Elective home education in England is on the rise as parents continue to explore alternatives to traditional schooling. Parents are making the decision to home educate based on a broad range of factors, such as alternative philosophical approaches, mistrust of the traditional schooling system, permanent exclusions, and religious and cultural factors.
Oftentimes, a child’s Special Educational Needs (“SEN”) can be a reason parents turn towards elective home education as an option. This may be due to delays in receiving appropriate support through an Education, Health and Care Plan (“EHCP”), difficulty in finding a suitable setting, or emotionally-based school avoidance (“EBSA”).
Updated Government figures show an increase in elective home education, up to 126,000 in Autumn 2025, from 111,700 the previous year. However, the current landscape is far more nuanced than these figures may suggest, particularly in respect to SEN children and young people. Before making the decision to home educate, parents should consider the options available to them, and consider the legal ramifications for their children under each option.
Education Otherwise Than in School (EOTIS)
For parents seeking an education package outside of a formal school setting through their child’s EHCP, provided by the local authority, an Education Otherwise Than in School/College (“EOTIS/C”) package is often the most secure option. Where an EOTIS/C package is implemented, Section I of the EHCP is left blank, and they are not on roll at any school; instead, Section F details the package of provision that they should receive at home.
If an EOTIS/C package is put in place, the local authority must secure everything specified in Section F as a matter of absolute duty (pursuant to Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014). It is not discretionary, and it is not subject to term-by-term funding decisions. This is the main legal advantage of EOTIS/C over elective home education.
With respect to EOTIS/C, the test under Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 provides that a local authority in England may arrange for 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 school/college only if it would be inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school/college. This means that it would be inappropriate for provision to be delivered at any school/college. If there is a setting that can deliver the provision the child or young person requires then the application for EOTIS/C will fail.
In order to succeed in securing an EOTIS/C package, it must therefore be evidenced that it is inappropriate for the child or young person to attend a school or college setting at present (for example, due to EBSA, in which case medical evidence would be required in support of this position).
Section 19 Education (Alternative Provision)
Where a child or young person is no longer able to attend their named setting, for example due to a breakdown in placement or the setting no longer feeling able to meet needs, local authorities remain under a duty to provide a suitable education, often described as interim alternative provision. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 states:
“19 Exceptional provision of education in pupil referral units or elsewhere
- Each local authority in England shall make arrangements for the provision of suitable education at school or otherwise than at school for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them.”
Therefore, local authorities have a duty under Section 19 to ensure that children who are out of education are receiving suitable, alternative provision. Provision under Section 19 must be suitable, and full-time, if the child can manage it, but it is not tied to the enforceability of an EHCP. It is also implemented as an interim measure.
Elective Home Education
Elective Home Education (“EHE”) provides what can be considered a somewhat precarious position in respect to ensuring local authorities continue to provide the provision outlined in a child or young person’s EHCP. EHE is based on the parental choice to deregister the child or young person from a formal education setting and to educate them at home.
Deciding to educate your child at home instead of sending them to school is a step which should not be taken lightly. It will mean a major commitment of your time, energy and money. The Government has non-statutory guidance in place, which states in relevant part as relates to EHE for children with an EHCP in place:
“When your child has an EHC plan, it is the local authority’s duty to ensure that the educational provision specified in the plan is made available to the child – but only if you as the parents have not arranged for the child to receive a suitable education in some other way. Therefore if the home education you provide as parents is suitable, the local authority has no duty to arrange any special educational provision for the child; the plan should set out the type of special educational provision that the local authority thinks the child requires, and should also state that parents have made their own arrangements under s. 7 of the Education Act 1996. The authority will of course continue to check the suitability of the home education as required by sections 436A and 437 of the 1996 Act, and if at any point it considers that the home education is no longer suitable, it must ensure that the special educational provision specified in the EHC plan is made available as well as taking the steps set out above in relation to school attendance.”
Accordingly, unless the local authority determines that the education parents put in place is unsuitable to meet the child or young person’s SEN, they will not be required to arrange or fund the special educational outlined in Section F of the EHCP. The responsibility of providing and funding the special educational provision therefore shifts to parents under EHE.
Some parents report they feel they have no alternative but to deregister their child from school and home educate them. They therefore disagree that they are electively home educating their child. However, unless EOTIS/C or alternative provision under Section 19 is agreed by the local authority, they will normally interpret a parent deregistering their child from school, and educating at home, as them electively home educating.
Getting Advice on EOTIS, Section 19 and Home Education
Deciphering the options available when traditional schooling is not working can be difficult. Early legal advice can help parents:
- Understand what issues may be available to them;
- What evidence to obtain and how to ensure it has a meaningful impact;
- Secure the necessary package to adequately support their child’s SEN.
If you need advice about EOTIS/C, Section 19 education and elective home education, specialist SEND legal advice can make a real difference. You can contact our education team on 0333 202 7175 or via our contact form.
