Can I ask for my child to attend school part-time? Expand If your child’s school has told you that your child cannot attend full-time, see out information on informal exclusions. Children without EHC plans Home educated children without EHC plans can receive part of their education at a school if the school agrees. Such arrangements are sometimes known as ‘flexi-schooling’. This is a phrase used in guidance on home education. Schools are under no obligation to agree to such arrangements, but some are happy to do so. When a compulsory school age child is flexi-schooled, the parents must still make sure that the child receives a suitable full-time education. When considering whether the child is receiving a suitable full-time education, the LA must take into account the education they receive at school. Children with EHC plans If the LA thinks it would be inappropriate for a child or young person with an EHC plan to receive some part of their special educational provision in school/college, then they can receive that particular special education provision elsewhere. This means the child or young person would receive part of their education at school/college and part of it as ‘education otherwise’ (‘EOTIS’, sometimes known as 'EOTAS'). These arrangements should be described in section F of their EHC plan and the school/college named in section I. There is no need for the school to consent to this part-time attendance arrangement because it is special educational provision that the child or young person requires, which is different to a child or young person being educated at home because their parent has chosen to do so.
I home educate my child. Can I make a request for an EHC needs assessment? Expand Yes. Requests for an EHC needs assessment can be made by a child’s parent, by the young person themselves or, if they attend a school or post 16 setting, by a representative from the setting. Children and young people do not need to attend school or a post 16 setting in order to qualify or be eligible for a request to be made. This means that all parents of children are entitled to make a request for an EHC needs assessment, whether their child attends school or not. A parent who home educates their child should send their written request for an EHC needs assessment to their home local authority (“LA”) and can use our template letter, changed to reflect the child’s situation, to help them with this. A young person could use this letter to ask for an EHC needs assessment too. The LA must carry out an EHC needs assessment for a child or young person if they have or may have special education needs, and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for them via an EHC plan. This is the only legal test, it applies to all children and young people and does not vary depending on registration with a school.
I think my 10 year old child may require an EOTIS package. What factors will the local authority consider when deciding if special educational provision in a school is inappropriate? Expand A local authority (“LA”) can agree to a parent’s request for an education otherwise than in a school (EOTIS), sometimes known as EOTAS, if the LA thinks that it would be inappropriate for the special educational provision your child requires to be made in any school. Whether or not it will be appropriate for your child’s special educational provision to be made in a school will depend all of your child’s circumstances. These will naturally vary from child to child, but might include things like: your child’s background and medical history, the particular educational needs of your child, the facilities that can be provided by a school, the facilities that could be provided other than in a school, the comparative cost of the possible alternatives the child’s reactions to educational provisions, either at school or elsewhere, your wishes as their parent (these should be considered but the LA can still disagree), and any other particular circumstances that apply to your child.
There are no schools near where we live which can appropriately deliver my child’s special educational provision but there is a school at the other end of the country which could. Does that mean I can’t ask for education otherwise/EOTIS? Expand No. When a local authority (“LA”) makes a decision about EOTIS, sometimes known as EOTAS, it should apply a degree of common sense about it. When deciding if it would be inappropriate for the special educational provision to be made in a school, the LA has to think about if school would ‘not be suitable’ or ‘proper’, taking all the circumstances into account. A school very far away is unlikely to be somewhere a child could reasonably attend or ‘proper’.
It won’t be appropriate for my child’s special educational provision to be made in the school my local authority has said it wants to send her to. Can I ask for education otherwise/EOTIS? Expand If making the provision would be inappropriate at the local authority’s (“LA”) choice of school, could it be appropriate at other schools? If so, and your child could reasonably attend another school, the LA does not have to agree to education otherwise than in a school (EOTIS), sometimes known as EOTAS. Whether it’s inappropriate for your child’s special educational provision to be made in any school depends on your child’s specific special educational needs, or maybe the nature of the provision itself. If it would not be appropriate for your child’s provision to be delivered in any school (not just the LA’s choice), the LA can provide EOTIS for your child.
