Home School Education Registration and Support Bill [HL]

A bill to require parents who choose to home-educate their children to register with the local authority; to make provision about the maintenance of registers by local authorities of children in their area who are not full-time pupils at any school; to make provision about support by local authorities to promote the education and safeguarding of such children; and for connected purposes.

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This is the latest version of the Bill

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5 Sep 2024
Lords: Committee
HL Bill 22 (as introduced)
(6 amendments)

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HL Bill 22 (as introduced)
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HL Bill 22 Running list of amendments – 21 May 2025

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1 New Clauses Proposed

Page 1

1
Registration and support
 
 
(1)
The Education Act 1996 is amended as follows.
 
 
(2)
After section 436A insert—
 
 
“Children not in school: England
 
436B
Duty to register children not in school
5
 
(1)
A local authority in England must maintain a register of children who
 
 
are eligible to be registered by the authority under this section.
 
 
(2)
A child is eligible to be registered by a local authority under this
 
 
section if Conditions A to C are met.
 
 
(3)
Condition A is that the child is in the authority’s area.
10
 
(4)
Condition B is that the child is of compulsory school age.
 
 
(5)
Condition C is that—
 
 
(a)
the child is not a registered pupil at a relevant school, or
 
 
(b)
the child is a registered pupil at a relevant school but the
 
 
proprietor of the school has arranged or agreed that—
15
 
(i)
the child will receive education otherwise than at that
 
 
or any other relevant school, and
 
 
(ii)
the child will be absent for some or all of the time when
 
 
the child would normally be expected to attend the
 
 
relevant school.
20

Page 2

 
(6)
Regulations may make provision—
 
 
(a)
for cases where a child is to be regarded as falling or not falling
 
 
within subsection (5)(b);
 
 
(b)
for cases where a child falling within subsection (5)(b) is not
 
 
to be regarded as eligible for registration.
5
 
(7)
In this section “relevant school” means—
 
 
(a)
a school maintained by a local authority,
 
 
(b)
a non-maintained special school (within the meaning given by
 
 
section 337A),
 
 
(c)
an Academy school or alternative provision Academy, or
10
 
(d)
a school not falling within paragraph (c) that is registered under
 
 
section 95 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (register of
 
 
independent educational institutions).
 
436C
Content and maintenance of registers
 
 
(1)
A register under section 436B must contain the following information
15
 
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, and
 
 
(c)
such details of the means by which the child is being educated
 
 
as may be prescribed.
20
 
(2)
To the extent that the local authority have the information or can
 
 
reasonably obtain it, a register under section 436B must also contain
 
 
such information about, or in connection with, the following matters
 
 
in respect of a child registered in it as may be prescribed—
 
 
(a)
the child’s protected characteristics (within the meaning of the
25
 
Equality Act 2010);
 
 
(b)
whether the child has any special educational needs, including
 
 
whether the local authority maintain an EHC plan for the child;
 
 
(c)
any actions that have been taken by a local authority following,
 
 
or in connection with, enquiries made by a local authority
30
 
under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 (local authority’s
 
 
duty to investigate);
 
 
(d)
whether the child is a child in need for the purposes of Part 3
 
 
of the Children Act 1989 (see section 17(10) of that Act) and,
 
 
if so, any actions that a local authority have taken in relation
35
 
to the child under that Part and any services that a local
 
 
authority have provided to the child in the exercise of functions
 
 
conferred on them by section 17 of that Act;
 
 
(e)
whether the child is looked after by a local authority (within
 
 
the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989);
40
 
(f)
the reasons why the child meets Condition C in section 436B,
 
 
including any information provided by a parent of the child
 
 
as to those reasons or, in a case where a parent has not
 
 
provided that information, the fact that they have not done so;
 

Page 3

 
(g)
whether, under arrangements made under section 436A, the
 
 
child has been identified as a child who is of compulsory school
 
 
age but who is not a registered pupil at a school and is not
 
 
receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school;
 
 
(h)
the school or type of school (if any) that the child attends or
5
 
has attended in the past;
 
 
(i)
whether support is being provided in relation to the child
 
 
under section 436G and, if so, the nature of the support being
 
 
provided;
 
 
(j)
any other information about the child’s characteristics,
10
 
circumstances, needs or interactions with a local authority or
 
 
educational institutions that the Secretary of State thinks should
 
 
be included in the register for the purposes of promoting or
 
 
safeguarding the education, safety or welfare of children;
 
 
(k)
any other information about the child’s characteristics,
15
 
circumstances, needs or interactions with a local authority or
 
 
educational institutions that the Secretary of State thinks should
 
 
be included in the register for the purposes of promoting or
 
 
safeguarding the education, safety or welfare of children.
 
