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The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is not just about home education—it affects every family. It threatens to shift decision-making power from parents to the state, undermining primary legislation that upholds parental responsibility for deciding what is in their child’s best interest. This bill sets a dangerous precedent where a local authority can determine that a child should attend school, even when parents provide a suitable education at home.

This Is About More Than Home Education

This bill concerns control—who makes decisions for children: parents or the state? While equality in education may sound positive, fairness requires equity, not uniformity. The government’s approach enforces a one-size-fits-all model, disregarding children’s diverse needs.

It is also discriminatory:

  • Home educators are singled out for excessive monitoring
  • Parents face fines for school absences, while schools can shut or operate without penalty
  • Independent schools are taxed via VAT, while state schools remain exempt

If the government truly cared about children’s well-being, it would address the crisis in mainstream education—SEND failures, bullying, and mental health struggles—not criminalize parents who choose alternative education.

At the heart of this issue is a key phrase within the bill: ‘The local authority considers it would be in the child’s best interests to be educated by regular attendance at school’. This means that even if a parent provides a perfectly suitable education, the local authority could still mandate school attendance based on its own judgment of the child’s “best interests.” This fundamentally undermines parental authority and raises concerns for all families.

“This bill assumes that home education itself is a risk factor rather than acknowledging that many parents are acting in their child’s best interests by removing them from harmful school environments. Furthermore, it establishes a “refusal first” approach, meaning even if there is no evidence of harm or unsuitable education, a child may still be prevented from being deregistered from school.”

Key Concerns for All Families

State Control Over Parental Decisions

Clause 25 requires parents to obtain local authority consent before withdrawing certain children from school for home education. It will lead to less support through parents’ fear of being locked into a special school arrangement. It will disproportionately impact families with disabled children and also single mothers. Clause 24 hands power to anyone opposed to home education (school, neighbours, family members). Powers introduced in Clause 25 will not, as claimed, have saved the life of Sara Sharif. Should these measures be adopted, I think it likely that special school deregistration would become virtually impossible. 

A survey by Fiona Nicholson at Ed Yourself showed that home educating parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities found home education was mostly in response to a crisis or was initially intended just to be a stopgap while waiting for the law to take its course. https://edyourself.org/sen-parents-survey/  

Clause 25 changes would mean the local authority must refuse consent if it believes there are no suitable alternative education arrangements or if it decides that school attendance is in the child’s “best interests”—even if there are no safeguarding concerns. Parents who refuse consent cannot reapply for six months, potentially trapping children in unsuitable environments with no recourse.

Expansion of School Attendance Orders (SAOs)

The bill strengthens the SAO process, meaning parents could be:

  • Forced to send their children to school, even if their home education is deemed suitable
  • Prosecuted and fined—or even imprisoned—for non-compliance
  • Left in legal limbo with no clear route to challenge local authority decisions

This removes certainty for parents who are meeting educational standards but are still at risk of forced schooling due to local authority preferences.

Mandatory Data Collection and Home Inspections

The bill demands invasive levels of information from home-educating families, including:

  • The number of hours their child is educated
  • The names and addresses of all individuals involved in their learning
  • Details of all educational materials used

Local authorities would have the power to inspect a child’s learning environment, including inside the home, and refusal could be used against families in deciding whether a child should be forced into school. This unprecedented level of scrutiny extends state control over private family life.

Why This Should Concern All Parents

The government justifies these measures by claiming they will safeguard children, but there is no evidence that home-educated children are at greater risk of harm. Many parents home educate precisely because their children’s needs were not being met in school—often due to bullying, SEND failures, or mental health concerns. Yet the bill assumes that school is the safest place for all children, ignoring:

  • Families removing children from school to protect them from bullying
  • Children struggling with mental health who need flexible learning
  • Families choosing alternative education due to special educational needs

This bill assumes that home education itself is a risk factor rather than acknowledging that many parents are acting in their child’s best interests by removing them from harmful school environments. Furthermore, it establishes a “refusal first” approach, meaning even if there is no evidence of harm or unsuitable education, a child may still be prevented from being deregistered from school.

“Once these powers are embedded, they can be used by any government to limit parental rights further—with no guarantee of reversal.”

A Power Grab: Henry VIII Powers

The bill grants Henry VIII powers to the Secretary of State, allowing future governments to amend primary legislation without full parliamentary scrutiny. This means that any future administration could:

  • Further restrict home education
  • Make changes to school days, hours that are considered part time and full time and may more changes to school and home education
  • Increase surveillance of families
  • Expand coercive measures to force children into school

Once these powers are embedded, they can be used by any government to limit parental rights further—with no guarantee of reversal.

There are un unprecedented amount of new Bills going through parliament, two that interact with each other in the UK Parliament are —the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and the Data Integration Bill— these pose significant threats to family privacy and parental rights. These bills aim to increase state surveillance over children and their families under the guise of ‘safeguarding’ and ‘wellbeing’. If enacted, they could lead to intrusive data collection and undermine parents’ authority in making decisions for their children’s education and welfare. It’s crucial for all parents to be aware of these developments, as they could fundamentally alter the relationship between families and the state, eroding personal freedoms and privacy. Rights for Children has more information (listed below)

What Can You Do?

Whether your child is in school, home educated, struggling with anxiety, or thriving in an alternative setting, this bill affects you. It marks a shift toward state control over children’s education, eroding parental rights.

Simple Actions We Can Take

Where to look for updates and help: 

These resources provide avenues for staying informed, participating in advocacy efforts, and connecting with communities concerned about the potential implications of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on home education and parental rights.

More information about Home Education

All Joanna's Posts

Joanna Merrett has won The Hutton Prize for Excellence

The Proposed Schools Bill – Punishing parents for the inability of schools to facilitate a suitable education for all children

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