Guide · For tutors, centres and groups
Teaching a child who lives in another council's area
Any council in England with a child on its patch whom you teach can send you a notice, wherever you are based. Once it does, it can ask about every eligible child you teach in England or Wales, including those who live elsewhere.
Last checked 10 November 2026. The duty is not yet in force. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which council can serve a notice
The trigger is tied to the child. A council can act when it reasonably believes you teach a child who is, or may be, eligible for its register. Eligibility depends on where the child lives.
So the council for the child's home address is the one that would write to you. Your own location does not decide it.
What that council can then ask
The notice can require you to confirm whether you provide out-of-school education, above the set time and without a parent involved, to any child living in England or Wales. The Act says this applies whether or not the child lives in that council's area.
For each such child it can ask for name, date of birth, home address and time.
What this means in practice
A tutor near a county boundary. You may hear from two or three councils over time.
A centre drawing from a wide area. One notice could cover children from several council areas.
An online provider. Any council in England could be the one to write.
Could you be asked twice about the same child?
Possibly. Council A might receive a child's details from you when asking about its own children. Council B, where the child lives, might also ask. The Act does not prevent that. Good records make a second answer quick.
How councils use what you send
Each council must consider the education settings it knows about for the children on its register. The Act also provides for register information to be shared between councils.
Children in Scotland and Northern Ireland
A notice covers children living in England or Wales. Pupils who live in Scotland or Northern Ireland are outside it.
Record-keeping tips
- Keep every child's current home address.
- Note the council area if you know it. A postcode lookup will tell you.
- Keep all records in one place, so you can answer for the whole business.
- Log each notice: which council, which date, what you sent.