Education Otherwise Than at School/College (EOTAS/EOTAC) for Children and Young People with Education Health and Care Plans

Every child and young person should have the best possible start in life through high-quality education, which allows them to achieve their full potential. WNC and health and social care partners are committed to ensure our children and young people have access to inclusive schools and post 16 settings which can meet a wide range of special educational needs. There are occasionally circumstances in which the needs of a child/young person with special educational needs cannot be met in a traditional educational setting, such as a school or a college. For these children/young people, EOTAS (Education Other Than at School) may be considered. WNC do not view EOTAS /EOTAC as a long-term solution and want to provide children and young people with support for them to return to school, or college at the earliest opportunity. West Northamptonshire Council work with EOTAS / EOTAC package providers to ensure high quality, regularly monitored provision. 

Legislation

This guidance has been written with full regard to the following Acts:

• Children and Families Act 2014
• Education Act 1996
• Equality Act 2010

Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 states that:

1. A local authority may arrange for any special educational provision, that it has decided is necessary for a child/young person for whom it is responsible, to be made which is in a place other than in a school or post 16 institution.  This may also be a place at which relevant early years education is provided.  
2. An authority may do so only if satisfied that it would be inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or post-16 institution or place at which early years education is provided. 
3. Before doing so, the authority must consult the child’s parent(s)/carer(s) or the young person.

What is EOTAS/EOTAC? 

EOTAS/EOTAC means education otherwise than at school or college. It is education arrangements that meet the needs of children/young people who, for whatever reason, are unable to attend any mainstream or specialist education setting. Children/young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) should have the same opportunities as others of the same age. 

West Northamptonshire Council and education settings have shared legal duties to explore the removal of any incompatibilities that prevent children/young people with EHCPs from attending education settings. When, despite best endeavours, that is not possible, the Council, in consultation with parent(s)/carer(s)s and young people, may decide that EOTAS/EOTAC can be arranged to deliver the education and special educational provisions.  This is relevant to section F of EHCPs. EOTAS/EOTAC is only available to children/young people with an EHCP in specific and exceptional circumstances. EOTAS/EOTAC will only be considered after the Council has exhausted all options to support a child/young person’s needs in an education setting. EOTAS /EOTAC is funded by West Northamptonshire Council and is typically for short-term periods with the intention of supporting the child/young person’s full-time return to an education setting at the earliest suitable opportunity. 

When is EOTAS/EOTAC Suitable? 

West Northamptonshire Council will always endeavour to support children/young people to be educated within education settings. There is a wide body of research that supports the inclusion of children/young people in education settings. They provide children/young people with opportunities to build confidence and social skills; be members of a learning community; access a broad and balanced curriculum; be taught by skilled teachers; and benefit from the same opportunities as others the same age. When EOTAS /EOTAC arrangements are being considered, West Northamptonshire Council with partners will consider all the circumstances that may contribute to the appropriateness of attending an education setting such as: 

• The educational needs of the child/ young person
• The child/young person’s background and medical history
• The facilities that can be provided by an education setting
• The facilities that could be provided in provision other than in a school/college
• The comparative cost of the possible alternatives to the child/young person’s education and special educational provisions
• The child/young person’s reaction to education provisions, either at a school or elsewhere
• Parent(s)/carer(s) wishes, engagement and support in developing individual EOTAS/EOTAC packages are important and will contribute to the decision making process when arranging a suitable education for the child/young person

An EOTAS/EOTAC package may be considered when:

• The child or young person is undergoing a statutory assessment, and the local authority assesses and determines that it may be inappropriate for the child to attend an educational institution. The allocated SEND Case Officer or Manager will present the case at the West Northamptonshire funding panel for formal agreement and sign off.
• The child or young person is having a review of their EHCP. The local authority assesses and determines that it may be inappropriate for the child or young person to attend school or college. The case is presented at West Northamptonshire SEND funding panel for formal agreement and sign off. 

Sometimes, it may not be in a child/young person’s best interests to attend full-time education, or they may not be able to access full time education. This may be due to complex medical, social, emotional, or mental health needs which impact on their ability to attend to learning.  Factors such as these will be considered when there is a request for EOTAS/EOTAC arrangements. In these circumstances, it is permissible and even desirable for local authorities to arrange less than full-time education for children/young, at least temporarily.At present, there is no single, legal definition of ‘full-time’ education, although it is generally accepted to be around 18 hours of taught lessons per week for children of statutory school age (5 – 16 years old), and around 16 hours of taught lessons or study per week for young people in further education (16 – 19 years old).  

