General information about England, not legal advice. Councils differ in what they ask for, so ask yours.
Is there a legal requirement?
No. There's no set form or required log. Your duty is to give your child a suitable, full-time education. Your council's part is to step in if it appears that isn't happening. To find out, it can make an informal enquiry, and records are the easiest way to answer one.
The Children Not in School register will add a duty to give your council some details: about your child and you, who educates them and where, and roughly how much of their time each part takes. It doesn't ask for a portfolio of work. Whether the education is suitable is a separate conversation that carries on alongside the register, and that's where records still matter.
What a council is trying to find out
Most informal enquiries come down to five questions. A good record answers them without you having to write an essay.
| Question | What answers it |
|---|---|
| What is your approach? | A short written description: what you cover, how, and why it suits your child |
| Is it really happening? | Dated examples of work spread across the year, not one polished folder |
| Is it full-time? | A rough picture of how time is spent across a week or a term |
| Is it suitable for this child? | How the approach fits their age, ability and any special educational needs |
| Who else is involved? | Tutors, classes, groups, clubs, online courses |
"Full-time" isn't defined as a number of hours for home education. Learning doesn't have to happen between nine and three. Trips, reading and conversation all count. Be ready to describe the shape of a typical week.
What to keep
A description of your approach
Write one or two pages once, then update them each year. Cover the subjects or areas you teach, the resources you use, how your child learns best, and what you hope they'll be able to do by the end of the year. Structured, autonomous or somewhere in between, any of these can be suitable, and this is where you explain yours.
Samples of work, dated
A handful per subject per term is plenty. For example:
- a piece of writing
- a page of maths
- a photo of a model or an experiment
- a programme from a performance
Date everything, and don't save only the best pieces. Ordinary work shows the education is happening.
A simple log
What was covered, any trips or classes, books read: a line or two a day or a short note a week will do, and nobody needs hours to the minute. If you want a total for the term, the free hours calculator will add it up.
Who else teaches your child
Note each tutor, group and class, what they cover and roughly how often, and keep any feedback or reports a tutor sends.
A note of progress
Everything else in the folder makes more sense with this beside it. Once a term, write a few sentences per subject on where your child started, where they are now and what's next.
What you don't need
- Worksheets done only to fill a folder. They take time away from learning and add little to the record.
- Everything. A few examples from across the year will do, and nobody wants to read a box of every page.
- A school-style timetable. Describe how your week runs.
- Formal tests, unless they're part of how you teach.
A weekly habit that keeps it light
Ten minutes on a Friday is enough for most families:
- Pick two or three photos or pieces of work from the week and save them with the date and subject.
- Write a few lines on what was covered, including outings, classes and books.
- Note anything new: a tutor, a group, a change of direction.
Give the progress note half an hour at the end of each term. By the end of the year your record is already written, and you can answer an enquiry letter the same week it arrives.
How long to keep it
No rule says. The current year and the one before is a sensible minimum. Many families keep the progress notes and a few examples from every year, since nobody else holds a record of their child's education.
Sharing it with your council
What you send is up to you. A written reply with your description, a progress summary and a selection of examples is a common and accepted way to respond to an informal enquiry. For now, you don't have to agree to a home visit. Once the register starts, a council may ask for one and take a refusal into account. Send copies rather than originals, and note what you sent and when.
Child still at school? Start with how to deregister your child from school.
Paper or software
The free education record builder makes a printable record from your notes, in your browser and with no account. If you use AltEd, the portfolio holds dated photo-and-note evidence by subject, progress and attendance keeps the log, reports prints an education record for any period from what you've already recorded, and local authority readiness shows where your records would leave a council's question unanswered.
A notebook, a folder and the photos on your phone can do all of this too, as long as you keep the record while it happens.