The Home Education Mandatory Meeting Pilot: Everything You Need to Know (Free Prep Sheet)

One of the least explained parts of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 is a pilot that would require parents to meet their Local Authority before a child can be taken off a school roll for home education. It is already generating worry in parent groups, mostly because nobody has set out plainly what the Act actually says. This guide goes back to the wording of the law itself, separates what is settled from what is still undecided, and ends with a free sheet to help you prepare, in case you are ever in a pilot area.

This guide is general information for families in England, written in October 2026, and is not legal advice. The detail of the pilot will be set by regulations that have not yet been published, so check the latest position before acting.

The Short Version

• The Act (Royal Assent, 29 April 2026) creates a pilot scheme, not a national rule. It can run in no more than 30 per cent of Local Authorities in England, for between two and five years.
• In a pilot area, a school must not remove your child from its register until the Local Authority has told the school that a meeting with you has taken place.
• As far as we can find, no pilot areas have been named yet, and the regulations that will set up the pilot have not been made.
• The Act lists what the meeting must cover. As we read it, nothing in the pilot section gives the Local Authority a power to say no.

Where This Comes From in the Act

The pilot sits in section 37 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which inserts a new section 434B into the Education Act 1996. The government has up to two years from the day section 37 comes fully into force to make regulations that set the pilot up. Those regulations will name the Local Authorities taking part and say how long the pilot runs. They can also exempt particular descriptions of children.

Until then, nothing changes. Deregistering from a mainstream school still works exactly as it does today: a written letter to the school.

What Will Happen in a Pilot Area

If your Local Authority is named in the regulations, the process would add one step between deciding to home educate and the school removing your child from its register:

1. You decide to home educate.
2. The Local Authority arranges a meeting with you.
3. The meeting takes place.
4. The Local Authority gives the school notice that the meeting has taken place.
5. Only then may the school take your child's name off the register.

The meeting is not a permission slip, but it is a gate. The Act sets out what must be discussed. It does not say the Local Authority can refuse.

Who Has to Attend

Under the wording of section 434B:

• You must attend and take part.
• Your child must attend as well, unless exceptional circumstances apply. The Act does not say what counts as exceptional.
• A representative of the school may attend, but only if you consent.

The Act does not say where the meeting is held, who from the Local Authority attends, or how long it lasts. Those are matters for the regulations and guidance.

What the Meeting Must Cover

The Local Authority must make sure the meeting discusses:

1. Your duty under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 to make sure your child receives a suitable education, and how you plan to meet it.
2. The duties and support the Local Authority has.
3. Your reasons for withdrawing your child from school.
4. Your child's support needs.
5. The safeguarding and welfare of your child.
6. Anything else relevant to the decision.

Notice that the list is built around conversation, not evidence. As worded, nothing in it creates a new right to demand documents, a curriculum or a home visit. Our guide to what a Local Authority can and cannot ask you to prove still sets out the boundaries that apply to evidence.

The Real Question: What About Delays?

This is the part worth watching. Because the school cannot remove your child until it hears from the Local Authority, the practical risk is not refusal, it is delay. The Act, as written, does not set a time limit for holding the meeting. The regulations may add one.

Until they do, if you are ever in a pilot area:

• Put your request in writing and keep a dated copy.
• Chase in writing if no date is offered, and keep a note of every reply.
• Remember your child is still on the roll until the meeting has happened, so ordinary attendance rules continue in the meantime. Speak to the school about how absences will be recorded.

How This Is Different From the Consent Rules

The pilot meeting is separate from another change in the same section. New section 434A will require Local Authority consent before certain children are withdrawn: those at a special school, and those who are, or in the last five years have been, the subject of child protection enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. That is a different mechanism with a different test, and it is not part of the pilot. Both are explained in more detail in our guides to home education with an EHCP and, soon, home education and child protection plans. The measures are not yet in force.

Am I in a Pilot Area?

At the time of writing, nobody can say, because the regulations naming the areas have not been published. When they are, you will be able to check your own Local Authority's website, the Department for Education announcements, and the updates pages of organisations such as the Home Education Advisory Service. We will update this guide when the areas are named.

How to Prepare Now, Even If You Are Not in a Pilot Area

Whether or not you are ever asked to attend, thinking through the six topics above is useful preparation for any conversation with your Local Authority, and it is exactly what our free prep sheet below is for. It gives you one box for each topic, so that your reasons, your plans and your child's needs are already written down in your own words.

Two things are worth doing in advance:

• Write your reasons for home educating in a few honest sentences. There is no right answer, and a calm, factual account is all that is needed.
• Talk to your child about what a meeting like this would involve, so that it does not come as a surprise.

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Sources and Further Reading

• The text of section 37 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on legislation.gov.uk
• The House of Commons Library briefing on home education, June 2026
• Updates from the Home Education Advisory Service

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the mandatory meeting in force now?

No. The Act creates the power for a pilot, but the regulations that set it up have not been made, and no pilot areas have been named. For now, you deregister from a mainstream school in the usual way, by writing to the school.

Will every Local Authority hold these meetings?

Not at first. The pilot can cover no more than 30 per cent of Local Authorities in England, and it must run for between two and five years. What happens after the pilot is a matter for later regulations.

Can the Local Authority refuse to let me home educate after the meeting?

The Act does not give the Local Authority that power in the pilot. It requires a meeting to take place and requires the Local Authority to tell the school when it has. The separate consent rules in section 434A apply to a different, narrower group of children.

Does my child have to come to the meeting?

Under the Act, yes, unless exceptional circumstances apply. The Act does not define exceptional circumstances, so this is likely to be clarified in guidance.

Will my child's school be at the meeting?

Only if you agree. A school representative may attend if the parent consents.

I already home educate. Does this apply to me?

The pilot concerns the step of removing a child from a school register, so, as the Act is worded, it is not aimed at families who have already deregistered. The new Children Not in School register is a separate measure.

Summary: What We Know and What We Do Not

Question	What the Act says	Still to be decided
Where does it apply?	Up to 30 per cent of Local Authorities in England	Which ones
How long?	Between two and five years	The start date
Who attends?	Parent, child (unless exceptional circumstances), school only with consent	Where, and with whom from the Local Authority
What is discussed?	Six listed topics, including suitable education and safeguarding	How the meeting is run
Can it block home education?	No power to refuse is set out	Whether regulations add any
How long can it take?	No time limit set out	Whether regulations add one

For most families, nothing changes today. The most useful thing to do is to understand the shape of what may be coming, have your own reasons and plans clear in your own words, and keep a written record of any dealings with your Local Authority along the way.

Little Folio is a record-keeping app built for home educating families in England. Log activities, store evidence, manage Local Authority correspondence, and generate professional reports in one place.

Last updated: October 2026. This post is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The pilot scheme is not yet in force; check the latest position on legislation.gov.uk or with a home education support organisation before acting.