Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to introduce a register of all parents who are teaching children at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the spring of 2019 a consultation was held on proposals for a mandatory register of children who are not on the role of state or registered independent schools, to help local authorities carry out their responsibilities in relation to those children. The consultation closed in June of 2019. Responses to the consultation have been considered and a formal government response document setting out next steps is expected later this year.

As for children who are registered at state or independent schools, all such schools maintain an admissions and attendance register. Information on attendance at such schools is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The latest figures show that 99.8% of state-funded schools were open on 24 September, down from 99.9% on 17 September. Of the small proportion (0.2%) of schools that were closed, this was mostly due to COVID-19 related reasons. Approximately 88% of all children on roll in all state-funded schools were in attendance on 24 September. This figure has remained broadly stable for 3 weeks.

Schools should keep a record of, and monitor engagement with remote education, but this does not need to be recorded in the attendance register.