Information from Special Needs Jungle.com
Today’s article is from my colleague, Nicole Lee, a solicitor at SEN Legal who is an expert on Education Otherwise Than At School as part of an EHCP. You can also watch us participate in a two-part SNJ Conversation on the subject here. Over to Nicole!
What is EOTAS and how can my child get it as part of an EHCP, by Nicole Lee
It seems that not a day goes by without a new Ofsted Report, inquiry or news article about systemic failings by local authorities to provide special educational provision in a timely manner, if at all.
It will therefore come as no surprise that for some children and young people, the arrival of their EHC Plan equates to closing the stable door after the horse has already bolted. By the time it arrives, their needs –or needs that have developed through inadequate SEND provision– have become so severe that any type of formal educational placement wouldn’t work.
This was a fact recognised by Parliament when the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA) was drafted, and 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.
Read more on this from Special Needs Jungle.com