 
(3)
A register under section 436B may also contain any other information
20
 
the local authority consider appropriate.
 
 
(4)
Regulations may, in relation to a register under section 436B, make
 
 
provision about—
 
 
(a)
how a local authority must maintain the register, including
 
 
provision relating to—
25
 
(i)
how the register is to be kept up-to-date;
 
 
(ii)
the making of changes to the register;
 
 
(b)
the form of the register;
 
 
(c)
access to and publication of the register;
 
 
(d)
registration forms;
30
 
(e)
publicising the register and duties of persons in relation to the
 
 
register.
 
 
(5)
No information from a register under section 436B may be published,
 
 
or made accessible to the public, in a form—
 
 
(a)
which includes the name or address of a child who is eligible
35
 
to be registered under that section or of a parent of such a
 
 
child, or
 
 
(b)
from which the identity of such a child or parent can be
 
 
deduced, whether from the information itself or from that
 
 
information taken together with any other published
40
 
information.
 
436D
Provision of information to local authorities
 
 
(1)
A parent of a child who becomes eligible to be registered by a local
 
 
authority in England under section 436B must—
 

Page 4

 
(a)
inform the local authority that the child is eligible for
 
 
registration, and
 
 
(b)
provide the authority with any of the information referred to
 
 
in section 436C(1)(a) and (b) that the parent has.
 
 
(2)
A parent of a child who is registered by a local authority in England
5
 
under section 436B must—
 
 
(a)
provide the authority, on request, with any of the information
 
 
referred to in section 436C(1)(a) to (c) that the parent has,
 
 
(b)
inform the authority of a change to any of the information
 
 
required to be included in the register under section 436C(1)(a)
10
 
to (c) of which the parent is aware, and
 
 
(c)
inform the authority if the child ceases to be eligible to be
 
 
registered by that authority under section 436B.
 
 
(3)
A person must comply with a duty under subsection (1) or (2) within
 
 
the relevant period.
15
 
(4)
In subsection (3) “relevant period” means—
 
 
(a)
in the case of the duty in subsection (1)(a) or (b), the period of
 
 
15 days beginning with the date on which the child becomes
 
 
eligible for registration by the local authority;
 
 
(b)
in the case of the duty in subsection (2)(a), such period of not
20
 
less than 15 days as the local authority specify in the request;
 
 
(c)
in the case of the duty in subsection (2)(b), the period of 15
 
 
days beginning with the date on which the parent becomes
 
 
aware of the change;
 
 
(d)
in the case of the duty in subsection (2)(c), the period of 15
25
 
days beginning with the date on which the child ceases to be
 
 
eligible to be registered by the local authority under section
 
 
436B.
 
 
(5)
The duties in subsections (1) and (2) do not apply where the child is
 
 
receiving full-time education by any one or more of the following
30
 
means—
 
 
(a)
arrangements made by the local authority under section 19;
 
 
(b)
arrangements made by the proprietor of a relevant school at
 
 
which the child is a registered pupil;
 
 
(c)
attendance at a relevant school.
35
 
(6)
In this section “relevant school” has the same meaning as in section
 
 
436B.
 
436E
Provision of information to local authorities: education providers
 
 
(1)
This section applies where a local authority in England reasonably
 
 
believe that—
40
 
(a)
a person is providing out-of-school education to a child for
 
 
more than the prescribed amount of time without any parent
 
 
of the child being present, and
 

Page 5

 
(b)
the child is, or is eligible to be, registered by the authority
 
 
under section 436B.
 
 
(2)
In subsection (1)(a)—
 
 
(a)
“out-of-school education” means any programme or course of
 
 
education, or any other kind of structured education, that is
5
 
provided otherwise than as part of the education provided by
 
 
a relevant school (within the meaning of section 436B);
 
 
(b)
“prescribed amount of time” means an amount of time
 
 
prescribed—
 
 
(i)
by reference to a number of hours in, or a proportion
10
 
of, a week or other period;
 
 
(ii)
by reference to a proportion of the time a child spends
 
 
receiving education;
 
 
(iii)
in any other way.
 
