To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 31465/22-27, whether he has plans to develop legislation to ensure all children must be registered with the Education Authority.

In Northern Ireland, the legal responsibility for ensuring that a child receives an education rests with their parents, who may choose to provide that education at home. Currently, there is no legislation in Northern Ireland requiring home educating parents to register their child with the Education Authority or the Department of Education and this reflects the current position in other UK jurisdictions.

As part of the ‘Attendance Matters Strategy’, my Department is developing a policy around children missing education which will be refined following the Attendance Matters consultation. This work will consider the legislative position and developments in other jurisdictions and may involve exploring the case for introducing a mandatory register of children who are not registered in the formal grant aided school system.