click here to download the word version of the frequently asked questions.
What is EOTIS?
EOTIS is the legal mechanism whereby a child or young person with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can continue to receive educational provision, despite being unable to attend a formal educational setting.
What does EOTIS really mean?
It means the child or young person would not be on roll at a school or post-16/19 institution, and the special educational provision (SEP) could happen at home or another setting, which is not a registered educational setting.
What is the difference between EOTIS and EHE?
EOTIS: The LA decides (based on professional advice and evidence) that a formal school or post-16/19 institution is inappropriate, takes responsibility for the education, and funds the provision. It is often used for children and young people with the most complex needs.
Elective Home Education (EHE): Parents choose to remove their child / young person from school and take on full responsibility for their education, including all costs.
Does my child need an EHCP for an EOTIS package to be agreed?
Yes - your child needs an EHCP to receive EOTIS, as EOTIS is a specific arrangement made within an existing EHCP (or during its assessment) when it's deemed inappropriate for the CYP to attend any school or college setting due to their Special Educational Needs (SEND).
Who can agree EOTIS?
EOTIS can only be agreed in conjunction with the LA via an Education Health Care (EHC) needs assessment, a reassessment of needs or at an annual review.
Are there any examples of EOTIS?
EOTIS provision should always be personalised to a child’s or young person’s specific needs.
Some examples of EOTIS are as follows:
- online schooling
- home tuition
- other tuition centres
- hospital schooling
- therapy programmes
What type of things are considered by the LA when making a decision about EOTIS?
Whether nursery, school or college is appropriate or not will depend on your child’s SEN and / or the type of the provision they need.
For example, it might not be appropriate for certain therapies to take place in a school or post 16/19 institution. The question is not whether setting can deliver the SEP, but whether it is appropriate for it to be made in a setting.
Leeds LA must take into consideration the following when deciding if EOTIS is appropriate:
- the child or young person's background and medical history
- the educational needs of the child
- the facilities that can be provided by a school
- the facilities that could be provided other than at school
- the comparative cost of the possible alternatives to the CYPs educational provisions, either at school or elsewhere
- the parent’s wishes (although they are not generally determinative)
- any other circumstances that apply to a particular child.
What should an EOTIS package do?
An EOTIS package needs to:
- support the child’s or young person’s aspirations, ensuring their voice is central to all decision-making.
- ensure provision meets the educational outcomes of the (EHCP).
- provide the child or young person with a broad and balanced curriculum, including core subjects.
- prepare for transition to post-16/post 19, including the opportunity to achieve appropriate accreditation.
- consider preparation for adulthood.
- ensure provision for pastoral support.
- focus on helping to address and overcome the barriers which are preventing them from accessing school and facilitate integration into a long-term setting wherever possible, as soon as possible.
- educate in accordance with wishes of parents and/or CYP, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure (Education Act Section 9).
When should EOTIS be considered?
It is widely accepted that schools and colleges are best placed to deliver educational programmes and broader social support. Schools and colleges can deliver educational provision in many ways, using on-site and off-site programmes and adapting what and how they teach in line with CYPs needs.
EOTIS should only be considered when professionals and parents/carers have evidenced that it is inappropriate for the identified special educational provision to be put in place in a registered school or college.
Can I ask for EOTIS as part of the EHCP process?
Yes - you can request Education Otherwise Than In School (EOTIS) to be considered as part of the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs assessment process, this is facilitated through Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014, rather than directly through Section 38/39 (which concerns naming a school or provider in Section I). However, EOTIS is a discretionary tool that can only be implemented once the LA is satisfied that the criteria outlined in Section 61 has been fulfilled.
My child already has an EHCP - how do I request EOTIS?
Requests for consideration of EOTIS can be made during a re-assessment of need, or an Annual Review. Supporting evidence, such as an Educational Psychologist's report explaining why a formal setting is unsuitable, is crucial. The LA would still consult with settings to ensure that they cannot meet the need or provision outlined in the plan.
What happens if the Local Authority refuses my request?
If the LA does not agree that EOTIS is appropriate, parents/carers have the right of appeal. Parents/carers would need to appeal against Sections B, F, and I of the EHCP to the SEND Tribunal.
Can I get EOTIS if my child cannot attend school?
EOTIS is possible if a child or young person has an EHCP, and there is evidence demonstrating that a formal setting is "inappropriate" and cannot provide the necessary educational and SEND provision.
