The government's EOTAS consultation closed on 18 September 2026. What was proposed, and what it could mean for your child.
On 10 July 2026, the Department for Education opened a consultation on Education Otherwise Than At School — EOTAS. It closed on 18 September 2026. If you haven’t heard much about it, you’re not alone: it’s been overshadowed by the wider SEND White Paper debate. But SEND campaigners are treating it as the live story of the summer, because tucked inside a fairly technical-sounding consultation are some of the most consequential proposed changes to how EOTAS actually works — changes that matter even if your child currently has a school place and no plans to leave it.
EOTAS is education arranged outside a mainstream or specialist school setting — for a child whose needs mean a classroom placement isn’t currently appropriate for them. It sits within an Education, Health and Care Plan, and it is not the same thing as home education.
The number of children and young people currently supported through an EOTAS package in England. Over a third have a mental health condition, and over a third are autistic. Source: Contact, July 2026.
The DfE’s own consultation document doesn’t pretend EOTAS is working well as it stands. It says plainly that some families have gone “long periods without suitable support,” and have been “offered provision unsuitable for the complexity of their child’s needs.” Its diagnosis of the problem: “inconsistent quality and variable oversight” across EOTAS arrangements nationally.
Having worked as a Kent County Council-approved supplier delivering EOTAS provision for several years, this part of the proposal doesn’t read as alarming to me — it reads as catching up to something that should already be standard. A genuinely national approved-provider list, with real standards attached, would raise the floor for families currently being offered EOTAS assembled in a hurry, from whoever happened to be available, with no vetting at all. That inconsistency is real, and I see the effects of it in the families who come to me after a previous arrangement fell short.
This isn’t a bar I’d be working to clear for the first time. It’s already how Education With Lauren operates:
The direction of travel here — accountable, quality-assured, individually tailored provision — isn’t a new bar for me to clear. It’s the one I already work to.
That doesn’t mean the proposals are unproblematic, and it’s worth being clear-eyed about where the genuine risk sits.
The consultation has closed, and the government will now consider responses before deciding what to legislate. If your child currently has, or needs, an EOTAS arrangement, a free 15-minute call is a good way to talk through what your existing provision looks like and how the proposals could affect it.
Book a Free 15-Minute CallWhatever shape EOTAS reform eventually takes, the same thing helps families now: EOTAS provision that’s genuinely tailored to the child, delivered by someone already working to the standard the government is trying to make universal, alongside clear, independent evidence of what a child actually needs.
“She is so patient with him and moulds learning to his needs and focus, which is absolutely perfect for him. The support for myself and any questions I have is second to none.”
Good EOTAS was never supposed to be whatever could be arranged in a hurry. It was supposed to be exactly what a child needs, delivered properly. That’s the bar worth holding everyone to — government proposals or not.
The consultation closed on 18 September 2026. The Department for Education will now review the responses and publish its decisions, which can be followed on GOV.UK by searching “EOTAS consultation”. Nothing changes for existing EOTAS arrangements in the meantime, and any changes would still need new legislation.
Education Otherwise Than At School is education arranged outside a mainstream or specialist school setting for a child whose needs mean a classroom placement isn’t currently appropriate. It’s part of an Education, Health and Care Plan and is not the same as home education.
Councils would hold approved lists of EOTAS providers meeting national quality and safeguarding standards, schools and councils would have a larger role in deciding placements, tribunal powers to direct a specific placement would be reduced, and primary-age children on EOTAS would face reassessment at the Year 6 transition.
No. Nothing changes while this remains a consultation. Any changes would require new legislation and are not expected to take effect before 2029/30.
No. The consultation closed on 18 September 2026. The government's response will be published on GOV.UK.
This article is general information about a government consultation, not legal advice. Proposals may change before any legislation is introduced.
“Good EOTAS was never supposed to be whatever could be arranged in a hurry.”