A letter from the council about your child’s education can make your stomach drop, even when you are confident in what you are doing. This article offers a calm four-step way to prepare. It is general information, not legal advice. Everything it says about the official position comes from two GOV.UK guidance documents on elective home education (checked 23 October 2026, jurisdiction: England).
What the official guidance says
The Department for Education’s guidance for parents says that a local authority is “entitled to make informal enquiries of parents to establish what education is being provided” (paragraph 5.2). The guidance for local authorities says the department’s advice is that where it is not clear whether home education is suitable, the authority “should initially attempt to resolve those doubts through informal contact and enquiries” (paragraph 6.4).
The parents’ guidance also says that parents are “under no legal obligation to respond” to such enquiries, but that if you do not, the authority “is entitled to conclude from the absence of any response” that it appears your child is not receiving a suitable education (paragraph 5.3). The local authority guidance says much the same (paragraph 6.5). In other words, the guidance treats a reply as worth thinking about carefully.
Both documents are listed on the GOV.UK publication page for elective home education, which shows the local authority guidance as last updated on 19 August 2024. The copies we read carry an April 2019 date on their covers, so check the GOV.UK page for the current versions.
The four-step method
- Read the letter slowly, then read it again. Note who sent it, which team they are in, the date, and what exactly they are asking for. Is it a general enquiry, a request for information, a request to meet, or something that calls itself a formal notice? The guidance describes a formal notice under section 437(1) of the Education Act 1996 as a separate, later stage, and says the period given to respond must not be less than 15 days (local authority guidance, paragraph 6.9). If the letter mentions a notice or a deadline, write the date on a calendar straight away. If you cannot tell what kind of letter you have received, ask your council to explain, or ask a home-education organisation.
- Gather examples of work and a simple plan. The parents’ guidance says some authorities ask to see the child as well as “examples of work done” (paragraph 5.4). A small, dated selection is usually easier to share than everything. Photographs of projects, a few pieces of writing or maths, a reading list and a short outline of what you are covering this year are common choices. Our posts on keeping records and building a light year plan can help you assemble these without a big job.
- Write a short, factual reply. A few paragraphs are often enough: who your child is, how you are educating them, roughly how much time it takes, and what you are enclosing. The guidance says parents “should at least be able to quantify and demonstrate the amount of time” their child is educated (paragraph 2.9). It also says that home-educating parents are not required to have a timetable, set hours, or observe school hours, days or terms (paragraph 2.8). Stay with description rather than argument. If you are unsure whether to meet or allow a visit, see the Limitations below.
- Keep a copy of everything. Keep the original letter, your reply, the date you sent it, how you sent it, and a list of what you enclosed. If you post it, consider a tracked method. Put a follow-up date in your diary, because the guidance for local authorities notes that authorities “should take care to ensure that the family has received any enquiries” (paragraph 6.10), and a record on your side helps if letters cross or go astray.
A hypothetical example
This is an invented illustration, not a real family or case. Imagine a parent, whom we will call Sam, who receives a letter asking for “information about the education being provided” for a nine-year-old. Sam reads it twice and notes it is a general enquiry with no deadline. Sam picks six pieces of work from the last few months, writes a one-page outline of the year’s reading, maths and projects, and writes a reply of about 250 words. Sam sends copies by post, files the originals, and diarises a check-in after two weeks. Whether this would satisfy any particular council is something only that council can say.
Assumptions
- You live in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules, and this article does not cover them.
- Your child is of compulsory school age and is educated at home by choice, rather than being on a school roll.
- You are dealing with a general enquiry. A formal notice, a safeguarding concern or a special educational needs process may involve different steps.
- The guidance documents we read are still current. They were the versions linked from the GOV.UK page on 23 October 2026.
Limitations
- This is not legal advice, and we are not lawyers. The guidance is departmental guidance, and it points to the law rather than replacing it.
- On meetings, the parents’ guidance says parents have “no legal obligation from education law” to agree to a meeting or to produce specific evidence, but that they “should consider carefully the reasons for not doing so” (paragraph 5.4), and it refers to a separate section on safeguarding. The local authority guidance says a refusal of a visit can in some circumstances justify a formal notice (paragraph 6.6). We cannot tell you which approach suits your situation.
- Each council has its own published policy. The parents’ guidance says this is usually on the council’s website (paragraph 5.5). Read it, because local procedures differ.
- Home education law and guidance can change, so check GOV.UK and your council for the current position.
- Anything unclear in your letter is best put to your council in writing, or to a home-education organisation.
Next step
Put the letter, a folder or envelope, and a pen on the table, and do step one only: read it and write down what it asks and by when. Then look up your own council’s published home education policy. If you would like to think through what counts as evidence of progress, our post on assessment and qualifications for home educated children is a good companion read.
Sources: the GOV.UK elective home education publication page, and the DfE guidance for parents and for local authorities, all linked from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education.