Consideration of a Parental Request for an EOTAS/EOTAC Package

If a parent/carer expresses a preference for their child to be educated at home, it is important to firstly clarify whether the request is for the parent/carer to Electively Home Educate (EHE). Often parents/carers will either explicitly express a preference to electively home educate or request an EOTAS/EOTAC package. These are very different. 

EHE places a responsibility on the parents/carers to make their own arrangements for education and to fund it themselves, (Section 7 of the Education Act 1996).

EOTAS/EOTAC package places the responsibility on the local authority to fund the provision outlined in Section F of the EHCP, (Section 42(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014).

There may be instances where this is unclear. In these instances, the local authority will consider section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and determine whether it would be inappropriate for: 

• Any special educational provision, required by the child or young person, to be made in any school or college. 
• Any part of the provision to be made in any school or college.

A parent/carer may request for their child to be educated at home via the following:

• Parental response to a proposed EHCP
• A review of the EHCP

The following additional information will be required:

• Relevant information e.g. any evidence and advice from professionals who support or have assessed the child or young person, the reasons why the child or young person cannot be educated in a school or post 16 settings and details of any request for a personal budget. 

The request will then be presented at West Northamptonshire SEND funding panel for formal agreement and sign off.When we are determining whether an EOTAS package is suitable for a child with an EHCP, we must apply the legal test outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014.

The legal test can be summarised as follows:

1. Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 in England grants local authorities the power to arrange special educational provision for children and young people outside of traditional school or post-16 institutions when it would be inappropriate for the provision to occur in a school or post-16 institution.
2. Appropriateness of provision: We must assess whether the educational provision specified in section F of the EHCP is appropriate to meet the child's special educational needs. 
3. Health and social care needs: In addition to educational provision, we must also consider whether the health and social care provision specified in the EHCP is appropriate to meet the child's health and social care needs. 
4. Consistency with outcomes: The provision specified in the EHCP must be consistent with the outcomes specified in the plan. 
5. Review and monitoring: We have a duty to regularly review and monitor the provision specified in the EHCP to ensure that it remains appropriate and continues to meet the child's needs over time. If we determine that an EOTAS package is not suitable for a child or young person, West Northamptonshire Council will suggest and explore alternative options with the family.

If the local authority, (via the SEND Funding Panel), conclude that it is appropriate for the child or young person to be educated in a school, post-16 institution, or state-funded early years setting and the parent/carer continues to express a preference for their child to be educated at home, under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, parents/carers will be responsible for making their own arrangements to electively educate at home.The panel decision will be confirmed in writing, usually alongside the issue of an amended EHCP or confirmation that the EHCP will be amended/maintained/ceased in its current form following the review. If an EOTAS/EOTAC package has been agreed, it will be detailed in section F of the EHCP. If direct payments for a SEN Personal Budget have been agreed this will be detailed in section J of the EHCP.In cases where a complex package of provision is being suggested, it may be necessary to have a meeting to discuss the detail of the EOTAS package to ensure that it meets the needs and outcomes within the EHCP. Once the proposed package of EOTAS has been compiled it will go to the West Northamptonshire SEND funding panel for consideration. No EOTAS package can be commissioned without approval.The family/young person will have their usual rights of appeal to the special educational needs tribunal, through which the decision of the local authority in respect of EOTAS can be challenged. There is no right of appeal to the tribunal in respect of whether a SEN Personal Budget has been agreed.

Monitoring and Reviewing EOTAS/EOTAC Packages.

The local authority will monitor a child or young person’s progress and conduct a review of that provision at least once each academic term. One of these monitoring meetings will be replaced with the annual review of the EHCP.  The format of the review will include the child and young person, parent/carers, and involved professionals’ view of current provision, progress, and if appropriate, a plan for returning to school. The EOTAS package will be regularly reviewed via the annual review process or sooner if the needs of the child/young person change. Reviews will also consider whether special educational provision at an educational setting continues to be appropriate. The best interests of the child or young person will be paramount to ensure they continue to receive the most suitable provision for their needs and are supported to return to school or college once it is appropriate for them to do so through a personalised reintegration plan. 

