What is EOTAS?
EOTAS stands for Education otherwise than at school:
- The legal duty of Local Authorities to arrange education for children of compulsory school age who may not otherwise receive suitable education by reason of illness, exclusion or otherwise.
- Online education
- Home tuition
- Other tuition centres
- Hospital schooling
The Children and families Act states that anything which educates or trains a child or young person is to be treated as special educational provision (SEP) and should be detailed in Section F of the EHCP. It is then the duty of the LA to secure and fund the provision.
For a young person in particular, such education or training could take place in a non-educational setting.
How is EOTAS different to Home education?
EOTAS is very different from home education.
With home education, the responsibility for the child’s education falls entirely on the parent or carer, including all costs.
With EOTAS, the local authority takes on this responsibility, including the associated costs.
If a child has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) and you choose to electively home educate, the local authority no longer has a legal duty to secure any special educational provision set out in the EHC plan, because you are deemed to be making your own suitable alternative arrangements.
If, however, the local authority deems the school or college to be inappropriate for your child or young person, the LA can arrange for your child’s special educational provision to be delivered somewhere other than in a school, college or early years setting. This is EOTAS and the Local Authority would then be responsible for continuing to secure and fund that provision.
The Law
The legislation which covers EOTAS is as follows:
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that parents must ensure that children of compulsory school age receive efficient full-time education suitable to:
• their age, ability and aptitude
• to any special educational needs they may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
Sec 19 of the Education Act sets out the responsibilities of Local Authorities to arrange suitable education at school or otherwise for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion from school, or otherwise may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them.
EOTAS under Sec 19 is usually a short term response to a particular circumstance, and any arrangements made by the Local Authority will normally be temporary.
Alternative provision and home school tutors are examples of the education provision used as a short term response.
There is statutory guidance which sets out in more detail how schools and the Local Authority should support children with health needs who are unable to attend school: Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs
If your child has a health need, which means they are medically unfit to attend their educational setting, there are additional specific duties on the Local Authority to provide alternative education.
If a child or young person is going to be absent for more than 15 days due to health needs, the school have a duty to
notify the LA who should ensure there is suitable education put into place. This should be a full time education but is based on the child’s needs and what is suitable for them.
Sec 61 of The Children and Families Act 2014 states:
1. A Local Authority in England may arrange for any special educational provision that it has decided is necessary for a child or young person for whom it is responsible to be made otherwise than in a school or post-16 institution or a place at which relevant early years education is provided.
2. An authority may do so only if satisfied that it would inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or post-16 institution or at such a place.
3. Before doing so, the Local Authority must consult the child’s parents or the young person.
If a child has an Education Health and Care plan (EHCP) and you choose to electively home educate, the local authority no longer has a legal duty to secure any special educational provision set out in the EHC plan, because you are deemed to be making your own suitable alternative arrangements.
If, however, the local authority (LA) deems school or college to be inappropriate for your child or young person, the LA can arrange for your child’s special educational provision to be delivered somewhere other than in a school, college or early years setting. The LA would then be responsible for continuing to secure and fund that provision.
A parent may feel they need to educate their child at home because there is no viable alternative due to their child’s particular needs, whether medical or otherwise. This is different to elective home education because the parent has not chosen or ‘elected’ to educate them at home. Instead, it is known as ‘education otherwise than at schools/college’ or ‘education otherwise’.
How to request EOTAS
You will need to be in the process of getting an EHCP or already have one in place. You can then request an EOTAS package as part of the initial EHC Needs Assessment process, or ask for this at an annual review of the EHCP.
The request should be considered in conjunction with the parent or carer, the views of the child or young person and the Local Authority. The Local Authority must consider your parental wishes but will need to establish whether the evidence that EOTAS is necessary has been established.
The legal test for the Local Authority to consider when a parent or young person makes a request for an EOTAS package is as follows:
Section 61 CAFA 2014
(1) A Local Authority in England may arrange for any special educational provision that it has decided is necessary for a child or young person for whom it is responsible to be made otherwise than in a school or post-16 institution or a place at which relevant early years education is provided.
(2) An authority may do so only if satisfied that it would inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or post-16 institution or at such a place.
(3) Before doing so, the authority must consult the child’s parents or the young person. The Local Authority must therefore be satisfied that it would be inappropriate for the provision to be made in an educational setting such as a school or post 16 institution.
What evidence do you need to request an EOTAS package?
To support an EOTAS request, you will need to evidence that any nursery, school or college would be inappropriate, not just the setting which the local authority have suggested.
Evidence could include school reports, expert reports (for example from an educational psychologist, therapists, CAMHS and other appropriate professionals), your child or young person’s views and any evidence you have which shows the reason your child cannot attend any school.
