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Home Education Alliance · May 25, 2026

25th May 2026 - The 2028 Home Ed Question

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Home Education Alliance · Home Education Alliance

This week the Department for Education published its implementation plan for Delivering the Children’s Social Care Reset.

The document states that measures to “protect the most vulnerable children in elective home education” will be implemented by autumn 2028 but offers no further detail or clarification. “Children Missing Education”, “Children Not in School” and registers are not mentioned in the linked document. Keep in mind that this is fundamentally a social care document rather than a general education policy overview.

While 2028 feels far away, this does not mean we will be free from new guidance or consultations before then. We are making no assumptions and will keep you updated when we know more.

For now, the DfE is remaining vague. We strongly advise that you continue writing to your MPs to demand a concrete timeline for when the guidance consultation will actually commence.

Many of you will have seen the recent campaign circulating online regarding a legal challenge against the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.

This is being led by Sarah, a highly respected advocate who runs an alternative provision utilising equine therapy to support neurodivergent youth and those struggling with their mental health. Sarah has seen firsthand the damage that the traditional school environment can cause vulnerable children. She understands deeply why parents must remain the primary safeguards for their children and why the state should not have the unilateral power to override parental decisions.

The crowdfunder aims to launch a judicial review to test whether the provisions within the Act are compatible with the Human Rights Act and the initial target is set at £30,000 to get this legal challenge properly off the ground. If you are in a position to skip a takeaway coffee this week and donate £5 to the cause, it would make a massive difference.

In a recent parliamentary written question from Vikki Slade MP asked whether assessment of the potential merits of offering free GCSE exams to home educated children has been made. Minister Josh MacAlister responded, reiterating the government’s position that parents assume full financial responsibility for GCSE costs.

The government have designed a system where English and Maths is promoted as an absolute passport to a child’s future, yet they refuse to control the exorbitant costs of external exam centres or create a viable access route for home-educated children. Aside from a few proactive local authorities, most families shoulder this heavy financial burden completely alone.

The Department for Education has found itself in hot water over a bizarre new PR campaign fronted by reality TV star Gemma Collins. Within mere days of the SEND Reform consultation closing, the campaign completely misread the room and has been met with a fierce backlash from the SEND community, educationalists and exhausted parents.

At a time when families are struggling to secure basic provision for their children, spending government time and resources on a glossy PR stunt rather than frontline services is frankly an insult and a poor choice from Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. The government was warned that their SEND reforms risk smothering schools, yet they focus their energy on telling us to stop focusing on the “doom and gloom”.

Meanwhile, Ofsted has finally made a crucial concession. Following immense pressure, Ofsted admitted the relationship between disadvantage and achievement judgments. They acknowledge that schools with above-average levels of deprivation are almost three times more likely to be graded poorly for achievement. It is a vital admission that the current inspection framework punishes inclusive schools while ignoring the systemic inequalities that communities face.

We highly recommend engaging with the Seventh UK National Action Plan for Open Government call for evidence. This is a brilliant opportunity to demand that local authorities standardise their websites. Finding basic policies, committee meeting minutes or the contact details for the director of children’s services shouldn’t be a maze. If the government truly wants open democracy, they need to remove the digital barriers stopping parents from holding their councils to account. This consultation closes at 5pm today (Monday 25th May).

You also have until the 26th of May to respond to the Growing up in the online world consultation regarding new digital safeguards and introducing potential age restrictions to internet services and social media.

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