The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill received Royal Assent on April 29th 2026. Whilst the legislation has been passed, the measures are NOT yet in force. To help you navigate this transition we have updated guidance from the DfE. Please read the full guidance here: DfE Letter to Parents DfE Letter to LAs Stay […]
Updated Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Frequently Asked Questions
What stage is the Bill at? The House of Commons has accepted all of the amendments from the House of lords save for the ‘Barran’ amendment’. However, the Bill is not law at this stage. The Bill cannot become law until it has Royal assent and then it is enacted. Royal assent is expected to […]
Proposed SEND Reforms At a Glance
The Government White paper on SEND reform published this week is a rather heavy read for busy parents, but in practice, it comes down to a small range of plans which we have analysed for those parents too busy educating to read ‘War and Peace’. Individual Support Plans (ISPs) EHCPs will not be available to the […]
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill UPDATE
Many parents are worried about the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and we know that there is a lot of misinformation about the Bill online. For most parents, the Bill will introduce a requirement to provide a certain amount of data to the local authority but not otherwise affect them. Parents whose child is […]
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – Reassurances and Promises made by the Minister
A great many parents and young people are concerned about the implications of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Peers in the House of Lords have raised concerns about many aspects of the bill and, by doing so, have received a number of promises and reassurances from the Minister. As parents are aware, legal advice […]
The Child Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025
Some good news for parents! Child benefit arrangements have been amended for young people post 16 and still in home education. Home education need not start before 16. This means that your child can try college without you being worried that you will lose child benefit. Disabled and sick children will now […]
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: The Facts
A lot of parents are confused by what the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (CWSB) will mean to them. This is hardly surprising given the mix of fear, misinformation and misunderstanding that proliferates when such bills are going through Parliament. This situation is not helped by some local authorities mistakenly trying to put the Bill […]
Get the Kit! – The Education Otherwise award for excellence
What is ‘Kit’ The ‘kit’ award is based on an education officer we call ‘Kit’, because we believe that every education officer who comes into contact with home educating parents should be like Kit. Kit could be any man or woman in the role, but what makes Kit stand out, is that home educating families […]
Education Otherwise is sad to announce the death of Iris Harrison
The older amongst us will remember how the Harrison family’s battle against their local authority for the right to home educate their children became a cause célèbre in the 1970s and introduced many people in the UK to the concept that education could take place otherwise than at school. As one of the founder members […]
Updated Welsh Guidance
Education Otherwise is currently in discussion with legal counsel in respect of the new Welsh guidance to ascertain whether this can be challenged, and how best to proceed. We will shortly launch a fundraiser to support the campaign, and will update once we have further information. […]
