Choosing an education provider

EOTAS stands for Education Otherwise than at School and is education provision to meet specific needs of children and young people who, for whatever reason, cannot attend a mainstream or special school. This is a formal special education package made under an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), for which the local authority, in this case Buckinghamshire Council, remains legally responsible for.

Buckinghamshire’s Local Offer information on EOTAS can be found on Buckinghamshire Council's site.

EOTAS may be necessary when a suitable educational placement cannot be found for a child or young person, so it is more likely to be an option in the following circumstances:

• If a child or young person is not attending an educational placement for several months because of exclusion, ill health or other reasons
• If consultations with educational placements have not been successful

Under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority (Buckinghamshire Council) has the power to consent to a child or young person with SEN being educated somewhere other than a school or post-16 institution (typically at home), but only where the authority is satisfied that “…it would be inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or post-16 institution or at such a place”.

For a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), if EOTAS is agreed, section I of the EHCP (name of school) will be left blank. There is more information about this here: IPSEA case law summary Derbyshire CC v EM and DM (SEN) [2019]

This case law explains in more detail how decisions about EOTAS should be made:

This means that it is difficult to get EOTAS agreed. Often, a school will be named in section I even if most of the help the child receives will not be at school because EOTAS will only be agreed if none of the help can be provided in any school.

Some examples of EOTAS provision include:

• online schooling
• tuition at home
• tuition or training at a specialist centre
• hospital schooling
• therapeutic interventions
• life skills training

Elective Home Education is when a parent/carer chooses to educate their child or young person at home. Usually, if you choose to home educate, even if your child has an EHCP, the local authority will not provide any of the education or resources your child needs.

If your child is at home because they are unable to attend any kind of school, you may want to consider EOTAS instead. If EOTAS is agreed, the local authority will arrange, provide, and fund the help your child needs, it will not be for you to arrange and fund it.

These 2 videos from Special Needs Jungle explain the difference between Elective Home Education and Education Otherwise than at School:

• EOTAS part 1 Special Needs Jungle
• EOTAS part 2 Special Needs Jungle

If educational placement is proving difficult, you can raise the option of EOTAS with your Education, Health and Care Coordinator. You could also discuss it at an annual review meeting to get everyone’s views and make sure they are written in the annual review report. You can ask for an early annual review if necessary.

You will need to give reasons about why you think EOTAS is necessary. These reasons will need to cover:

• the child or young person’s background and medical history
• their particular educational needs
• the facilities that can be provided by a school/educational setting
• 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 wishes of the parent/carer or young person
• any other circumstances.

You can find some useful tips on the Special Needs Jungle website.