Are EOTIS packages long term?
Whilst EOTIS can be long term it ideally should not be designed to be a long-term solution. An EOTIS package should assist the child or young person back into an education setting in the future.
Will my child get a full time offer under an EOTIS package?
All children and young people are entitled to an appropriate full-time suitable education.
The law does not define ‘full-time’ but the Department for Education states that if a child or young person receives one-to-one tuition, the hours of provision could be fewer as this is more concentrated than being in a school setting.
What is the difference between EOTIS and Alternative Provision (AP)?
AP is often a temporary measure where the child remains on a school roll, such as during exclusion or illness, while EOTIS is only for children and young people who cannot attend a formal setting.
What might EOTIS look like?
EOTIS should provide an appropriate educational offer and can include a range of activities including online schooling, home tuition, tuition or training at a specialist centre, mentoring, and therapeutic interventions. It must meet the needs identified in section B of the EHCP and deliver the provision in section F.
What can and cannot be included in a EOTIS package?
An EOTIS package should deliver the provision in section F of the EHCP. If some aspects of the EHCP cannot be delivered, then a review would need to take place. EOTIS is not designed to create an alternative education that may be purely of interest to the young person such as delivering a particular subject area.
What happens to my child’s provision whilst EOTIS is being considered?
Whilst EOTIS is being considered, the current setting will continue to have responsibility to provide an education to your child and deliver the provision outlined in the current EHCP.
They will remain on the role of the current setting until the EHCP is finalised. If there is no setting or the CYP is unable to access the setting, the LA may put tuition in place in the interim.
Who is responsible for the provision in an EOTIS Package?
Under an EOTIS package, Leeds City Council is responsible for the child or young person’s education and the child or young person will not be required to be on the role of an educational setting. This will be reviewed at each annual review to ensure the child or young person returns to an educational setting if they are able to and as needs and provision change.
How many weeks education provision will my child receive if they have an EOTIS package.
EOTIS packages run for 38 weeks of the year as per the school/college academic year.
There are no schools near where we live which can appropriately deliver my child’s special educational provision but there is a school at the other end of the country which could. Does that mean I can’t ask for EOTIS?
No. When an LA makes a decision about EOTIS, it should apply a degree of common sense about it. When deciding if it would be inappropriate for the special educational provision to be made in a setting, the LA has to think about if a formal setting would ‘not be suitable’ or ‘proper’, taking all the circumstances into account. A setting very far away is unlikely to be somewhere a child or young person could reasonably attend.
I don’t think its appropriate for my child’s provision to be made in the school my local authority has named. Can I ask for EOTIS?
If you feel the provision would be inappropriate to be delivered at the setting named in Section I of the EHCP, you need to consider if it would be appropriate at other settings? If so, and your child could reasonably attend another formal setting (including online schools), the LA will not agree to EOTIS.
The LA has said my child’s special educational provision can be made in school if adjustments are made. By making it possible for school to make the provision, does this mean provision in school is appropriate?
With adjustments it may be possible for your child’s needs to be met in a setting, but that does not necessarily mean it is appropriate. There should be evidence and professional advice to back up any rationale why a formal setting would be inappropriate for the provision to be delivered there.
Where are the EOTIS arrangements set out in the EHCP?
The EOTIS arrangements will be set out in section F of your child’s EHCP.
Section I of the EHCP, which usually names the education setting or type of setting the child or young person would attend, will remain blank.
How are EOTIS packages reviewed and monitored?
A statutory review must take place annually and should be completed within 12 months of the initial EHCP being finalised, or within 12 months of the previous review.
There is the same duty LA’s to conduct an annual review when a CYP is EOTIS. All timescales and obligations remain the same throughout the annual review process however, the LA will want to see ongoing evidence that it is still inappropriate for the CYP to be educated in a formal educational setting. This may involve consultations with settings to ensure EOTIS is appropriate.
How are EOTIS Packages funded?
The cost of the education package should be met within the allocated funding attached to the EHCP. In exceptional circumstances, where this is not possible, the package will be considered by the LA who will decide whether additional funding is appropriate and is not an unreasonable use of public expenditure.
Funding of the EOTIS package will normally be done through commissioning directly with providers unless parents/carers request that it is made through a Personal Budget. If a Personal Budget is agreed, it will be detailed in section J of the EHCP
Can I request a direct payment (Personal Budget) for EOTIS?
