Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national register of children not in school.

The government supports the right of parents to educate their children at home. The department knows that many who do so are very committed and educate their children well, sometimes in difficult circumstances.

However, this government is committed to ensuring local authorities ensure all these children are in receipt of suitable education.

As such, the government supports the principle of a system of registration for children not in school and issuing statutory guidance to accompany this. Local authority-maintained registers of children not in school would help local authorities undertake their existing duties to ensure all children receive a suitable education and are safe, regardless of where they are educated.

The department has already published non-statutory guidance for local authorities and parents to help them understand their roles and legal responsibilities around elective home education.