Funding

The local authority is responsible and will only fund provision and services that are equivalent to those available within educational settings and will not fund luxury items or provide payments for parent/carer’s time. The local authority will either pay providers directly, (directly commissioned services), or a family can choose to receive a SEN personal budget via direct payments, so that they can pay for agreed provision themselves. Families may also have a combination of the two. Receiving a direct payment comes with additional responsibilities, such as providing financial returns and ensuring the quality of the service provided. More information on Personal Budgets can be found here. Where the local authority directly commissions a service, it will directly pay the provider for delivering the EOTAS/EOTAC provision to a child or young person. The provider will be monitored regularly and will be expected to send attendance data with confirmation that the child or young person has been accessing their provision.For families that choose a direct payment, funds are transferred directly to them, or to a person nominated by them, to organise and pay for agreed provision as set out in section F of the EHCP. The person receiving the personal budget will be asked to submit receipts to our Direct Payments Team regularly, to evidence how the direct payments are being spent and this will be reviewed by the EHC Team.Direct payments are not classed as income and will not affect any welfare benefits that your child or young person is entitled to. Families who request a personal budget will be expected to sign a West Northamptonshire Council Direct Payment Agreement. 

Concerns and Complaints about EOTAS/EOTAC

The child or young person or their parents/carers are entitled to raise any concerns that they may have about their EOTAS/EOTAC provision with the local authority. In the first instance, it is helpful to discuss any concerns with the allocated EHC SEND Case Worker who will work to resolve these. However, if the child or young person, parent/carer wishes to escalate their complaint, this can be done by submitting a complaint via the local authority’s Corporate Complaints procedure. 

Safeguarding 

The local authority has a duty of care to children who are receiving education other than at school or college. If concerns are raised that a child or young person’s safety or wellbeing is compromised, or it is felt that the child or young person may be at significant risk, the allocated EHC SEND Case Worker will speak to their line manager or another member of the leadership team without delay. If appropriate, they will refer to the Children’s Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). MASH is equipped to identify the level of risk and needs of children and where necessary, rely on multi agency information sharing processes to make an informed decision about the most appropriate response that needs to be taken.

• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and Child Protection Team 

References to Legislation/ Case Law 

Children and Families Act 2014:

• Section 19: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/section/19/enacted
• Section 61: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/section/61
• Section 42(2): Children and Families Act 2014

Education Act 1996

• Section 7 : https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/section/7/enacted 
• The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014:

Case Law

• Case Law: NN v Cheshire East Council [2021] UKUT 220 (AAC) - Google Search
• Elective Home Education (EHE): guide for parents

 Glossary of Terms 

Alternative Provision (AP)Alternative Provision is the umbrella term used to describe provision given to a child that is not delivered by or via a school directly. Alternative Provision can be commissioned by the local authority, a school or by a parent via a personal budget.It can be used to try and re-engage a child or young person in learning as a temporary measure whilst a suitable school placement is found, or to compliment provision already received in school. Providers of Alternative Provision tend to make up a large portion of EOTAS packages due to its flexible nature. Alternative Provision is not named in section I of the EHCP.

Elective Home Education (EHE)Elective Home Education (EHE) is when a parent or carer chooses not to send their child to school but assumes responsibility for making sure their child receives a full-time education at home.Choosing to Electively Home Educate your child means there is no legal responsibility for the local authority to fund provision required to meet a child or young person's needs. However, the local authority remains responsible for ensuring the parent or carers providing a good standard of education and for conducting annual reviews of EHCPs if one is maintained. EHE can be named in Section I of an EHCP. 

Direct PaymentsDirect Payments for education are monetary payments made to either the parents of a child or the young person with an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).

EHCP Education, Health and Care Plan

EOTAC Education Otherwise Than at College. It is a form of education funded by the local authority for those children or young people for whom college is not appropriate.

EOTASEducation Otherwise Than at School. It is a form of education funded by the local authority for those children or young people for whom school is not appropriate.

Personal BudgetA personal budget is the estimated amount of money which would be needed to cover the cost of making the special educational provision specified in the EHC plan.

WNC West Northamptonshire Council