EOTIS - Education otherwise than in schools, post-16 institutions etc 

As the title would suggest, EOTIS is the legal mechanism whereby a child or young person with an EHC Plan can receive all or part of their special educational provision despite being unable to attend a 'traditional' educational setting for some or all of the time. 

 

Section 61(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014  states that a local authority 'may arrange' for special educational provision to be delivered via an EOTIS package, only if they are "satisfied that it would be inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or post-16 institution or at such a place."

Whilst it may in some cases be inappropriate for a child or young person to attend any setting to receive any special educational provision at all, it is  possible for it to be appropriate for some provision to be delivered at school, but not others. 

 

If it is inappropriate for the child or young person to attend any educational setting, to receive any provision, then section I of the EHCP will be left blank. The full details of the EOTIS package, including the number of tuition hours and training requirements of the teachers/tutors, must be clearly specified in section F.

 

If it is inappropriate for the child to attend an educational setting on a full-time basis, but it would be suitable for them to attend some of the time, then the educational setting they will attend should be named in section I of the EHCP. The provision that they will receive outside of the educational setting should be clearly specified in section F, as well as the provision that they will require when at the school setting.  

EOTIS should not be confused with Elective Home Education (EHE). While both EOTIS and EHE may have the same result in that the child/young person will be being educated outside of an educational setting, they each place completely different obligations on local authorities. 

With EOTIS, a local authority is placed under an absolute legal obligation to make sure a child or young person both receives all of the provision contained in section F of their EHCP, and appropriately funds it, unless the "child’s parents or the young person has made suitable alternative arrangements.” This is why it is of paramount importance in EOTIS cases to ensure that section F of your child/young person's EHC plan correctly reflects that an EOTIS package is to be provided and an educational setting is not named in section I.

 

With EHE, the parents will be considered to be freely making their own choice to educate their child outside of a school setting, and will be responsible for all costs and arrangements, including the costs of exams and any access arrangements.

 

As with any piece of legislation, case law has been absolutely essential in determining how section 61 should be applied on a day-to-day basis. The case of NN v Cheshire East Council (SEN) [2021] UKUT 220 (AAC) has provided very succinct and helpful guidance as exactly how local authorities (and Tribunals) should apply it.

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If you are considering making a request for EOTIS, you should consider the guidance set out by Upper Tribunal Judge Rowley at paragraph 47 of the above case, and point by point, set out how this guidance applies to your situation. There is no one-size-fits-all answer; every case will need to be decided on its own individual facts and circumstances as to whether EOTIS is necessary and appropriate.

For some children and young people, EOTIS, either wholly delivered at home, or with some limited input from a school, is the only option. However, in practice, it is very often the case that local authorities have an aversion to the idea of children being formally home-educated under EOTIS provision (that they have to provide and fund). Therefore, it can often be the case that a request for an EOTIS package, requires an appeal to be submitted to SENDT. 

If you wish to talk through whether you should make a request for an EOTIS package, or if you've been refused and need specialist advice on running an EOTIS appeal and enforcing the provision, contact our friendly team on 01284 723952 or 01223 650857.