General information about Wales, not legal advice. Most of our other articles are about England, where some of the rules differ. The law is changing in both nations, so check the gov.wales and legislation.gov.uk pages linked below before you act.
The duty is the same as in England
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 applies in both nations. Under it, every parent of a child of compulsory school age has to secure "efficient full-time education" for them, suited to their age, ability and aptitude, "either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". The one Welsh twist is in the wording: for a child in a Welsh council's area, the education must suit any additional learning needs (ALN) they have. In England the same line says special educational needs.
Education is compulsory, the Welsh Government's guidance says, but going to school isn't. Nor does your child have to follow the Curriculum for Wales or put in a set number of learning hours. You need no qualifications to teach them.
How to deregister from a Welsh school
From a mainstream school
Write to the head teacher saying you'll be educating your child at home. Telling the school verbally isn't enough, according to the Welsh Government's handbook for home educators, whose Annex A is a model letter. Once your child has stopped attending and the school has your written notice, their name must come off the admission register (regulation 8(1)(d) of the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010).
You don't have to tell the council yourself. The school has 10 school days from the removal to send it your child's name and address (regulation 12(3)). And if your child has never been to school, no notification is needed at all, though the handbook strongly recommends getting in touch.
From a special school
A special school is different. If the council arranged your child's place there, the school can't take their name off the register without the council's consent, and a refusal can be overridden only by a direction from the Welsh Ministers (regulation 8(2) of the same regulations). You still write to the school, which passes your wishes on and waits for the council's answer. A child with an individual development plan (IDP) at a mainstream school leaves the same way as any other child.
What your council does next
Unlike the Department for Education's guidance in England, the guidance Welsh councils work to is statutory. Elective home education guidance (document 292/2023) was issued in October 2023, and councils must have regard to it under section 436A of the Education Act 1996. If they depart from it, they have to give clear reasons.
| Topic | What the Welsh guidance says |
|---|---|
| Seeing your child | The council should see and communicate with the child to judge whether the education is suitable |
| Saying no | Parents and Gillick-competent children may decline a meeting |
| Where | Not necessarily at home; a mutually agreed place is fine |
| How often | At least once a year, more often if there are concerns |
| Afterwards | A written report within 10 days, which you can discuss and have factual errors corrected |
| Judging suitability | On your approach and the education you give, not the Curriculum for Wales |
Declining a meeting has a cost, though. The guidance says that if the council can't see the child, it may not be able to satisfy itself the education is suitable. If it still isn't satisfied, it follows the same steps as in England: a written notice under section 437 giving you at least 15 days to show your child is receiving a suitable education, and then possibly a school attendance order.
It helps to keep dated samples of work and brief notes as you go; the habits in home education records work just as well in Wales.
What's changing: the register and consent rules
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. Its provisions on children not in school cover Wales as well as England, and the Senedd consented to them on 17 March 2026. England's start date is set separately: see our guide to the Children Not in School register and deregistering from school in England.
For Wales, the Welsh Government's page on the Act and home education lists these plans:
- a duty on councils to keep a register of children not in school, and a duty on parents to give information for it, including details of the education;
- council consent before a child on the child protection register, or subject to section 47 enquiries, can be taken out of school to home educate;
- a power for councils to ask to meet the family and see and speak with the child, with a refusal able to lead into the school attendance order process;
- changes to the school attendance order process.
Wales already has the special school consent rule. The new one doesn't reach children at maintained schools just because they have an IDP.
None of these plans is in force in Wales yet. Section 78(3) leaves the start date for Wales to regulations made by the Welsh Ministers, and when we checked on 23 October 2026 we found no such regulations. The Welsh Government says it will consult on all the secondary legislation and guidance first. Decisions on when and how to bring the measures in, it says, are for the next Welsh Government.
Separately, seven Welsh councils piloted a children missing education database under regulations that ran from 8 April 2025 and stopped having effect on 8 April 2026. A March 2026 written statement says the pilot has been evaluated.
Additional learning needs and IDPs
Wales replaced its special educational needs system with the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, and you can home educate a child who has an IDP.
The Welsh Government's March 2026 guidance, Additional learning needs (ALN) and elective home education, sets out what happens to an IDP when a child leaves school:
- If the school kept the IDP, its duty ends when your child is no longer on its roll (section 31). The IDP shouldn't simply be dropped. The school should ask for it to transfer to the council when it tells the council you're home educating, and the duty to maintain it moves across.
- An early review with you and your child is usually appropriate.
- The council must make sure the additional learning provision in the plan is secured. That doesn't mean the council delivers it: a parent can deliver it, but the council then has to satisfy itself that it's happening. Where you can't provide all of it, the council has to work out how it will be secured, for example extra provision alongside home education or training for you.
- The IDP can end only after an informed decision under the ALN Code, such as when your child no longer has ALN, and you keep your appeal rights to the Education Tribunal for Wales.
If your home-educated child has no IDP and you think they have ALN, the council must decide whether they do once this is brought to its attention (section 13 of the Act, as the 2023 guidance explains). England uses EHC plans instead, covered in home education and SEND.
Support from Welsh councils
Home-educating families pay their own way, and the handbook says councils have no legal obligation to fund them. Even so, the guidance sets out a wider package of support agreed between the Welsh Government and councils. It includes a chance to sit exams at an identified exam centre, ALN advice, and access to council counselling services, Careers Wales and Cadw sites. Where possible, you should also be able to use Hwb, the Welsh Government's digital learning platform. On top of that comes the council's own offer for home-educated children, developed using any funding the Welsh Government allocates for home education.
Councils should also give you a named contact. What each one offers in practice varies, so ask your elective home education officer.
Exams
You pay the fees, and exams have to be sat at an approved centre. WJEC accepts an entry only where a school or college has agreed to enter you, and that centre also has to supervise and mark any coursework. Our guide to GCSEs as a private candidate is about England, but it still helps with planning ahead.
If you can't find a centre, WJEC suggests asking your local education authority. The 2023 guidance says all Welsh councils have agreed to accept home-educated private candidates at an identified centre for WJEC exams, so ask yours early how it handles them.