EOTAS vs EHE: Understanding Education Otherwise Than at School

Parents facing a child who cannot access school often encounter two terms that sound similar but carry completely different legal consequences: EOTAS and EHE. Getting them confused — or being pushed toward the wrong one by a local authority — can mean the difference between the LA funding a full therapeutic and educational package, or walking away from their financial responsibilities entirely.

This is one of the most strategically important distinctions in the entire SEND system, and it is one that LAs routinely exploit.

What Is Elective Home Education (EHE)?

Elective Home Education is the parental choice, made under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, to deregister a child from school and take on responsibility for educating them at home. The key word is "elective" — it is a voluntary decision made by the parent.

When a parent chooses EHE, the local authority's duty to secure the special educational provision set out in Section F of the EHCP is legally suspended. The parent has, in effect, assumed full financial and operational responsibility for their child's education. This means the LA no longer needs to fund or arrange the Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, specialist tuition, or any other provision previously written into the plan.

Many parents choose EHE in desperation — their child cannot cope in any available school setting, and they feel they have no other option. This is exactly the situation where local authorities sometimes gently suggest EHE, effectively removing themselves from funding obligations while appearing supportive.

What Is EOTAS (Education Otherwise Than At School)?

EOTAS is an entirely separate statutory arrangement, governed by Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014. It is not a parental choice — it is a local authority decision and duty.

Under Section 61, if a local authority accepts that it would be "inappropriate" for a child or young person's special educational provision to be made in a school setting, the EHCP must reflect that. The LA is then required to arrange and fund the entire bespoke educational package — typically delivered in the home or community — itself.

The key distinction: under EOTAS, the LA retains absolute legal and financial responsibility. It must arrange and fund the package. The parent does not pay for it, arrange it, or take on the administrative burden of commissioning provision.

When Does "Inappropriate for School" Apply?

The threshold for EOTAS is genuinely met in cases where:

• A child has such severe anxiety, trauma, or sensory processing differences that any school environment — including specialist — would cause them significant harm
• There is no suitable specialist school placement available within a reasonable distance
• A child has a serious physical health condition that makes school attendance medically unsafe
• A child has experienced school-related trauma severe enough that reintegration would cause further psychological damage before adequate recovery

The SEND Code of Practice and case law make clear that "inappropriate" is not a high bar requiring certainty. If there is a genuine question about whether a school setting is appropriate, the LA should be exploring EOTAS.

How Local Authorities Exploit the Confusion

When a parent says "my child simply cannot go to school," the LA response can go one of two directions.

In one scenario, the LA acknowledges the child's needs, accepts that school is inappropriate under Section 61, and draws up an EOTAS package within the EHCP — funding tutors, therapists, and community activities.

In the other scenario — which is far more common — the LA sympathetically suggests that the parent might want to consider "home education," while presenting this as a supportive solution. If the parent agrees and formally deregisters, the LA's financial duty under the EHCP evaporates.

Parents who have chosen EHE believing the LA would continue funding their child's therapy are then shocked to discover the provision has been withdrawn, and they have no legal recourse because the decision was framed as a parental choice.

The Critical Legal Safeguard: Don't Deregister Without Understanding This

If your child is out of school or struggling to access school, do not deregister them from their current school without taking legal advice first. Deregistering is an irreversible trigger that hands the LA a lawful exit from its Section F duties.

Instead, if your child genuinely cannot access school, write to the LA explicitly citing Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and requesting that the EHCP be amended to reflect an EOTAS arrangement. Use language like: "We are requesting that the local authority consider, pursuant to Section 61 CFA 2014, whether it is inappropriate for [child's name]'s special educational provision to be made in a school setting, and if so, to arrange a suitable EOTAS package within the EHCP."

If the LA refuses to engage with Section 61, that refusal is itself an appealable decision. Parents can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal on the grounds that the EHCP's educational provision is inadequate because it fails to reflect the reality that the child cannot access school.

What an EOTAS Package Should Look Like

A properly constructed EOTAS arrangement funded by the LA might include:

• Individual or small-group tuition delivered at home by qualified tutors
• Specific therapeutic provision (SALT, OT, CAMHS-type input) commissioned and paid for by the LA
• Community-based educational activities (forest school, arts provision, sport)
• A phased reintegration plan if the goal is eventual school return

All of this provision must be specified and quantified in Section F of the EHCP with exactly the same degree of precision required of any other EHCP. "Access to tutoring" is not lawful. "10 hours of 1:1 specialist tuition per week, delivered by a qualified teacher with experience of autism and anxiety, reviewed termly" is.

EOTAS numbers have grown dramatically — DfE data for January 2025 shows a 22.5% rise in children with EHCPs recorded as "educated elsewhere" rather than in school settings, reflecting the growing scale of the crisis in school-based provision.

Pupil Premium Plus and EOTAS

If a child is looked after and on an EOTAS arrangement, the Pupil Premium Plus funding associated with looked-after status continues. The Virtual School Head retains responsibility for ensuring the Personal Education Plan reflects and supports the EOTAS provision.

Getting It Right

The distinction between EOTAS and EHE is not academic. For families whose children cannot access school, it determines whether they spend years funding expensive private provision out of their own pocket, or whether the LA is forced to do its statutory job.

The England SEND Tribunal Playbook includes template letters for requesting EOTAS consideration under Section 61, and guidance on how to construct the evidence that demonstrates school attendance is genuinely inappropriate for your child's needs.

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