Tallybook

Guide · For tutors, centres and groups

The provider duty: what tutors and groups must tell the council

Once the new register starts, a council will be able to send some education providers a written notice asking about the children they teach. You only have to act if you receive one. The duty is not in force yet.

Last checked 10 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who can be sent a notice

A council can serve a notice when it reasonably believes all of this:

  • you provide out-of-school education to a child
  • you do so for more than a "prescribed amount of time"
  • no parent of the child is actively involved while you do
  • the child is, or may be, eligible for the register

The prescribed amount of time has not been set. Regulations will fix it after a consultation. Regulations can also create exceptions.

What the council can ask

The notice can ask you to confirm whether you are providing that kind of education to any child in England or Wales, or have done so in the last three months.

If you are, it can ask for each child's:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • home address
  • total time spent with you, including time without a parent actively involved

That is the whole list in the Act. A notice under this duty does not entitle the council to lesson plans, assessments or your views on a family.

How the notice arrives and how long you get

The council serves the notice by sending it to, or leaving it at, the place where the education happens. The notice must give you at least 15 days to reply.

What happens if you don't reply

A council can impose a monetary penalty if it is satisfied you failed to comply or gave incorrect information. Regulations will set the amount.

There is a process first:

  1. The council sends a warning notice with its reasons and the amount.
  2. You have 14 days to make representations. That extends to 28 days if you say within the 14 that you intend to respond.
  3. If the council goes ahead, the penalty notice must give you at least 28 days to pay.
  4. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Payment is on hold until the appeal ends.

No penalty can be imposed for a notice served in the first three months after the duty starts.

What to do now

  • Keep a simple record of who attends each session and for how long.
  • Note whether a parent stayed and took part.
  • Tell families what you could be required to share.

Then a notice becomes a ten-minute job.

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