Home Education Underfunded, Warns Children's Commissioner

Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has expressed concerns that councils lack the necessary funding and staff to fulfill new responsibilities regarding home education. The upcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to establish a register for all home-educated children, requiring local authorities to assess the suitability of family learning environments.

While supporting tighter regulation, Dame Rachel warns that insufficient funding could hinder the consistent delivery of high-quality services nationwide. The number of children educated at home has surged by 37% since the pandemic, reaching 126,000 as of autumn 2025. Experts attribute this increase to parental worries about children's mental health and inadequate support for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Parents like Katrina Farrell, who withdrew her daughter Alice due to mental health struggles, view the new regulations as intrusive, arguing that safeguarding risks are comparable to those in mainstream schools. Experts also worry that home-educated children, especially vulnerable ones, could become invisible without the protective factors schools provide.

Concerns are mounting over the capacity of local authorities to manage these expanded duties, with some home education officers responsible for hundreds of children. The government has stated it will provide additional funding to support these new measures and is committed to improving the SEND system to ensure children receive timely support.