Don't introduce unique child identifier and increased home education regulation
We urge the government not to introduce a single unique identifier number for children and increased regulation of home education. We think its proposals would infringe on children’s privacy and parental rights, especially as elective home education is not in itself a safeguarding risk.
Signatures
10,693
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 10,000/10,000 · reached
Debate threshold (100,000) · 10,693/100,000
- 02 SEPT 2025Government respondedDepartment for EducationGovernment reply
The government is committed to introducing a unique child identifier and register of children not in school to promote and support children’s education and welfare.
Read full response - 11 AUG 2025Petition closedFinal total: 10,693 signatures
- 05 AUG 202510,000 signatures reachedEligible for a government response
- 11 FEB 2025Petition opened for signatures
Background
We urge the rejection of proposals in the Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive paper to introduce a single unique identifier for children and more regulation of home education. We think these measures would infringe on children’s privacy and family rights, even though the paper acknowledges elective home education isn't in itself a safeguarding risk. We think these measures would also increase needless monitoring and could infringe on family freedoms and children’s rights.