ShouldDepartment for Education (DfE) publishing rules

Remote education information

Information about the school's remote education provision: what pupils are given when they cannot attend school. Schools should publish it, and should cover remote education in their safeguarding policy.

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Who it applies to

Published on
The school's own website
School type
Academies and maintained schools
School stage
All stages, from early years to sixth form
Does not apply to
No school types are excluded

When is it due?

Renewal
No fixed date

The official sources set no renewal date. Keep it accurate whenever it changes.

What's needed

Publish information about remote education provision, including how pupils access it and expected hours, on the curriculum or parents page (guidance says schools should).

What it must contain

4 parts
  • Keeps the safeguarding policy up to date to reflect the need for remote educationShould
  • Shares up-to-date remote education procedures and plans with parents, carers and pupilsGood practice
  • Gives remote education guidance and links to trusted external education websitesGood practice
  • Gives parents and carers information on keeping their children safe onlineGood practice

What the official sources say

Set out in 3 official sources:

What maintained schools must or should publish online

Updated 24 October 2024 · All items from this source

  • Schools should publish information about their remote education provision .

    Should§ Remote education > What schools should publish

What academies, free schools and colleges must or should publish online

Updated 24 October 2024 · All items from this source

  • Academies should publish information about their remote education provision .

    Should§ Remote education > What academies should publish

Providing remote education: guidance for schools

Updated 19 August 2024

  • Schools are likely to have established remote education plans in place already that have worked well for them when attendance in school has not been possible. If schools choose to use established remote education plans, these should be kept up to date so they remain relevant to the school’s current context.

    Should§ Good practice

  • Schools should ensure their safeguarding and child protection policies are up to date and reflect: – the potential need for remote online education provision – the fact that pupils might be learning both online and in the classroom

    Should§ Delivering remote education safely

Show 3 more from this source
  • Schools should consider sharing any up-to-date procedures and plans in place with parents, carers and pupils in order to provide ongoing clarity and transparency about what to expect from remote education if it is required.

    Good practice§ Providing information about remote education

  • Some schools continue to maintain pages on their websites providing information and guidance about remote education provision and links to any trusted external education websites. This is not a requirement, but it can be helpful for parents or carers and pupils to access if required.

    Good practice§ Providing information about remote education

  • The guidance includes a collection of resources which includes support for: – safe remote education – virtual lessons – live streaming – information to share with parents and carers to support them in keeping their children safe online

    Good practice§ Delivering remote education safely

Questions schools ask

Does every school have to publish the remote education information?

Academies and maintained schools should publish it.

When does the remote education information need to be published?

Renewal: No fixed date. The official sources set no renewal date. Keep it accurate whenever it changes.

What must the remote education information include?

Keeps the safeguarding policy up to date to reflect the need for remote education; Shares up-to-date remote education procedures and plans with parents, carers and pupils; Gives remote education guidance and links to trusted external education websites; Gives parents and carers information on keeping their children safe online.

Where does the requirement for the remote education information come from?

It is set out in What maintained schools must or should publish online, What academies, free schools and colleges must or should publish online and Providing remote education: guidance for schools.

Changes to the official sources

Dated change notes published by the Department for Education on the sources above.

  1. 19 August 2024 · Providing remote education: guidance for schools

    Updated the guidance to include a link to new regulations on school attendance.

  2. 14 February 2023 · Providing remote education: guidance for schools

    Added a link to the guidance for schools on 'Mental health issues affecting a pupil's attendance' to page 6 of 'Providing remote education: non-statutory guidance for schools'.

  3. 23 January 2023 · Providing remote education: guidance for schools

    'Providing remote education: non-statutory guidance for schools' has been updated.

  4. 21 October 2022 · Providing remote education: guidance for schools

    Link to the EdTech Demonstrator programme removed.

  5. 29 March 2022 · Providing remote education: guidance for schools

    First published.

  6. 12 February 2021 · What academies, free schools and colleges must or should publish online

    Added a section on remote education - linked to the guidance on remote education provision expectations and the optional template to help schools publish information.

4 earlier changes are listed on the source pages.

We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.

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Official wording that does not apply to schools (2)
It is up to schools to decide how they share remote education information with parents, carers and pupils. Some schools continue to maintain pages on their websites providing information and guidance about remote education provision and links to any trusted external education websites. This is not a requirement, but it can be helpful for parents or carers and pupils to access if required.
Providing remote education: guidance for schools§ Providing information about remote educationVersion 2024-10-24gov.uk ↗
This is non-statutory guidance from the Department for Education on providing high- quality remote education in cases where it is not possible, or is contrary to government guidance, for some or all pupils to attend school.
Providing remote education: guidance for schools§ SummaryVersion 2024-10-24gov.uk ↗

Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4