Home schooling

The Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA) Section 61 of the 2014 Act 2014 makes specific legal provision for the education of children and young people, for whom education in a school or post-16 institution would be inappropriate. This is called Education Otherwise Than At School, or EOTAS.

Under a formal EOTAS arrangement as set out in the EHCP, the child or young person will not be required to be on the roll of, or in attendance at, a “traditional” educational setting. Instead, they will receive their education and special educational provision either at home, or in some circumstances, within an external setting that is not a registered educational setting. Every case will need to be decided on its own individual facts and circumstances.

It is important to remember that EOTAS can only be agreed if it is “inappropriate” for a child to attend school. The presumption, therefore, is that a child should attend a school setting, unless it is inappropriate for them to do so.

When a school or setting is not suitable for a child or young person, the local authority can arrange an alternative option (sometimes referred to as alternative provision). For example:

• Home tutoring

• Hospital schooling

• A place at an alternative provision or tutoring centre

• Virtual or on-line schooling

Where it is not appropriate for any provision to be made in a school or college, the child or young person’s EHC plan should reflect the following:

• Section B should set out all of their special educational needs, this should include the needs that show why education in a setting is inappropriate. These could be, for example, mental health or sensory needs.

• Section F should give a clear and detailed description of the support the child or young person needs. This could include therapies which are classed as educational provision, such as speech and language therapy (SALT), and other support provided by health or social care which educates or trains the child or young person. It will be important to set out all the necessary details such as who (in terms of role/qualification) will oversee the package of support, deliver it and what particular expertise they may need, and any input needed from specialists. This will mean the local authority (LA) still has a legal duty to put the special educational provision in place. It is also considered in general to be a good idea to specify that this provision will be delivered as ‘education otherwise than in a school’ here too. 

• Section I  this section should be left blank if no setting is going to be attended at all, this is confirmed by case law   

• Section J in this section it will detail the special educational needs and outcomes to be met by any agreed direct payments relating to section F. Not everyone will have a personal budget and receive direct payments, and you can find out more about them on the IPSEA website

If it’s inappropriate for some but not all of a child or young person’s special educational provision to be made in school/college, an EHC plan can cover this too. For more detail on this one the IPSEA website

Leicestershire County Council offers a medical needs teaching service to children who:

• are aged five to 16

• are unable to attend their mainstream school due to their medical or health needs

• have missed more than 15 days of school in the academic year

A team of specialist teachers work across a range of different school settings to teach young people an age appropriate core curriculum. This includes English, Math and Science. Their aim is to make sure young people can continue to access education and allow them to return to their own school. 

Referrals to this service is on the advice of a medical professional who manages the young person’s treatment pathway.

You can find more information about this service on our Medical needs page and on the Leicestershire County Council website Education for children with medical needs.