Education otherwise than in a school (EOTIS)

Derbyshire CC v EM and DM (SEN) [2019] UKUT 240 (AAC): Where a child or young person requires full time ‘education otherwise than in school’ (EOTIS, sometimes known as EOTAS) at home, the special educational provision and EOTIS package should be set out in section F. section I should be left blank, as there is no setting to be attended.

NN v Cheshire East Council (SEN) [2021] UKUT 220 (AAC): It makes clear that if a child will be present at a school for at least part of the time, they will be attending it and so the school must be specified in section I of their EHC plan. This includes if the child will be attending provision provided by the school as part of a bespoke package outside of the conventional classroom setting. This case also confirms earlier case law

• on what counts as a school
• that only the type and name of setting can be included in section I of an EHC plan
• on how the decision of whether education other wise than in a school (EOTIS) must be made, and
• that where full time EOTIS at home is made section I will be blank and the special educational provision will be described in section F.

TM v Hounslow [2009] EWCA Civ 859: In applying the test for education otherwise than in a school (EOTIS, sometimes known as EOTAS) and deciding if it would be inappropriate for special educational provision to be made in a school, it’s not enough to ask if the school can deliver it: The question is whether a school would not be “suitable” or “proper”. To decide this the LA must take into account all of the circumstances, some examples of which are included in this case.