The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is currently going through parliament sets out proposals for local authority compulsory registers of children not in school. My main bill page is here https://edyourself.org/childrens-wellbeing-schools-bill/ Click here to read the CNIS clauses of the bill onscreen https://shorturl.at/eJleP
Should the bill become law, multiple new subsections would be added to the Education Act 1996 after the current 436A. New 436C sets out what the register will contain, while 436D sets out parents’ duties. 436H says the school attendance order process can be triggered if parents do not provide information by various deadlines, while 436I warns that once in the school attendance order process a parent refusing a home visit will probably not be able to satisfy the local authority and therefore an attendance order will follow.
436C Content and maintenance of registers
(1)A register under section 436B must contain the following information
in respect of a child registered in it—
(a) the child’s name, date of birth and home address;
(b) the name and home address of each parent of the child;
(c) the name of each parent who is providing education to that
child;
(d) the amount of time that the child spends receiving education
from each parent of the child;
(e) if the child receives education from a person other than their
parent—
(i) the names and addresses of any individuals and
organisations involved in providing that education;
(ii) a description of the type of each provider named under
sub-paragraph (i);
(iii) the postal address of each place where that education
is provided (where different from the address in
sub-paragraph (i)) or the website or email address of
the provider if that education is provided virtually;
(iv) the total amount of time that the child spends receiving
that education and the amount of time the child spends
receiving that education without any parent of the child
being actively involved in the tuition or supervision of
the child.
436D Provision of information to local authorities: parents
Parents who do not provide the information may find themselves – if the local authority [LA] so chooses – having to satisfy the LA that the child is receiving suitable education. The LA must then consider all the child’s educational settings (yet to be defined in guidance) and may ask to visit the child at any of the homes where the child lives (if eg parents live separately). If visits are refused the LA can decide it is not satisfied.
436H Preliminary notice for school attendance order
(2)A local authority may serve a preliminary notice on a child’s parent
if it appears to the authority that either condition C or condition D is
met.
A “preliminary notice” means a notice requiring the child’s parent on
whom the notice is served to satisfy the local authority that—
the child is receiving suitable education, where condition A, C
or D is relied on to serve the notice …
Condition C is that—
(a) the child is eligible to be registered by the local authority under
section 436B,
(b) the authority has asked the child’s parent for information under
section 436D(1), and
(c) the child’s parent has not provided that information before the
end of the relevant period (as defined in section 436D(4)(a)),
or has provided incorrect information.
Condition D is that the child’s parent is under a duty to provide
information to the local authority under section 436D(2) in relation to
the child and
(a) has not provided the information before the end of the relevant
period (as defined in section 436D(4)), or
(b) has provided incorrect information.
436I School attendance orders
(1)A local authority must serve an order under this section on a child’s
parent if—
(a) the authority has served a preliminary notice on the child’s
parent under section 436H,
(b) the child’s parent fails to satisfy the local authority, within the
period specified in the notice, that—
(i) the child is receiving suitable education, in a case where
condition A, C or D is cited in the notice,
…and
(c) in the opinion of the authority it is expedient that the child
should attend school…
(3)For the purpose of determining whether an order must be served
under this section in respect of a child, the local authority—
(a) must consider all of the settings where the child is being
educated and where the child lives,
(b) must consider how the child is being educated and what the
child is learning, so far as is relevant in the particular case ….
and
(c) may request the child’s parent on whom the preliminary notice
has been served under section 436H to allow the local authority
to visit the child inside any of the homes in which the child
lives.
(4)If a request under subsection (3)(c) is refused by the person to whom
it is made, the local authority must consider that to be a relevant factor
in deciding whether the child’s parent has failed to satisfy the local
authority as mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(i) or (ii).
(5) An order under this section (a “school attendance order”) is an order
requiring the person on whom it is served to cause the child to become
a registered pupil at a school named in the order.
10 Minutes A Year
The Department for Education estimates that it will take 21 minutes per year to read new guidance about educational providers [s436C(1)] , plus 10 minutes per child per year collecting the information to be reported, plus “10 minutes reporting time per student. This is an annual cost, and is thought to be a conservative estimate, as reporting will take place via short phone calls or emails.” [page 35]
The link for the document is here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5d05d8e313b503358c04/Children_Not_in_School.pdf Children Not In School Registers Regulatory Impact Assessment as amended in the House of Commons Ref: DfE-CWSB-RP-05 PDF, 426 KB, 38 pages published March 21st 2025. The first page says IA number: DfE-CWSB-05 RPC reference number: RPC-DfE-24016-IA (1)
It can be accessed via this page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments
The document is NOT linked from the main bill page https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/publications
School Attendance Order Fines
Page 10 of this same CNIS Impact Assessment says “It should be stressed that the only financial burden resulting from these measures on parents will be on those who are issued with a SAO, breach it and are convicted for that breach. Consequently, these costs are avoidable entirely through compliance.”
Page 23 adds “One further potential impact on households will be the increased financial penalty for those parents who are convicted in a criminal court of breaching the terms of a school attendance order. The maximum penalty will be raised to £2,500, bringing in line with the fine for knowingly failing to cause a child to attend school. More families could potentially be caught by this as failure to provide information for a LA’s register will be an additional trigger for the local authority to instigate the SAO process, which may increase the number of families who are subject to that process and subsequently result in a conviction … We can predict from Ministry of Justice data that the number of families ultimately subject to a fine for breach of a SAO will be low compared to the overall number of SAOs that are issued.
Page 24 goes on to say “If a parent home-educating their child, who is eligible for the inclusion on the registers, does not provide necessary information to their local authority, the local authority may commence the SAO process. If the parent does not provide evidence of a suitable education during this process, the local authority will issue the SAO. If the parent breaches the SAO, they will be guilty of an offence and liable for a fine and potential imprisonment“
School Attendance Order Prosecutions
My MP initially asked the Department for Education about SAO prosecutions and fines, but was told DfE did not hold the information so has now asked the Ministry of Justice. [LINK]. See also my earlier FOI here [LINK]