JabbaLocal authority oversight of home education
Written by The Jabba team · Updated 30 June 2026
There is no routine inspection of home education in England, and Ofsted does not inspect it. Here is what does happen. Your local authority keeps a register of children not in school. It can make an informal enquiry about the education you are providing. It can step in only if it has reason to think the education or home environment is not suitable.
What does the law actually say?
Parents in England have the right to educate a child at home. The legal duty sits in section 7 of the Education Act 1996. It says you must make sure your child receives an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs. That education may be delivered 'either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.' Those last two words, 'or otherwise', are the legal basis for home education.
You do not have to follow the national curriculum, keep school hours, deliver formal lessons, follow a timetable, or enter your child for exams. There is no set inspection visit and no pass/fail assessment built into the law. The local authority's powers are narrower than many parents expect.
- You have the right to educate your child at home; you don't need permission to start, unless your child falls into one of the specific groups below.
- Home educators are not required to follow the national curriculum.
- The local authority can only intervene if it has reason to think the education isn't suitable, or the home environment is unsuitable.
What can the local authority actually ask, and when can it step in?
Under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, every local authority must keep a 'Children Not in School' register, and home-educated children must be registered with their council. If you're withdrawing a child from a state school, you write to the head teacher asking to deregister; the school removes the child from its roll and tells the local authority.
Local authority consent is now required before you can withdraw certain children to home educate: children subject to a child protection investigation, children who are (or were within the last five years) under a child protection plan, and children at a special school. Outside those groups, no consent is needed.
The local authority can also make an 'informal enquiry' (under section 436A) asking what education you're providing. You're not legally obliged to respond, but if you don't, the local authority may conclude your child's education doesn't appear suitable, so most families find it easier to answer. If the local authority does judge the education or home environment unsuitable, it can intervene, and in some cases require school attendance through a School Attendance Order.
- The Children Not in School register: home-educated children must be registered with the local authority.
- An informal enquiry under section 436A. You can choose whether to respond, but not responding may count against you.
- Intervention, only where the education or home environment is judged unsuitable, up to and including a School Attendance Order.
How to respond well if your local authority makes an enquiry
There's no prescribed format for answering an informal enquiry, and no test to sit. What tends to reassure a local authority is a calm, concrete account: what your child has been working on, how that connects to their age and ability, and how you're helping them progress.
It is worth keeping a light, ongoing record as you go: a few samples of work and a short note of what you have covered. That beats trying to reconstruct a year from memory the week a letter arrives. It is not a legal requirement, but it makes any conversation with the council far less stressful.
- Keep a few examples of your child's work as you go, not all at once at the end.
- A short, plain note of what you've covered is more useful than a formal scheme of work.
- Let your child be part of it. This is about what they are getting out of their education, not about performing school.
How Jabba helps with the record-keeping
Jabba ties every activity your child does to the national curriculum's subject areas and keeps a running record of what they've worked on. That gives you a plain-language overview you could share if your local authority ever makes an enquiry, without having to assemble it yourself from scratch.
You get a clear picture of where your child is in each subject and what they've practised, framed as steady progress rather than grades or scores.
What parents ask most
Does Ofsted inspect home education?
Oversight sits with your local authority, and it is much narrower than a school inspection. The council keeps a register of children not in school. It can make informal enquiries about the education you are providing. It can intervene only if it has reason to think that education, or the home environment, is unsuitable.
Who oversees home education in England?
Your local authority. Under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, every local authority must keep a 'Children Not in School' register, and home-educated children must be registered with their council. Beyond the register, the local authority's main tool is the informal enquiry under section 436A of the Education Act 1996.
Can the local authority make me follow the national curriculum or sit my child a test?
No. The national curriculum applies to maintained schools; academies, free schools and home educators are not required to follow it, and there is no statutory test built into home education oversight. The law requires an efficient, full-time education suitable to your child's age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs, not a specific curriculum or exam.
Do I need the local authority's permission to start home educating?
Usually not. You can generally withdraw your child from a state school by writing to the head teacher, who deregisters them and informs the local authority. Consent from the local authority is only required for certain children: those subject to a child protection investigation, those who are or were within the last five years under a child protection plan, and those at a special school.
What happens if the local authority thinks the education isn't suitable?
It can intervene, including, in some cases, requiring the child to attend school through a School Attendance Order. This only follows a judgement that the education or home environment is unsuitable, so it helps to be able to show plainly what your child has been working on and how they are progressing if the local authority ever asks.
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