There are some incredibly important consultations and sessions that might affect you as a parent carer. It’s vital that you have your say.

Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS)

The Department for Education is consulting on Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS) — and parent carers’ voices are crucial.

EOTAS covers education for children and young people who can’t attend mainstream or specialist schools for reasons such as medical needs, mental health, social, behavioural or safeguarding concerns.

This review will affect how provision is identified, planned, funded and quality assured across the country.

The consultation asks for views on how EOTAS should be:

Identified — for example, clear criteria for who needs EOTAS and timely referral processes;

Managed — including responsibility for planning, coordination between local services, and how personalised learning is delivered;

Quality Assured — so arrangements are monitored, outcomes tracked, and standards upheld.

These proposals have the potential to affect some of the most vulnerable children and young people. It is therefore essential that the lived experiences of children, young people and families help to shape any future changes.

The consultation will run for 10 weeks and will close on 18th September 2026.

We encourage you to read the consultation and we will begin gathering the views and experiences of you as a parent carer in the coming weeks. The easy read version is here:

Online sessions on the Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS) Consultation.

The DofE are running online sessions on the EOTAS (Education Otherwise Than At School) consultation, part of the wider SEND Reform proposals.

All sessions cover the same content and questions, so you only need to book onto one.

This is worth attending if EOTAS provision affects your child, or if you want to understand the proposals before the consultation closes on 18 September.

 



Other resources on EOTAS

The Department for Education has also published a series of fact sheets to accompany the Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) and Upfront funding for mainstream schools consultations.

These resources explain the proposals in more detail and are intended to help parents, carers and professionals understand the consultation before sharing their views.

SEND reform: education otherwise than at school – what parents and carers of children and young people need to know - GOV.UK

Upfront funding for mainstream schools: creating a ‘local SEND inclusion formula’ – what parents and carers of children and young people need to know - GOV.UK

These are all important opportunities to ensure that the lived experiences of children, young people and families help shape future policy.

You can respond in two ways:

1️⃣ Directly via the national consultation: SEND reform: education otherwise than at school - Department for Education - Citizen Space

2️⃣ Through PCF CWaC — tell us your thoughts and we’ll feed them into the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) so they’re heard nationally.

⏰ Closes 18th September — plenty of time, but don’t leave it too late!

For more blogs and to keep up to date on PCF activity, go to our BLOG area....