EOTAS explained: Education Otherwise Than At School

EOTAS stands for Education Otherwise Than At School. It is arranged by a local authority under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, which places a duty on authorities to make suitable education available for children who, "by reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise", would not receive suitable education without such arrangements.

EOTAS is different from simply attending an Alternative Provision placement, because it usually means a child is not on the roll of any school at all — their entire education is built as a bespoke package, often blending several providers. A typical EOTAS package might combine:

• Core academic tuition (in small groups, one-to-one, or online) covering English, maths and science.
• A vocational or creative provider for practical subjects.
• Therapeutic input, such as counselling or an educational psychologist's involvement, particularly where anxiety, trauma or SEMH needs are central to why mainstream school has not worked.
• Home tuition for a period, sometimes as a bridge back towards a more structured setting.

EOTAS is not intended to be a permanent substitute for a school place where a suitable one exists or could exist with the right support — statutory guidance and case law both emphasise that authorities should keep working towards a return to a school setting where that is realistic and in the child's interests, and should review EOTAS packages regularly (usually at least termly).

For a child with an EHCP, EOTAS provision must still deliver the outcomes and support set out in the plan, and the EHCP should be amended to reflect the EOTAS arrangement.

Because EOTAS packages are individually commissioned, discoverability is often the single biggest bottleneck: a placements officer may need to find an online GCSE provider, a part-time equine or forest-school placement, and a therapeutic input provider — sometimes all within the same fortnight for the same child. Searching this directory by delivery format (online, home-based, part-time), by need, and by funding route ("EOTAS funding") is designed to speed up exactly that kind of package-building.