My LA has said my son’s special educational provision can be made in school if lots of adjustments are made and his therapy program is changed. By making it possible for school to make his provision, does this mean provision in school is appropriate? Expand With adjustments and changes to your son’s therapy program it may be possible for his needs to be met in school, but that does not necessarily mean it is appropriate. There should be evidence to back up any changes to his therapy programme too, it’s a good idea to speak to his therapist to check that all of his needs will still be met if the suggested changes were made. Even if they would be, the question is not whether it is possible but whether it would be inappropriate for the special educational provision to be made in school. This will depend on your child’s needs and provision. For example, if you son needs occupational therapy in a particular environment and equipment but there are no schools which would have a suitable room for the therapy sessions to be held in, then it might be inappropriate for this particular special educational provision to be made in school, and might have to be delivered elsewhere. Sometimes it will be inappropriate for some but not all of a child’s special educational provision to be made in school. Please see 'Can I ask for my child to attend school part-time?' for more information.
My child is in primary school and has a draft EHC plan. It’s appropriate for their special educational provision to be given in a school, but we haven’t been able to find the right one yet and nor has our local authority. What can we do? Expand Make sure you know what the law says about naming schools in EHC plans, in case the local authority (LA) has misunderstood it and so you know what your options are. For example, the LA might be able to name a school you would like your child to go to, even though the school has said it couldn’t take them. Your LA has to send you the final EHC plan within 20 weeks of you or your child's school asking for the EHC needs assessment. If there isn’t a school the LA can name in your child’s EHC plan by then, the LA can say what type of school it thinks will be appropriate for your child to go to: For example, section I of their final EHC plan could say “mainstream primary school” or “special primary school” rather than the name of a specific school. Whilst the LA can finalise the EHC plan in this way, it should continue to try to find a specific school. The LA must make sure your child gets a suitable, full time education and all of the special educational provision in section F of their final EHC plan too. Once an appropriate school is found, the LA must add its name to section I of the EHC plan. There’s a legal process the LA must follow when it changes an EHC plan. It must send you the changes it wants to make and give you at least 15 days to reply to: tell the LA any changes you want to see in the EHC plan, ask for a specific school/setting you want your child to go to (or say you agree with the one the LA has found), and ask for a meeting with the LA if you want one. If the LA says it uses a different process, you can tell it this is the legal one that it has to follow because of regulation 28 of The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
Can school stop my 13-year-old from attending equine therapy once a week, even though the LA agreed to it, because it's an unregistered alternative provision? My child doesn't have an EHC plan and is in the process of having an EHC needs assessment. Expand The statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance (applicable from 19 August 2024) confirms (at paragraph 65) that in some circumstances a pupil’s education may be provided partially at school and partially somewhere else. It confirms that schools have responsibilities for the safeguarding and welfare of pupils attending an approved educational activity outside of school. However, “unregistered alternative provision arranged by the school” is an example of an approved educational activity in the guidance (paragraph 311). A school is permitted to arrange this if it is satisfied that “the activity is supervised by a person considered by the school to have the appropriate skills, training, experience and knowledge to ensure that the activity takes place safely and fulfils the educational purpose for which the pupil’s attendance has been approved.” (paragraph 310). There’s a specific code (code B) that the school has to use to record a child’s attendance in these circumstances (regulation 10(3) and 10(11) of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024). However, if the local authority (LA) has agreed to arrange this provision, rather than the school, the LA may be doing so because of its duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. This duty means LAs must secure suitable, full-time education for children of compulsory school age who would not otherwise receive it. LAs can fulfil this duty by providing education outside of school on the days a child will not be at school. As this is the LA’s duty, it’s the LA (not school’s) decision whether your child can have equine therapy. The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 has introduced a new attendance code for recording attendance at education provision arranged by the LA. Regulation 10(3) requires the school to use code K if a pupil is attending a place arranged by a local authority under its duty to secure: suitable, full-time alternative education for children of compulsory school age who would not otherwise receive it due to illness, exclusion or another reason (section 19 of the Education Act 1996) the special educational provision in section F of an EHC plan (section 42(2) of the Children and Families Act (CFA) 2014), or any special educational provision that it has decided is necessary for a child or young person for whom it is responsible to be made otherwise than in a school or post-16 institution (section 61 of the CFA 2014). Therefore, if the LA arranges your child’s equine therapy because it has a duty to, the school can’t stop it and must record that your child is attending provision arranged by the LA in the register using code K. If equine therapy is required to meet your child’s special educational needs, it will count as special educational provision. During the EHC needs assessment, you can make the case that it is not something mainstream schools provide from within their own resources and an EHC plan is necessary for your child to be able to access it long term. If the LA agrees to issue your child with an EHC plan and equine therapy is required to meet her needs, make sure it is described specifically in section F. Please see our information on what an EHC plan contains and what to do when you receive a draft EHC plan for more information.
