EOTAS with Abode Education

 Education other than at school (EOTAS) means the education or special educational provision of children or young people outside of a formal educational setting. It can be only be agreed in conjunction with the Local Authority via an EHC needs assessment, a reassessment of needs or at your EHCP annual review. It means the child or young person would not be on roll at a school or post 16 institution and the special educational provision could happen at home or could be at another setting, which is not a registered educational setting. 

• Online schooling
• Home Tuition 
• Therapies such as  Occupational Therapy at our partnership sites

These provisions educate or train a child or young person and are treated as a special educational provision and detailed in Section F of the EHCP which the LA then must secure and fund the provision.  

We work closely to tailor specialised occupational therapy to meet complex mental health and sensory processing differences as part of EOTAS packages. 

Our collaboration with the multi-professional team and personal tutors is a core part of this role, alongside attendance at annual reviews and contributing to Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP).  

request should be considered with the parent or carer, the young person if appropriate and the Local Authority. 

The Local Authority must consider your parental wishes but importantly 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 requests 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 be inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or post-16 institution or at such a place.

(3)the authority must consult the child’s parents or the young person before doing so. 

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. 

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. 

 No, EOTAS is not the same as elective home education. If you choose to home educate, parents are responsible for making their own suitable arrangements for the child’s educational (including any special educational) provision. 

If you have any further support or advice please feel free to contact the following:

ipsea

www.ipsea.org.uk

Helpline 0300 222 5899