The legal basis is section 7 of the Education Act 1996. It puts the duty on parents to make sure a child of compulsory school age receives efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs, "either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". Home education is the "otherwise".
For a school, EHE usually starts with a letter. Under the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, a school must delete a pupil's name once a parent has told it in writing that the child will be educated otherwise than at school from a certain day and that day has passed (regulation 9(1)(f), Ground F; attendance guidance paragraph 245). The school then sends the local authority a deletion return.
KCSIE 2026 says many home-educated children have a positive experience, but home education can make some children less visible to the services that keep them safe (paragraph 222). It recommends a meeting with the parents, the school and the local authority before the decision is final, especially where the child has SEND or a social worker (paragraph 224).
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 will require local authority consent to withdraw some children for home education, and registers of children not in school. When we checked on 20 October 2026, those sections (37 and 38) were not in force. The DfE's elective home education guidance (2019, updated August 2024) still applies.