My child is struggling at school and the school has suggested I home educate them. I do not want to home educate my child - do I have to do this? Are there other options? Expand The law says parents of compulsory school age children must make sure their child gets a suitable education. This means it is suitable for their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs (SEN) they have. Whilst parents must make sure their child receives a suitable education, they can choose how their child receives it. Parents can choose to send their children to school, or they can decide to educate them otherwise, at home for example. Deciding to home educate a child can be a big step and it is a personal decision. There is no duty on a local authority (LA) to help home-educating parents or to fund provision for home-educated children with SEN. For some children, elective home education is the right step for them and their families, but it isn’t for every child or their parent. No parent should feel under pressure from a school or an LA to home educate their child, and no school or LA can force a parent to agree to home educate a child. If you feel your child’s SEN are not being met by their school and you feel you have no other choice but to remove them, or if you feel under pressure to home educate when this is not something you want to do, you can take action. Remind the school of its legal duties Remind the governing body (or its equivalent) of your child’s school of its legal duty to make sure the school is doing all that it can to put in place the special educational provision required to meet your child’s SEN. This duty is called the ‘best endeavours’ duty and you can use our template letter to make sure this duty is being met. The school must also make sure they do not discriminate against disabled children and must put in place reasonable adjustments to avoid disadvantage. If your child does not have an EHC plan, ask for an EHC needs assessment An EHC needs assessment is an investigation into a child’s education, health and care needs, what provision is required to meet them, and what outcomes are to be expected as a result of that provision. It is the gateway to an EHC plan, a legal document which carries important duties and rights. You can request an EHC needs assessment at any time, including if you feel your child’s school isn’t meeting their SEN, if you have been asked to consider home education, or if you are already home educating your child. Your LA must agree to this request if your child has or may have SEN and may need special educational provision in accordance with an EHC plan. You can use our template letter and resources to help you make your request. If you child has an EHC plan, consider if the EHC plan needs changing If your child already has an EHC plan but you are coming under pressure to home educate them, or you feel the school cannot meet your child’s SEN, then it might be that: your child’s SEN have changed, and Section B needs to be updated the special education provision your child requires is missing from Section F Section F is vague, meaning that your child isn’t receiving what they need or how they need it, and Section F needs to be more specific you want a different school named in Section I, or you think it is inappropriate for your child’s special educational provision to be delivered in a school meaning they need to be educated otherwise than in a school, and Sections B, F, and/or I need to be amended. Whenever your child’s EHC plan is in draft form you have the right to request that a particular nursery, school or college is named in the EHC plan. Your LA must agree to (and on appeal, the SEND Tribunal must order) your placement request unless limited reasons apply. For example, you may think your child needs a special school placement, and you have the right to request a maintained special school, a special academy school, a non-maintained special school or section 41 school is named. You can check the status of a school online to see if it is one you have the right to request. On the other hand, you may feel that no school is suitable for your child, because it is inappropriate for their special educational provision to be delivered in a nursery, school or college. Your LA can arrange for their provision to be made otherwise, such as at home, and the SEND Tribunal can order this too. This is different to elective home education, as here your LA will be responsible for continuing to secure and fund that provision (unlike the case with elective home education). If your child’s EHC plan has been recently issued, you can appeal its contents to the SEND Tribunal and try to have it changed that way. You can also use your right to mediation to say what changes you would like made to the plan and see if agreement can be reached. If you don’t have a right of appeal or mediation, you can try to have the EHC plan changed at the next annual review, or ask for an early statutory review if that is some time away.
