLean asked the government for the proportion of home-schooled children who have Muslim parents.

While the government responded that they do not collect data on the religion of parents the nature of the question raises uncomfortable concerns. It is difficult not to see this as potentially indicative of profiling or bias against specific communities within the home education sector.

View the Question: Question on proportion of home-schooled children with Muslim parents

Catch Up: Changing Landscapes

On Saturday we held our extended livestream event titled Let’s Talk Home Education: Changing Landscapes. The day was spent unpacking these new developments and looking at how the community can move forward.

If you missed the broadcast or want to revisit the details you can watch the recording below.

Watch the replay: Let’s Talk Home Education: Changing Landscapes

SEND and Local Authority Attitudes

The “national conversation” on SEND reform closes on 14th January 2026.

The format of these online sessions has drawn valid criticism. The “upvoting” system for Q&A meant that questions from minority groups were effectively silenced as they could not generate enough votes to be answered. Furthermore the lack of in-person sessions in the North has left many families feeling that their specific regional challenges are being ignored. Despite these flaws it is important to submit your views online so there is a written record of your feedback.

In wider news there is a stark contrast in local authority attitudes this week. Barnsley Council is actively seeking to reduce home education numbers using new funding while councillors in Northamptonshire are taking a more balanced approach to the increase in registrations.

Have your say: SEND reform national conversation
News: Barnsley targets drop in home education
News: West Northamptonshire sees growth in homeschooling

It Is Time to Protest

These proposals show exactly why a stand must be taken. On Saturday 17th January our major protest is taking place in London and the government needs to see the strength of feeling on this issue before these proposals become law.

If you cannot attend in person please consider donating to help cover the costs of the stage and sound equipment and if you are unable to donate, please help us by sharing the fundraiser link. Every contribution and share helps amplify the message.

For those in the north there is also a rally planned outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh which will run from 1.30pm to 3pm.