Home Education in Lancashire: How Many Children and the Law (2026)

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These are Lancashire’s own figures, as reported to the Department for Education and published in 2026. We have set them beside the England averages so you can see whether home education where you live is unusual or ordinary. For most families the answer is ordinary, and getting more so.

Lancashire at a glance

Home education in Lancashire has risen 65.6% in three years. Across England the rise was about 55.7%, from 80,900 children in autumn 2022/23 to 126,000 now.

Year on year it is up 19.2%. Of the 151 councils with comparable figures, 130 went up, so Lancashire is part of a national pattern rather than a local one.

Who is actually being home educated in Lancashire

75.8% of home educated children in Lancashire are in secondary year groups. That matters because home education is still widely imagined as a choice made for young children. Nationally the largest single group is Year 11, then Year 10, then Year 9, and Reception is the smallest.

The largest groups here are Year 11 (660), Year 10 (540), Year 9 (520).

Why families in Lancashire say they left

The reasons Lancashire recorded most often:

• Other: 1,110 (37.0%)
• Mental health: 840 (28.0%)
• School dissatisfaction general: 240 (8.0%)
• Lifestyle: 180 (6.0%)
• No reason given: 150 (5.0%)
• Philosophical or preferential: 130

Treat these with real caution. 42.3% of Lancashire’s records fall under “other”, “unknown” or “no reason given”, so the named reasons describe only part of the picture. Councils record this very differently from one another, which is why we have not ranked anyone on it.

Nationally, mental health is the single largest recorded reason at 16%, ahead of philosophical or preferential reasons at 12%. Whatever the label, a large share of families are leaving because school stopped working, not because they always planned to teach at home.

What the law actually says

Home education is legal, and in England you do not need anyone’s permission to do it. Under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 a parent must cause a child of compulsory school age to receive efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs they may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Those last two words are the whole basis of home education.

If your child is already at a mainstream school, you deregister by writing to the head teacher. Under regulation 9(1)(f) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, once you notify the school in writing that your child will no longer attend and will be educated otherwise than at school, the school must delete the name from the admission register and tell the council. The head teacher cannot refuse.

The exception is a special school placement arranged by the local authority. There, the school cannot remove your child from roll without the council’s consent. That rule already exists in regulation 9 and applies now, independently of anything in the 2026 Act.

Is the Children Not in School register in force yet?

No, not in England. The Children Not in School provisions sit in sections 37 to 42 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Checked on 21 August 2026, those sections are in force only for the purpose of making regulations, under section 78(1)(a) of the Act. The duties themselves, including the register and the extra consent requirements for withdrawing some children from school, need commencement regulations from the Secretary of State that have not yet been made. In Wales the same sections commence separately, on a day appointed by Welsh Ministers.

In plain terms: there is nothing to register today, and no new paperwork you are required to produce that was not already required. It is coming, and it is worth being ready, but it is not here.

What can the council ask me for?

Councils have a duty under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to identify children in their area who are not receiving a suitable education. That is the power behind the letters home educating families receive. You are not required to follow the national curriculum, to teach at fixed hours, to hold any qualification, or to allow a home visit. Most families reply with a short written summary of the education they are providing, which is usually the end of it.

If you are thinking about it in Lancashire

• How to deregister your child from school, with a letter you can send.
• Free deregistration letter generator.
• Free local authority response letter generator, for when the council writes to you.
• Compare Lancashire with every other council in England.
• Everything we have on home education.

Read the government’s own home education guidance too. It is short, free and official, and it says less than most councils imply.

Common questions about Lancashire

How many children are home educated in Lancashire?

There were 2,980 children in elective home education in Lancashire in the autumn term of 2025/26, which is 1.6% of pupils. Across England the total was 126,000.

Do I need permission from Lancashire to home educate?

Not if your child is at a mainstream school. You write to the head teacher saying your child will be educated otherwise than at school from a given date, and the school must remove them from the register under regulation 9(1)(f) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. The council is informed, but it is not asked to approve. The exception is a special school place arranged by the council, which does need its consent.

Do I have to register with the Children Not in School register?

Not yet. The register is in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, but as at 21 August 2026 sections 37 to 42 are in force in England only for the purpose of making regulations. The duty itself is waiting on commencement regulations that have not been made, so there is nothing to register today.

Can Lancashire make me have a home visit?

No. Councils may make enquiries under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 where it appears a child may not be receiving a suitable education, but you are not required to admit anyone to your home, to follow the national curriculum, or to hold any qualification. A short written summary of the education you provide is the usual response.

Sources

• Department for Education, Elective home education, autumn term 2025/26. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
• Education Act 1996, section 7.
• School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, regulation 9.
• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, sections 37 to 42 and section 78.