I have been told my child will be excluded unless I decide to home educate them. Is this right? Expand No. Whenever a pupil is made to leave, or forbidden from attending a maintained school or academy, on disciplinary grounds, this must be done in accordance with the law and statutory guidance on exclusions. The statutory guidance is clear that pressurising a parent into elective home education to avoid exclusion is an example of what it calls “off rolling”. This is when an unlawful exclusion is carried out and it leads to the child being removed from the school’s register (because the parent wants to avoid the exclusion, so agrees to elective home education). “A further example of off-rolling would be exercising undue influence over a parent to remove their child from the school under the threat of a permanent exclusion and encouraging them to choose Elective Home Education or to find another school place.” (paragraph 21) If you feel under pressure to home educate your child to avoid an exclusion, or you have already agreed to home educate your child in this situation, you can take action against the school. You may also want to tell Ofsted. It considers any evidence of off-rolling and is likely to judge a school as inadequate if there is evidence that pupils’ names have been removed from the school admission register due to the school encouraging a parent to remove their child, and leaders have taken insufficient action to address this. Tell your local authority too, so it is aware that this is happening in its area. Guidance for local authorities on elective home education confirms that “Schools should not seek to persuade parents to educate their children at home as a way of avoiding an exclusion....” (paragraph 10.5). If your child is now out of education as a result of the school’s unlawful exclusion, you should contact your local authority and request that suitable alternative education is put in place. We have a template letter you can use to help you.
I home educate my child because I felt I had no other choice. I want them to return to school, but with the support they need. What can I do? Expand The decision to home educate a child should always be a genuinely free choice, but we know that many families opt for home education because they feel their child’s special educational needs (SEN) weren’t being met by their school, or because there isn’t a school suitable for their child. If you are home educating your child because you felt their SEN weren’t being met in school, or you had no other choice, you can take action. If your child does not have an EHC plan Go on school visits to see which school you think would suit your child’s SEN and ask to speak with the SENCO. Check what the school’s SEN information report says (you should be able to find this on its website) to see what support it offers children with SEN. A school must not refuse to admit your child with SEN because it does not feel able to cater for those needs. A mainstream school must also do all that it can to put in place the special educational provision your child's SEN requires. If you are concerned that your child’s SEN will not be supported in their new setting, or that your child needs (or might need) more or different support than the school provides, you can request an EHC needs assessment. An EHC needs assessment is an investigation into a child’s education, health and care needs, what provision is required to meet them, and what outcomes are to be expected as a result of that provision. It is the gateway to an EHC plan, a legal document which carries important duties and rights. You can request an EHC needs assessment at any time, including when your child is being home educated. You do not need to wait for them to be in school. You can use our template letter and resources to help you make your request. You can read more about what you can do when looking for a new school for your child on our website. If your child has an EHC plan Tell your local authority (LA) that you no longer want to electively home educate your child and check when the next annual review is. If the next annual review is a while away, ask for an early statutory review. If you want them to go to a particular nursery, school or college, use the annual review process to ask for changes to be made to the EHC plan and for a setting (or different setting) to be named. You have the right to request: a maintained school or nursery school an academy an institution in the further education sector a non-maintained special school, or a section 41 school or college is named in your child’s EHC plan whenever the plan is in draft form (such as following an annual review where your LA made a decision to amend the plan). Once you have found a school or college you like, check online to see if it is one that you have the right to request. You can also ask for an independent setting to be named. The other option you have is to consider whether your child needs to be educated otherwise than in a school, but not as elective home education. Some families feel that no nursery, school or college would be appropriate for their child due to their SEN and the special educational provision they require. This is different to elective home education, which is meant to be a genuine free choice. Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 allows an LA to arrange for some or all special educational provision set out in Section F of the EHC plan to be made otherwise than in an early years, school, or post 16 setting if the LA agrees it would be inappropriate for provision to be made in such a setting. This is sometimes called ‘EOTIS’. If you feel no nursery, school or college would be appropriate for your child and do not want such a placement (or type of one) named in Section I, or that your child needs a part-time EOTIS package alongside some school attendance, please read our information about this, tell your LA, and ask it to amend the EHC plan. If your LA: refuses to name the setting you want in Section I names a setting (or type) in Section I you do not agree with names a setting when you think no setting should be named in Section I, and/or issues an amended EHC plan and you don’t agree with its contents, you can mediate and/or appeal this to the SEND Tribunal.
