Home education in Wales: what the law says

You don't currently have to tell the council yourself; the school does that. The council will usually want to meet once a year. You can say no to a meeting, and it doesn't have to be at home, but the council still has to be satisfied your child is getting a suitable education.

A register of children not in school is coming to Wales under a 2026 Act. It isn't switched on yet. More on that at the end.

Wales uses the same law as England here. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996says a parent must make sure their child gets “efficient full-time education suitable” to their age, ability, aptitude and any additional learning needs, “either by regular attendance at school or otherwise”. Home education is “otherwise”.

The Welsh Government's statutory guidanceputs it simply: “In Wales, education is compulsory but attending school is not.”

1. 1Write to the headteacher saying you are taking responsibility for your child's education and will be educating them at home. The Welsh Government's handbook for home educators is clear that “verbally informing the school is not enough”, and it has a model letter in Annex A. Keep a copy and the date.
2. 2Once your child has stopped attending and the school has your letter, the school must take their name off the register. That is regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010. There is no minimum notice period.
3. 3The school then has to tell the council, within ten school days (regulation 12). You don't need to do anything for that part.

Two exceptions.If the council arranged for your child to be at a special school, the name can't come off the register without the council's consent (or, if it refuses, a direction from the Welsh Ministers). And if your child is at school because of a school attendance order, regulation 8 says the name only comes off when the council revokes the order, so talk to the council first.

Right now, nobody beyond the school. The Welsh Government's own 2026 explainersays “At the moment parents in England and Wales are not legally required to notify their local authority if they are home-educating”. If your child has never been to school, the handbook says “no notification is required”, though it strongly recommends letting the council know.

That is the part that will change when the register arrives.

Councils in Wales must have regard to the Welsh Government's statutory guidance, so it is a good picture of what to expect:

• “A meeting should take place at least once a year”, more often only where that is proportionate or there are concerns. If your child has just come out of school, the council should meet you as soon as possible.
• The meeting “does not have to take place in the home”. It can be somewhere you both agree.
• The guidance expects the council to see and talk with your child. But you, and a child old enough to decide for themselves, “are free to decline a meeting”.
• The council should send you a written report within 10 days of a meeting, and you should be able to correct anything factually wrong.

The formal process is section 437 of the 1996 Act. If it appears to the council that your child isn't getting a suitable education, it serves a written notice, and you get at least 15 days to show that they are. If you can't, it can lead to a school attendance order.

The words come from court cases, and the guidance sums them up:

• Efficient:“An efficient education is one that achieves what it sets out to achieve.”
• Suitable:it prepares your child for life in modern society, helps them reach their potential, and doesn't close off their options later. The guidance expects it to include numeracy, literacy and language skills.
• Full-time:“There is currently no legal definition of what ‘full-time’ education is.” School hours (22 to 25 a week) aren't the yardstick for one child at home, but education that barely features in your child's life probably won't count. The handbook suggests you can at least show roughly how much time it takes.

You don't have to follow the Curriculum for Wales, keep a timetable or school hours, or hold any qualifications. The guidance says assessing suitability “should not be about measuring the child’s attainment or testing the child”.

Exams are a subject of their own, and we'll cover them separately.