 
(3)
The authority may by notice require the person—
15
 
(a)
to confirm whether or not the person is providing out-of-school
 
 
education as mentioned in subsection (1)(a), and
 
 
(b)
if the person is doing so, to provide the authority with any of
 
 
the information referred to in section 436C(1)(a) or (b) that the
 
 
person has in relation to any child (whether or not in the
20
 
authority’s area) to whom they are providing such education.
 
 
(4)
A notice under subsection (3) is served if it is sent to or left at the
 
 
place where the out-of-school education is provided (as well as in the
 
 
circumstances referred to in section 572(1)).
 
 
(5)
The person on whom a notice under subsection (3) is served must
25
 
comply with the requirement in the notice within the period of 15
 
 
days beginning with the day on which it is served.
 
 
(6)
Regulations may provide for exceptions to the duty in subsection (5).
 
 
(7)
Where a local authority in England are satisfied that a person on whom
 
 
a notice under subsection (3) is served has—
30
 
(a)
failed to comply with their duty under subsection (5), or
 
 
(b)
provided incorrect information in response to the notice,
 
 
the authority may require the person to pay a monetary penalty to
 
 
the authority in accordance with Schedule 31A.
 
 
(8)
The amount of the monetary penalty is to be the prescribed amount.
35
436F
Use of information in the register
 
 
(1)
A local authority in England must, if the Secretary of State so directs,
 
 
provide the Secretary of State with information of a prescribed
 
 
description from their register under section 436B (whether that is
 
 
information relating to an individual child or aggregated information).
40
 
(2)
A local authority in England may provide information from their
 
 
register under section 436B which relates to a child to a prescribed
 

Page 6

 
person if the authority consider it appropriate to do so for the purposes
 
 
of promoting or safeguarding the education, safety or welfare of—
 
 
(a)
the child, or
 
 
(b)
any other person under the age of 18.
 
 
(3)
Where a local authority in England become aware that a child
5
 
registered in their register under section 436B will move, or has moved,
 
 
to the area of another local authority in England, the local authority—
 
 
(a)
must provide the other local authority with the information
 
 
referred to in section 436C(1)(a) to (c),
 
 
(b)
must provide the other local authority with any information
10
 
relating to the child that is prescribed under section 436C(2)
 
 
that they have, and
 
 
(c)
may provide the other local authority with any other
 
 
information contained in the register under section 436C(3).
 
436G
Support
15
 
(1)
If a parent of a child registered by a local authority in England under
 
 
section 436B so requests, the local authority must provide, or secure
 
 
the provision of, support to promote the education and safeguarding
 
 
of the child.
 
 
(2)
The support to be provided is whatever the local authority think fit
20
 
having regard to—
 
 
(a)
the parent’s request, and
 
 
(b)
the child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special
 
 
educational needs the child may have.
 
 
(3)
The support may for example include—
25
 
(a)
advice about education of the child,
 
 
(b)
information about sources of assistance for the education of
 
 
the child,
 
 
(c)
provision of facilities, services or assistance (including financial
 
 
assistance), and
30
 
(d)
access to non-educational services or benefits.
 
 
(4)
The duty in subsection (1) does not apply where—
 
 
(a)
the child is a registered pupil at a relevant school (within the
 
 
meaning of section 436B), or
 
 
(b)
the local authority are required to make arrangements for the
35
 
education of the child under section 19 of this Act or section
 
 
42 of the Children and Families Act 2014.”
 
 
(3)
In section 569(2A) (regulations subject to affirmative procedure), for
 
 
“regulations under section 550ZA(3)(f) or 550ZC(7) may” substitute “—
 
 
(a)
the first regulations under section 436B(6),
40
 
(b)
regulations under section 436C(1)(c) or (2),
 
 
(c)
the first regulations under section 436C(4),
 
 
(d)
regulations under section 436E(1)(a),
 

Page 7

 
(e)
regulations under section 436E(6),
 
 
(f)
the first regulations under section 436E(8),
 
 
(g)
the first regulations under section 436F(1),
 
 
(h)
regulations under section 436F(2),
 
 
(i)
regulations under section 550ZA(3)(f),
5
 
(j)
regulations under section 550ZC(7), or
 
 
(k)
the first regulations under paragraph 5 of Schedule 31A,
 
 
may”.
 