I have told my local authority that I do not want to home educate my child anymore. What help should my local authority give whilst I look for a school place? Expand If your child is of compulsory school age then they must receive a suitable full-time education. Parents can decide whether their child gets this education by attending school, or otherwise (such as by home education). However, home education must be elective – that is, parents cannot be forced to home educate their child. You have decided that home education is no longer right for your child, but your child is currently without a school place. If any child of compulsory school age is not receiving education because: illness is preventing them from being able to attend school they have been permanently excluded from school, or for any other reason (such as their parent no longer choosing to home educate them), then under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, your local authority (LA) must make sure that suitable, full-time alternative education is put in place for them. This education must be full-time unless a reduced level of education would be in your child’s best interests because of their physical or mental health. It must also be suitable for your child’s age, ability, aptitude, and special educational needs (SEN). You can use our template letter to ask your LA to put this temporary education in place until your child starts back at school. For children with no school place, education must be provided immediately.
My child has an EOTIS package. What can I do to get help with transport? Expand Some children are eligible for free transport from their local authority (LA) under the Education Act 1996. However, the transport duties in this Act do not apply to children or young people receiving all of the special educational provision in their EHC plan otherwise than in a nursery, school or college. That said, you can still ask your LA for help with transport for the following reasons: 1. Duty to secure special educational provision Remind your LA that it has a duty under section 42(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 to secure all the special educational provision set out in Section F of your child or young person’s EHC plan. You cannot be required to provide any of that special educational provision unless you have voluntarily agreed to. If your child or young person needs transport to access their special educational provision (such as their therapy sessions, outdoor education group, or tuition centre, for example) ask for transport to be provided as part of the LA’s duty to secure special educational provision. You should mention that without transport being provided your child or young person cannot access the provision, and this means the LA has not secured their provision in breach of its legal duty to. If you receive from your LA a direct payment for you to arrange and commission the delivery of your child’s special educational provision, your LA is deemed to have ‘secured’ the provision in making this payment. So, it is important to make sure the payment is sufficient to also cover the costs of transport if this is needed. 2. LA’s power to do things that help it meet its duties Your LA also has a power to do anything (including spending money) which is “calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of their functions.” This power is set out in section 111(1) of the Local Government Act 1972. This means that your LA has the ability and power to provide transport to make sure it complies with its duty under section 42(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 to secure the special educational provision in your child or young person’s EHC plan. What to include when you ask for transport When you ask for transport to and from where your child or young person receives the special educational provision in their EHC plan, you should: explain why the LA should agree to your request, by referring to section 42(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 and section 111(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 as set out above provide your LA with a weekly timetable of your child or young person’s activities, so it can see where your child needs collecting from and to, and when, and say what transport arrangement for your child or young person would be suitable, including in respect of their special educational needs. For example, if in Section F of their plan it says your child needs 1:1 support at all times, then you should explain to your LA that your child will also need this support during their journeys to and from their various providers.
When can a school remove a pupil's name from the school's register? Expand A school can only remove a child’s name from its admission register in certain situations. These are set out in regulation 9 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. This means that a school can only remove the name of a child from its register when one of these situations applies, as explained in paragraph 218 of the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, 2024. Here is a summary table describing some situations and whether the name of a child of compulsory school age can be removed from the register: If Then A child’s EHC plan no longer names their current mainstream school, and they have not been registered at another school. This could be because their EHC plan has been amended and now names: only a type of school, or a different school which the child has not been registered at the school cannot remove their name from its register on this basis. However, this may impact the delivery of the special educational provision set out in the EHC plan and the payment of school fees (if applicable). This will depend on your individual circumstances. Please take advice if you need support on this. A child has been permanently excluded from their school the school must remove their name from its register on this basis. A parent has written to their child’s mainstream school to explain that their child will be receiving elective home education from a particular day (and there is no school attendance order naming that school) the school must remove their name from its register on this basis. A child attended an independent school but has left and is no longer a pupil of that school the independent school must remove their name from its register on this basis. A child is attending a special school, named in their EHC plan, but the parent wants to electively home educate them the special school cannot remove their name from its register unless the local authority has agreed to it (or the Secretary of State has agreed, if the local authority has refused). Please get support if you would like to discuss your child's situation.