NAHT has responded to the new figures published this morning on the number of children being home educated, and numbers missing education.

The number of children home educated rose to 126,000 in the 2025/26 autumn term, up from 111,700 in autumn 2024. Year-on-year, numbers rose from 153,300 in 2023/24 to 175,900 in 2024/25.

Numbers missing education in the autumn term of the 2025/26 academic year fell to 34,700, down from 39,200 in autumn term 2024. The number fell from 149,900 to 143,500 between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The increasing use of home education and worrying number of children still missing education highlight the importance of the government’s plans for a register of children not in school and a single unique identifier for each child.

“NAHT has long called for a register maintained by local authorities because there is currently a danger of children becoming lost outside the system, with neither school nor council knowing their whereabouts or whether they are safe.

“An official register of children not in school and unique identifier for every child would also support better agency information-sharing.

“After years of underfunding under previous governments, more investment is needed in vital community services, including children’s social care and mental health, and as part of the government’s promised SEND reforms – to ensure families get the help they need, including support to ensure their children can engage in education and learn in the right setting.”

On home education specifically, Mr Whiteman added: “There are likely to be complex reasons why the numbers of children being home educated has risen, including more awareness among parents and carers of the choice available to home educate their children.

"But it is striking how mental health remains the reason most frequently identified, and the increase in the proportion of pupils being educated at home for this reason highlights the need for further investment in community mental health services.

“It is vital to ensure that families have made the choice to home educate for the right reasons, have the right support they need to provide a great education for their child, and know where to go for help if they need it.

“Currently there is no legal obligation for a parent to provide any notification to a school about the withdrawal of a child to be home educated, and no way to check the quality of education that child is receiving.

“As well as being an important safeguarding measure which addresses this, the register of pupils not in school will also help ensure local authorities are aware of and can support all families who home-educate their children, as well as enabling them to keep track of children who are not in education for any reason.”

Both sets of statistics are relatively new and are described as being 'in deveopment', meaning they are still undergoing evaluation for quality and user need.