These reports should explain the following:
- the child’s background and medical needs
- The specific needs that result in the child being unable to attend mainstream school, leaving no other suitable options
- Quantified recommendations as to the provision that is needed ( the facilities that could be provided other than in a school)
- the comparative cost of the possible alternatives to the child’s educational provisions
- A proposed timetable or provision plan, including details of what the week will look like, who will do what, where and when, how many hours each person will be involved, where it is proposed the provision will be delivered, what programs or qualifications will be undertaken, and who will be involved in providing the program together with details of their qualifications
- Whether any particular equipment will be needed
- If therapies will be needed, set out what therapies are required.
- Short and long-term outcomes of the provision
- the child’s reaction to education provisions, either at a school or elsewhere
- the parents’ wishes
How does the Local Authority decide EOTAS is relevant?
The Local Authority must decide that it is necessary to make special educational provision that is not in a school, post-16 institution (such as a college), or an early years setting.
- They do this if they are satisfied that a school, post-16 institution, or early years setting would be inappropriate for the child or young person.
- The LA must consult with the parent or young person
The full effect of the word inappropriate has been considered in the case of TM v London Borough of Hounslow, which confirmed that the LA must determine whether a school setting would ‘not be suitable’ or ‘not be proper’.
To do this the LA would have to take into account:
- the child’s background and medical history
- the particular educational needs of the child
- the facilities that can be provided by a school
- the facilities that could be provided other than in a school
- the comparative cost of the possible alternatives to the child’s educational provisions
- the child’s reaction to education provisions, either at a school or elsewhere
- the parents’ wishes
- anything else relevant to the case
How is EOTAS funded?
The local authority can:
- fund EOTAS by payments directly to the providers who are working with your child
- or parents/carers can request a Personal Budget to fund some or all of the package through Direct Payments
Please click here for our downloadable toolkit for parent carers on Understanding Personal Budgets
What happens next if an EOTAS package is agreed?
If an EOTAS package is agreed then case law has determined that Section I of the plan should be left blank, your child will not be on roll at a formal educational setting and the provision in regards to the EOTAS package should be set out in Section F of the EHCP. The provision required should be specific and quantify the provision that is to be provided.
Section F of a child or young person’s EHCP must specify the provision which will be delivered. Parent carers or young people will need to ensure that reference to EOTAS is specified in this section.
The EHCP Annual Review:
An annual review must take place yearly and should be completed within 12 months of the initial EHC plan being finalised or within 12 months of the previous review. There is the same duty on the Local Authorities to conduct an annual review when a child is educated otherwise than at school.
All timescales and obligations will remain the same throughout the annual review process however, the Local Authority may want to see ongoing evidence that it is still inappropriate for your child to be educated in an educational setting so you may wish to consider this evidence before the annual review takes place.
Relevant case law:
Derbyshire CC v EM and DM (SEN) [2019] UKUT 240 (AAC): Where a child or young person requires fulltime ‘education otherwise than in school’ (EOTAS) at home, the special educational provision should be set out in Section F and Section I should be left blank, as there is no setting to be attended.
East Sussex County Council v TW [2016] UKUT 528: Section I of an EHC plan must name a place ‘to be attended’ by a child or young person – therefore it cannot be the child or young person’s home. This has implications for children and young people educated otherwise than at a setting.
What can I do if the EOTAS package has been refused?
You will have the right of appeal in the following circumstances that may apply here:
1. A final plan is issued after the initial EHC needs assessment
2. A final amended EHCP after an annual review has been issued
3. A final amended EHCP is issued after reassessment.
4. A refusal to reassess
5. A refusal to amend an EHCP after annual review
6. Appealing against an EHCP being ceased.
If you are appealing based on situation 1,2 or 3 above, then you could directly appeal against the content and placement of the EHCP this being Sections B (needs), F (provision) and I (placement).
The onus would be on you as a parent to provide evidence that it would be inappropriate for your child to attend an educational setting.
If appealing in the situations 4-5,6 you would firstly need to appeal the refusal to reassess or amend and then this would give rise to an appeal against content and placement once an amended EHCP is issued, if still not agreed at this stage.
For more information on how to challenge the Local Authority’s decision through Mediation and SENDist Appeal, please refer to our webpages linked below:
Get Informed – Disagreement Resolution & Mediation – Bexley IASS
Are you concerned about your childs attendance at school?
If you have concerns regarding your child’s attendance at school or college, or they are struggling with Emotionally-Based School Avoidance (EBSA) please refer to our webpage Attendance & EBSA | Bexley IASS