Parent/carers can request a Direct Payment (DP) through a Personal Budget if they wish to take responsibility for the delivery and oversight of all or a specific aspect of the agreed EHCP.
This request must take place during a statutory review of an EHCP or as part of the Education Health and Care Needs Assessment.
When might the LA refuse a direct payment (Personal Budget) for EOTIS?
In certain circumstances, LCC can refuse to identify a personal budget. It may be that the SEP is being provided as part of a larger budget and the LA can’t separate out or ‘disaggregate’ the personal budget from that overall larger budget. Budgets can also be refused if LCC can provide what the parent is requesting through their own resources.
LCC can also refuse to make a direct payment if they don’t believe the person receiving the payments would be capable of managing the money, or if they do not believe it would be used in an appropriate way. They can also refuse where it would negatively impact other services provided, or if it would not be an unreasonable use of public expenditure.
Personal budgets and direct payments will also be refused if they are not linked to SEP that is outlined in Section F of the EHCP.
If a direct payment is agreed what are my responsibilities?
Where a direct payment is agreed, you will be responsible for commissioning the providers of the provision. The LA does not have any contractual basis to monitor the provision, nor be party to the contract.
The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014 place a statutory duty upon the LA to monitor the use of the DP. This must be done at least once within the first three months of the payments and when conducting an Annual Review or reassessment. You will be required to provide evidence that payments have been used appropriately. You must ensure that you keep copies of all receipts and invoices to do this.
Can the LA stop the direct payment for my child’s EOTIS package
If the Direct Payment is not being used appropriately, regulation 14 allows the LA to stop the payment if the recipient is not using the funds for the provision, or the provision can no longer be secured by that means. Likewise, if the recipient fails to abide by the conditions in the regulations or the agreement, the LA can stop the payments, giving clear reasons to the recipient why this has happened.
If direct payments are stopped the LA has a duty to secure the provision within the plan themselves.
What if only some of the provision in my child’s plan is inappropriate to be delivered in a school will the LA name EOTIS?
The LA may agree that specific provision can be included in section F that is delivered away from a formal setting, even if the CYP is also accessing a setting-based provision. This would ordinarily be arranged by settings as part of the CYP’s overall education package. EOTIS would not be named if it’s appropriate to make some of the provision in a formal setting.
If no school places are available will the LA name an EOTIS package?
EOTIS packages are not simply put in place where the LA has been unable to provide a suitable school place due to sufficiency challenges. The LA has alternative processes to address this. For an EOTIS package to be put in place there must be evidence that it is unsuitable to deliver the SEP in any setting.
How is an EOTIS package developed?
Where the LA decide that an EOTIS package is appropriate, the LA will meet with the parent/carers and child or young person (where appropriate) to consider what the family feel needs to be within the package. This is led by the needs and provision outlined in the EHCP.
What might EOTIS look like?
EOTIS should provide an appropriate level of education and can include a range of activities including online schooling, home tuition, tuition or training at a specialist centre, mentoring, and therapeutic interventions. It must meet the needs identified in section B of the EHCP and deliver the provision in section F.
What can and cannot be included in a EOTIS package?
An EOTIS package should deliver the provision in section F of the EHCP. If some aspects of the EHCP cannot be delivered, then a review would need to take place. EOTIS is not designed to create an alternative education that may be purely of interest to the young person such as delivering a particular subject area.
In general, the following would not be included within an EOTIS package:
- support and funding outside term time.
- household utility bills.
- Clothing.
- therapies which have not been identified as an educational requirement.
- additional transport costs outside those identified as a requirement for the young person to attend an educational provision.
- additional adult support above that needed to allow a young person to engage in educational provision.
- training or professional development of PAs/TA.
- additional technologies over that which would be required for a young person to engage in appropriate learning (as identified by the local authority).
Will my child receive transport for an EOTIS package?
As EOTIS packages are bespoke to each individual, all transport requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. It should be noted that when provision that does not follow a standard school day, transport can be difficult to commission, particularly with special requirements such as a consistent driver, passenger assistant, and will require a degree of flexibility.
Do you still have an annual review when you have an EOTIS package in place and who holds this?
Yes, 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 in school. All timescales and obligations will remain the same throughout the annual review process however, the Local Authority will 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.
When will the EOTIS package end?
Where it is appropriate for the child or young person to return to a formal setting, the EOTIS package will cease. This decision will be made via an annual review or reassessment of need.