At the end of January 2026 the House of Lords approved government amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill making provision for home visits to newly registered home educating families [Lords Amendment 48] with school attendance orders able to be started if parents refuse [Lords Amendment 78]
MPs will debate the Lords amendments on March 9th 2026 as ping pong starts for the Wellbeing Bill.
Visiting The Child At Home
The government is now saying that a local authority “must consider where the child lives” within the first 15 days of the child being entered on the Children Not In School register.
As part of this “considering”, the LA may ask to visit the child at home. If the parent refuses, then the School Attendance Order process could be started.
Government Policy Summary Notes have nothing to say about SEEING THE CHILD INSIDE THE HOME. “The assessment of the home would be based on whether the environments are conducive to the child receiving a suitable education or where relevant, whether it is conducive to education outside of school being in their best interests. In making this assessment, we would expect local authorities to record any known risks with the home environment or other learning environments that might impact a child receiving a suitable education – this could for example include reports of overcrowding, excessive noise, etc.” [LINK page 89]
What Amendments Actually Say
In contrast to the Policy Summary Notes, the amendments themselves are all about visiting the home in order to see the child.
Lords Amendment 48 – Clause 31, page 54, line 35, at end insert—
“(8) Before the end of the period of 15 days beginning with the day on which
the local authority registers a child under this section, the local authority—
(a) must consider where the child lives, and
(b) may request the child’s parent to allow the local authority to visit
the child inside any of the homes in which the child lives.
(9) If a request under subsection (8)(b) is refused by the person to whom it is
made, the local authority must consider that to be a relevant factor in
determining whether to serve a preliminary notice under section 436H.
(10) Before the end of the period of 15 days beginning with the day on which
the local authority includes in the register the information mentioned in
section 436C(1)(e) in respect of a child, the local authority must consider the
settings where the child is being educated that the local authority knows
about.”
Lords Amendment 78 – Clause 32, page 65, line 35, at end insert—
“(7A) For the purpose of determining whether a preliminary notice must or may
be served under this section in respect of a child, the local authority—
(a) must consider the settings where the child is being educated that
the local authority knows about and where the child lives, and
(b) may request the child’s parent on whom the preliminary notice
would be served to allow the local authority to visit the child inside
any of the homes in which the child lives.
(7B) If a request under subsection (7A)(b) is refused by the person to whom it is
made, the local authority must consider that to be a relevant factor in
determining whether to serve a preliminary notice.”
ALL LORDS AMENDMENTS FOR COMMONS CONSIDERATION LINK
My Comments
This turns what is already in the bill on its head. The bill previously said the local authority “must consider where the child lives” – and may request request a home visit – ONLY AFTER A FORMAL INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY.
The government is not saying that the local authority must visit all new families in the first 15 days. It is difficult to see how this could be achieved anyway with the tens of thousands of families who are already home educating and who will all have a duty to register at exactly the same time as soon as the law comes into force.
Rather, the amendment as worded seems to be implying that a local authority may ask to visit the home to meet the child at the start of home education if the LA chooses to do so. There is a huge variation in the size of local authorities in terms of travel time and also in the numbers of home educated children though, so it is difficult to see how – or whether – the government will fund this new measure.
Of course, a local authority might request visits of everyone in the expectation that many/most would refuse, which would have the twin benefits of not only leaving a manageable number of visits in terms of staff time, but would also allow a formal investigation to be triggered at the LA’s discretion in as many of the refusers’ cases as they wanted, thereby reducing home education numbers.