 
(4)
After Schedule 31 insert—
 
 
“Schedule 31A
Section 436E
10
 
Failure to provide information under section 436E: monetary penalties
 
 
Warning notice
 
 
1
(1)
Where a local authority in England propose to require a person to
 
 
pay a monetary penalty under section 436E(7), the authority must
 
 
give the person a notice of what is proposed (a “warning notice”).
15
 
(2)
The warning notice must include information as to—
 
 
(a)
the grounds for the proposal to require payment of the
 
 
monetary penalty,
 
 
(b)
the amount of the penalty, and
 
 
(c)
the person’s right to make representations.
20
 
Representations
 
 
2
The person to whom the warning notice is given may make written
 
 
representations to the local authority in relation to the proposed
 
 
requirement to pay a monetary penalty—
 
 
(a)
within the period of 14 days beginning with the day on
25
 
which the notice is given, or
 
 
(b)
if within that period the person gives written notice of their
 
 
intention to make representations, within the period of 28
 
 
days beginning with that day.
 
 
Imposition of penalty
30
 
3
(1)
Where a person has made representations in response to a warning
 
 
notice, or the time for doing so has elapsed, the local authority must
 
 
decide whether to require the person to pay the monetary penalty.
 
 
(2)
The local authority may not require the person to pay a monetary
 
 
penalty if they are no longer satisfied as mentioned in section
35
 
463E(7).
 
 
(3)
If the local authority decide not to require the person to pay the
 
 
penalty, they must inform the person of that fact.
 

Page 8

 
Penalty notice
 
 
4
(1)
A requirement to pay a monetary penalty is imposed by a notice
 
 
given to the person by the local authority (a “penalty notice”).
 
 
(2)
A penalty notice must include information as to—
 
 
(a)
the grounds for requiring payment of the monetary penalty,
5
 
(b)
the amount of the penalty,
 
 
(c)
how payment may be made,
 
 
(d)
the period within which payment is to be made (which must
 
 
be at least 28 days beginning with the day on which the
 
 
notice is given),
10
 
(e)
the consequences of late payment (see paragraph 5), and
 
 
(f)
rights of appeal.
 
 
(3)
A penalty notice may be withdrawn at any time by the local
 
 
authority that gave it.
 
 
Consequences of late payment
15
 
5
If the person to whom a penalty notice is given fails to pay the
 
 
monetary penalty within the period specified in the notice, the
 
 
amount of the penalty is increased by the prescribed percentage.
 
 
Appeals
 
 
6
(1)
A person to whom a penalty notice is given may appeal to the
20
 
First-tier Tribunal on any of the grounds mentioned in sub
 
 
paragraph (2).
 
 
(2)
The grounds are that—
 
 
(a)
the decision to require payment of the penalty was based
 
 
on an error of fact;
25
 
(b)
the decision was wrong in law;
 
 
(c)
the decision was unreasonable.
 
 
(3)
On an appeal under this paragraph the First-tier Tribunal may—
 
 
(a)
quash the penalty notice,
 
 
(b)
confirm the penalty notice, or
30
 
(c)
vary the penalty notice by reducing the amount of the
 
 
monetary penalty.
 
 
(4)
Where an appeal under this paragraph is made, the requirement to
 
 
pay the monetary penalty is suspended pending the final
 
 
determination or withdrawal of the appeal.
35
 
Enforcement
 
 
7
If a person does not pay the whole or any part of a monetary
 
 
penalty which the person is required to pay under this Schedule
 
 
within the time specified in the penalty notice, the penalty or part
 

Page 9

 
of the penalty is recoverable as if it were payable under an order
 
 
of the county court.”
 
2
Extent, commencement and short title
 
 
(1)
This Act extends to England and Wales.
 
 
(2)
This section comes into force on the day on which this Act is passed.
5
 
(3)
The rest of this Act comes into force—
 
 
(a)
for the purposes of making regulations, on the day on which this Act
 
 
is passed;
 
 
(b)
for remaining purposes, on such day as the Secretary of State may by
 
 
regulations made by statutory instrument appoint.
10
 
(4)
The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make
 
 
transitional or saving provision in connection with the coming into force of
 
 
any provision of this Act.
 
 
(5)
Regulations under this section may make different provision for different
 
 
purposes.
15
 
(6)
This Act may be cited as the Home School Education Registration and Support
 
 
Act 2024.
 
Amendments

No amendments available.