Education otherwise than at school (EOTAS)

EOTAS is for children/young people with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who cannot be educated in a formal educational setting. EOTAS is usually a short-term solution to help children/young people overcome learning barriers. EOTAS is usually for no longer than 1 academic year. 

EOTAS is where the local authority (LA) is satisfied that a child or young person’s special educational need (SEN) cannot be met within any educational setting. This view is backed up by professionals supporting the child or young person. This can be for many different reasons. For example, it could be for health reasons, including emotionally based avoidance (EBSA) or school exclusion. 

Some examples of EOTAS provision could be:

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

How is EOTAS different to elective home education (EHE)?

Parents can choose to educate their children from home, this means that they make their own arrangements for their child’s education. If a child has an EHCP and you choose to home educate, the local authority no longer has a duty to secure the provision set out in the EHCP. It is understood that the parent/carers will make suitable alternative arrangements.  

If the local authority thinks school or college is not appropriate for your child they can arrange for your child’s special educational provision to be delivered somewhere other than in a school or college. The local authority would then be responsible for continuing to secure and fund that provision.

You can find out more by downloading the EOTAS Policy [PDF 721KB].