Guide · For parents
What happens if I don't give the council information?
You will not be fined for it. The risk is different: silence lets the council move towards a school attendance order. That is true today for informal enquiries, and it will be written into the law once the register starts.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Today
A council can make informal enquiries about your child's education. You have no legal duty to answer. Government guidance is blunt about the result, though. If you give no information, the council can normally conclude the education does not appear suitable.
From there it can serve a formal notice, and then a school attendance order.
Once the register starts
You will have a duty to give register information within 15 days. If you do not, or you give incorrect information, the Act lets the council serve a preliminary notice. That is the first step of the school attendance order process.
The word in the Act is "may". The council has a choice.
What the preliminary notice does
It gives you at least 15 days to show your child is receiving a suitable education. If you satisfy the council, the process stops.
If you do not, and the council thinks your child should attend school, it must serve a school attendance order.
No fine at this stage
The government has confirmed that parents will not get a monetary penalty for failing to give register information. The consequence is the attendance order route.
Breaching an attendance order is another matter. That is a criminal offence.
So what is the sensible course?
Answer, briefly and in writing.
- Give what the law asks for.
- Do not feel you must give more.
- Keep a dated copy.
A short, factual reply closes most enquiries. Silence is what escalates them.
If you object to the register on principle
Many families do. You can make that case through the consultation, your MP, and organisations such as Education Otherwise and Educational Freedom. Refusing to provide information puts your own family through the attendance order process, and the choice is yours to weigh.