Home education in Wales: the law in plain English

What does Welsh law actually say?

The same thing as English law on the core duty, plus a layer of Welsh Government guidance on top.

The underlying duty is Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, which applies in Wales and England equally. It requires parents to cause their child to receive "efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". "Or otherwise" is the phrase that makes home education lawful; it does not require any permission or registration to invoke.

Education is devolved in Wales, and the Welsh Government (rather than the Department for Education) issues guidance to Welsh local authorities (LAs) on how to handle home education. The guidance evolves; at this article's review date, Welsh Government had published a handbook for LAs on elective home education that is more prescriptive than the English 2019 guidance in places. The underlying duty has not changed; the surrounding culture has.

How is Wales different from England?

In three specific ways worth knowing.

First, the guidance. Welsh Government guidance expects LAs to try to establish a relationship with home-educating families and to make contact periodically. English guidance is softer. Welsh LAs are therefore more likely to write within weeks of deregistration, more likely to ask for an annual check-in and more likely to describe home visits as a default expectation rather than an optional one. None of this changes the underlying law, and you have the same ability to decline a home visit in Wales as you do in England (there is no statutory power of entry in Wales any more than in England). The culture is simply more active.

Second, the curriculum. The Curriculum for Wales is statutory in maintained Welsh schools from 2022 onwards and is shaped around four purposes rather than subjects. It does not apply to home-educated children. Welsh LAs occasionally frame enquiries in Curriculum-for-Wales language; the response is the same as the English equivalent, which is to describe your own approach in your own voice and note that home-educated children are not required to follow the Curriculum for Wales.

Third, Welsh-language considerations. A Welsh-speaking household, or a family that has withdrawn from a Welsh-medium school, often wants to keep Welsh as a language of education at home. This is entirely lawful and fits naturally within Section 7. The Welsh Government's Learn Welsh (Dysgu Cymraeg) service offers resources for adults; Cylch Meithrin groups and home-education groups in Welsh-speaking areas (particularly in Gwynedd, Ceredigion, Anglesey and Carmarthenshire) support Welsh-medium home learning.

What does the deregistration process look like?

Short, familiar if you have read the English article: a written notification to the head teacher, and the school's obligation to remove the child from the admission register follows automatically.

The legal basis is the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations (the Welsh equivalent of the 2006 Regulations in England). The head teacher cannot refuse. No consent, approval or interview is required. The school is expected to notify the LA within the statutory timeframe.

The head-teacher letter in Wales looks almost identical to the English one; the only change worth making is to reference Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 (which applies in Wales) rather than the English Regulations, and to name the school as a Welsh school. The dedicated article on deregistration letters in the related reading has a template that works in both nations.

What happens after deregistration in Wales?

A letter from the LA, usually within three to six weeks. Welsh LAs tend to be on the faster and more active end of the LA-engagement spectrum. The letter typically introduces the home-education officer and asks for a meeting or a written account of your educational provision.

The reply is the same short one-page account you would write in England: your approach, a rhythm of a typical week, a few subject-coverage notes and specific recent examples. There is a dedicated article on writing the LA reply in the related reading.

Home visits in Wales are technically optional, as in England, but the Welsh Government handbook expects LAs to pursue them more actively. A polite declining letter offering a video call or a library meeting is the right response when a visit is not wanted. Most Welsh LAs accept that alternative.

A real Welsh deregistration

A family we will call the Morgans in Swansea deregistered their Year 4 son in October. They sent the head-teacher letter on a Friday; the removal from the roll was confirmed on the following Wednesday. The LA wrote on the Monday of the fourth week after deregistration, introducing a home-education officer and proposing a home visit in early December.

The Morgans replied within a fortnight. They declined the home visit, offered a video call as an alternative and attached a one-page account of their home-education approach. The video call happened two weeks later, lasted twenty-five minutes, was friendly and concluded with the officer noting that provision looked suitable. The file closed two weeks after that, with an informal annual check-in pencilled for the following year.

This is roughly the median Welsh experience. The timeline is slightly tighter than in England; the substance of the correspondence is the same.

Children Not in Education Register (Wales)

Wales has been consulting on and developing its own version of the Children Not in School register, distinct from the English proposals under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2025. At this article's review date, the Welsh register is not fully in force; the Welsh Government has published consultation outputs and draft regulations. This is the fastest-moving part of Welsh home-education law and the part most likely to be out of date by the time you read it.

Before acting on anything in this section, check the most recent Welsh Government guidance page on gov.wales and consider ringing HE-UK Wales for the current position. The general principle (LAs have a duty to identify children not receiving a suitable education, which is broadly the Welsh equivalent of the English Section 436A) is stable; the specific registration duties on parents are still moving.

This article is information, not legal advice. If the council is insisting on a home visit as a condition of satisfaction, raising safeguarding concerns or disputing an IDP, ring HE-UK Wales or contact a Welsh solicitor.