Home Education in Wales: The Law, Deregistering and Whats Changing

Wales shares its core home education law with England, which is good news, because it means the freedom is well established. But there are Welsh specifics worth knowing, and one significant change now working its way in. Here is where Wales stands.

The law: the same duty as England

Home education in Wales rests on section 7 of the Education Act 1996, which applies to both nations. The duty is on the parent to secure an efficient, full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, either by school attendance or otherwise. Educating at home is the “or otherwise”, and it is entirely lawful.

As in England, there is no legal requirement to follow the national curriculum, and in Wales that means you do not have to follow the Curriculum for Wales, keep school hours or terms, teach set subjects, or sit any particular assessments. A suitable education for your child is the standard, and you shape it.

Deregistering from a Welsh school

If your child has never been to school, you simply begin, with nothing to apply for. If your child is currently enrolled, you deregister by writing to the head teacher to remove them from the register.

One important warning: it must be in writing. Simply keeping your child at home, or telling the school verbally, is not enough and can leave you exposed to prosecution for non-attendance under section 444 of the Education Act 1996. A short, clear written notice is what protects you. The one exception is a child at a special school, where you need the local authority’s consent to remove them from the roll.

The local authority’s role

Welsh local authorities may make informal enquiries to satisfy themselves that a suitable education is happening, and the Welsh Government publishes a parental handbook setting out what parents and councils are each responsible for. As elsewhere in the UK, a council does not have an automatic right to enter your home, and you can engage with enquiries in writing.

What is changing: the children not in school register

This is the part to keep an eye on. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 introduces a statutory register of children not in school across England and Wales, and the Senedd has adopted these provisions for Wales. In practice this means a duty for parents to register home-educated children with their local authority is being brought in, with the detailed regulations and timing being finalised.

It is a change in paperwork, not in your right to home educate, but it is worth understanding before you start. We cover what the Act means for home-educating families in detail in our guide to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.

Getting started in Wales

Once the legal starting point is handled, home educating in Wales looks like home educating anywhere: finding your rhythm, deschooling from the classroom mindset, and choosing an approach that fits your child. Our guide to starting home education and our overview of home education approaches and styles both apply directly, and our UK home education FAQ answers the questions that come up most. If you are elsewhere in the UK, we also have a dedicated guide to home education in Scotland, where the rules differ more sharply.