Section 436C Content and maintenance of registersF1

(1)

A register under section 436B must contain the following information in respect of a child registered in it—

(a)

the child’s name, date of birth and home address, and if the child has lived at their current address for less than 12 months, their previous address;

(b)

any additional address if the child lives at more than one address;

(c)

the name and home address of each parent of the child;

(d)

the name of each parent who is providing education to that child;

(e)

an estimate of the overall total amount of time that the child spends receiving education from parents of the child;

(f)

an estimate of the overall total amount of time that the child spends receiving education from persons other than parents of the child;

(g)

if a particular provider other than the child’s parent is providing education to the child for more than the prescribed amount of time—

(i)

the name and address of the provider;

(ii)

a description of the type of provider that it is;

(iii)

the postal address of each place where that education is provided (where different from the address in sub-paragraph (i)) or the website or email address of the provider if that education is provided virtually;

(iv)

an estimate of the total amount of time that the child spends receiving that education and an estimate of the amount of time the child spends receiving that education without any parent of the child being actively involved in the tuition or supervision of the child.

(2)

To the extent that the local authority has the information or can reasonably obtain it, a register under section 436B must also contain such information about, or in connection with, the following matters in respect of a child registered in it as may be prescribed—

(a)

the child’s protected characteristics (within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010);

(b)

in the case of a child who is in the area of a local authority in England, whether the child has any special educational needs, including whether the local authority maintains an EHC plan for the child;

(c)

in the case of a child who is in the area of a local authority in Wales, whether the child has any additional learning needs, including whether an individual development plan is maintained for the child;

(d)

any enquiries being made or that have been made by a local authority under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 (local authority’s duty to investigate) and any actions that are being taken or have been taken by the authority or any other local authority following, or in connection with, enquiries under that section;

(e)

whether the child is or has ever been a child in need for the purposes of Part 3 of the Children Act 1989 (see section 17(10) of that Act) and, if so, any actions that a local authority is taking or has taken in relation to the child under that Part and any services that a local authority is providing or has provided to the child in the exercise of functions conferred on the authority by section 17 of that Act;

(f)

whether the child has ever been assessed as having needs for care and support for the purposes of Part 4 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (anaw 4) (see section 32(1) of that Act) and, if so, any actions that a local authority is taking or has taken in relation to the child under that Part (or Part 4 or 5 of the Children Act 1989) and any services that a local authority is providing or has provided to the child in the exercise of functions conferred on the authority by or under that Part (or Part 4 or 5 of the Children Act 1989);

(g)

whether the child is or has ever been looked after by a local authority in England (within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or in Wales (within the meaning of section 74 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014);

(h)

the reasons why the child meets condition C in section 436B, including any information provided by a parent of the child as to those reasons or, in a case where a parent has not provided that information, the fact that they have not done so;

(i)

whether, under arrangements made under section 436A, the child has been identified as a child who is of compulsory school age but who is not a registered pupil at a school and is not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school;

(j)

the school or institution or the type of school or institution (if any) that the child attends or has attended in the past;

(k)

whether support is being provided in relation to the child under section 436G and, if so, the nature of the support being provided;

(l)

any actions that have been taken by a local authority in relation to the child under sections 436I to 436Q (school attendance orders);

(m)

whether—

(i)

in the case of a child in England, the child is a young carer within the meaning of section 17ZA(3) of the Children Act 1989, as qualified by section 17ZB(3) of that Act, or

(ii)

in the case of a child in Wales, the child is a carer (within the meaning of “child” and “carer” given by section 3 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014);

(n)

whether the local authority exercised any of its functions under section 436B(8), (9) or (10), 436H(8) or (9), or 436I(3) in relation to the child and the outcomes of any consideration of home and education settings or home visits conducted under those provisions;

(o)

any other information about the child’s characteristics, circumstances, needs or interactions with a local authority or educational institutions that the Secretary of State considers, or the Welsh Ministers consider (as the case may be), should be included in the register for the purposes of promoting or safeguarding the education or welfare of children.

(3)

A register under section 436B may also contain any other information the local authority considers appropriate.

(4)

Regulations may, in relation to a register under section 436B, make provision about—

(a)

how a local authority must maintain the register, including provision relating to—

(i)

how the register is to be kept up-to-date;

(ii)

the making of changes to the register;

(b)

the form of the register;

(c)

publication of the register;

(d)

registration forms;

(e)

how amounts of time and estimates of amounts of time are to be calculated and recorded for the purposes of subsection (1)(e), (f) and (g)(iv);

(f)

publicising the register and duties of persons in relation to the register.

(5)

No information from a register under section 436B may be published, or made accessible to the public, in a form—

(a)

which includes the name or address of a child who is eligible to be registered under that section or of a parent of such a child, or

(b)

from which the identity of such a child or parent can be deduced, whether from the information itself or from that information taken together with any other published information.

(6)

In subsection (1)(g), “prescribed amount of time” means an amount of time prescribed—

(a)

by reference to a number of hours in, or a proportion of, a week or other period;

(b)

by reference to a proportion of the time a child spends receiving education;

(c)

in any other way.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Ss. 436B-436G and cross-heading inserted (29.4.2026 but only in relation to the power to make regulations conferred by ss. 436B, 436C, 436E, 436F, otherwise prosp.) by Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (c. 21), ss. 38(2), 78(1)(a)(3)(5)