Education Otherwise than at School: Consultation

The Government’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first” set out our plan to ensure that every child and young person benefits from high-quality and inclusive education. For those who need specialist support, we will ensure that they receive it promptly, and with dignity and care. Children and young people whose needs are supported through “education otherwise than at school” provision are no exception. We want them to be in a learning environment that best supports their education, wellbeing and long-term outcomes, and we launched a consultation on how to deliver this on Friday 10 July.

Through our ongoing engagement on special educational needs and disabilities, including the SEND reform national conversation, we have heard from many families about having to fight to have their child’s needs recognised and met, going long periods without suitable support, and being offered provision unsuitable for the complexity of their child’s needs. For some families, this can lead to a gradual breakdown in their child’s relationship with education—one that starts long before the child or young person is moved on to arrangements where education is delivered outside a school or further education setting. Parents often describe feeling responsible for holding together their child’s education because of a failure of adequate support, creating significant emotional and practical pressures. These children and young people have been badly let down by an unresponsive system, causing significant distress for them and their families. The increasing number of children and young people relying on EOTAS arrangements is a reflection of these wider challenges. For some, EOTAS becomes necessary not only because of the complexity of their needs, but because effective support was not available early enough or because support was not effective enough to prevent difficulties from escalating.

Our first priority is therefore to create a system that identifies and responds to needs at the earliest opportunity, so that more children and young people receive the right support before EOTAS arrangements become necessary. For most children and young people, this support should be available through mainstream and specialist settings that are welcoming, inclusive and able to meet children’s needs effectively. However, we recognise that some children and young people with the most complex needs will continue to require EOTAS arrangements at times, where their needs cannot be best met in a school or further education setting.

Where EOTAS provision is required, we want to ensure that it is consistently high quality, focused on outcomes, and supported by a broad and ambitious curriculum, and that it helps children and young people make meaningful progress. We also want to provide greater confidence and clarity to parents that decisions are being made in their child’s best interests, and that children receive the most appropriate support.