Education Otherwise than at School consultation open in England
3 mins read
Tuesday 14 July 2026
The Department for Education has launched a consultation on Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) and is asking for views from families in England. The consultation runs throughout the summer and closes on Friday 18 September.
It follows feedback from families, charities and campaign groups that it was missing from the government’s Schools White Paper, despite it being a lifeline for many children and young people with special educational needs.
There are 16,000 children and young people with an EOTAS package. Over a third have a mental health condition and over a third are autistic. Children who cannot be educated in a school setting are often experiencing burnout and trauma.
We are concerned that the current proposals risk reducing legal rights to an EOTAS package. We are keen that families whose children have EOTAS to share their views.
Only way he can learn
One parent explained why EOTAS is so vital for her son: “Our son is a bright and wonderful boy that cannot attend school. We have tried every option for him and now the only way he can learn is at home, with an EOTAS package. He was initially home educated until we tried school aged 6. This was very distressing for him and triggered obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and extreme anxiety. We returned to home education, and he was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. He was seen by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) aged 10. CAMHS supported us to get him a very specialist setting aged 11. The battle to get the placement with the local authority, broke us as parents, but we knew it was his only chance of a school education. Sadly, after two years his mental health rapidly declined. He was so severely unwell it became clear he could no longer attend any school. It took me over 6 months to produce the evidence he needed for a bespoke EOTAS package for his GCSE years. From September he will have 15 hours of online tutoring, and 4 hours of mentoring. EOTAS is the only way our son can have the safety of home, whilst receiving the education he needs to have a chance at a future.”
Local authority remains legally responsible
EOTAS is a formal special education package provided under an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The local authority remains legally responsible for maintaining this package. Under this arrangement, the child or young person is not on roll at a school or post-16 institution. Instead, they receive their education and special educational provision either at home or, in some cases, within an external setting that is not registered as an educational setting.
Have your say
The consultation on Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) is now open for responses. It closes on Friday 18 September.