18/07/2026
I’m beginning to work with more families with EOTAS packages and although this isn’t new to me it is a fascinating part of alternative provision for children and young people.
I am currently reading Open consultation SEND reform: education otherwise than at school – what parents and carers of children and young people need to know EOTAS (also know as EOTIS -in school)
Here are my initial thoughts.
One statistic immediately stood out to me: over 90% of children receiving EOTAS are over the age of 11.
Are children’s needs becoming more complex? Or are schools becoming less able to meet those needs as academic demands increase, social expectations become more complex and the transition to secondary approaches? Understanding why so many children reach crisis point during late primary education should be central to any reform.
Earlier support
The consultation highlights earlier identification and support. While this is welcome, it is not a new principle.
The SEND Code of Practice has, for many years, promoted:
* early identification,
* graduated response,
* Assess, Plan, Do, Review,
* early intervention.
The issue has never really been the absence of guidance. It has been the consistency with which it is implemented. Reform needs to address *why* existing statutory expectations are not consistently being delivered before introducing further guidance.
Better quality provision
Improving the quality of EOTAS provision is difficult to disagree with.
However, the consultation raises an important question without yet answering it.
If national standards are introduced:
* Who will develop them?
* Who will inspect them?
* Who will assess whether providers meet them?
* What qualifications or expertise will those people have?
* What training will they receive?
National standards are only meaningful if those responsible for applying them have specialist knowledge of SEND and of EOTAS itself.
Local authority oversight
The proposal for greater local authority oversight concerns me.
Local authorities already carry statutory responsibility for Education, Health and Care Plans. Many families experience lengthy delays, poor-quality plans and have to pursue mediation or tribunal to secure appropriate provision.
If local authorities are already struggling to fulfil their existing statutory responsibilities, it is reasonable to ask what additional capacity, expertise and accountability will accompany these new responsibilities.
Without addressing those issues first, simply increasing local authority oversight may not improve outcomes.
Schools overseeing EOTAS
This is perhaps the proposal I find most challenging.
EOTAS exists precisely because, for that individual child or young person, education in school is not suitable. That is its legal purpose.
If schools become responsible for overseeing EOTAS, several questions arise.
* What training will school leaders receive?
* How will independence be maintained?
* How will conflicts of interest be managed?
Schools are knowledgable in educating children within school environments. EOTAS is fundamentally different. Oversight therefore requires expertise that extends beyond school-based practice.
There is also a question of trust.
Families often arrive at EOTAS following placement breakdown, significant distress or lengthy disputes with education providers. In any oversight model parents must have confidence and trust that decisions are being made solely in their child’s best interests, rather than from an underlying assumption that returning to school is always the preferred outcome.
Independence may therefore be an essential feature of any future oversight arrangements.
I think there is one concerning overarching point that runs through all of these observations:
The consultation focuses heavily on *who* should oversee EOTAS, but says relatively little about *how* those individuals or organisations will develop the specialist expertise required to make informed decisions about highly individualised provision.
That, to me, is one of the biggest unanswered questions in the consultation. It isn’t enough to assign responsibility; the system also needs to ensure that those holding responsibility have the knowledge, training and independence to exercise it effectively.
Otherwise it feels very much a case of ‘here we go again…’
Emma
The Autistic SENCo
♾️
