Guide · For parents
What will the council do with my child's data?
The council will hold it on the register, use it to check that children are being educated and are safe, and share it with certain other bodies for those purposes. It may not publish anything that identifies you or your child. Much of the detail is left to regulations that have not been written.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
What goes on the register
From you: names, dates of birth, addresses, who provides the education, time estimates and details of larger providers.
From the council's own records, where it has them: the Act lists further categories, including special educational needs, school history, child protection enquiries, and the outcome of any home visit. Regulations will set the final list.
Anything else the council considers appropriate. The Act allows this.
That third category is the one many families are uneasy about. It is a reasonable thing to raise in the consultation.
What the council cannot do
It may not publish register information, or make it public, in any form that names a child or parent or lets them be identified.
Who it can be shared with
The Act provides for sharing with other councils, Ofsted and, for Wales, the Welsh Ministers, for purposes connected with education or welfare. Regulations will say more about who else may receive it.
The Secretary of State can also require councils to supply information from their registers. Regulations will set out what.
If you move
Your new council will keep its own register. Councils are expected to pass information to each other when a child moves.
Confidentiality
The Act says a disclosure it requires or authorises does not breach a duty of confidence. In practice, a tutor or a council cannot be sued for sharing what the Act tells them to share.
The rights you keep
Data protection law still applies to councils. In general you can:
- ask for a copy of what the council holds about you and your child
- ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
- complain to the Information Commissioner's Office
You cannot have register information deleted simply because you object to the register.
What we don't know yet
- the full list of prescribed information
- how long councils will keep records after a child leaves the register
- exactly which bodies will have access