Some parents believe that for their children, education in a setting outside of the home would be inappropriate due to their additional learning needs (ALN) or ill health. I like to refer to ALN as meaning alternative learning needs because they aren’t additional, they are just different.
Parents of children aged 0-5 who do not attend a nursery or maintained Early Years provision at a school should ask the local authority to assess if the child has ALN. If assessed as having ALN then parents must ask the LA to provide an Individual Development Plan (IDP) (in Wales) or an Education Health Care (EHC) plan (in England), even if they choose to educate at home without the financial support and interference of the local authority. An IDP/ EHC plan is a blueprint for your child’s future education. If the plan has been written by your LA it becomes a legal document and you can hold them to account. Make sure you know what should be in the plan and draw on the legal framework to make sure it is right.
I would advise getting this initial assessment as it is an opportunity to fully identify your child’s needs.
An EHC plan contains sections A-K .
Do not leave out the following important points from the IDP/ EHC plan. ( The sections below refer to the EHC plan.( Only if it your requirements are included do you have any hope of getting them ) .
- Section F should give a clear and detailed description of the support they need. Your child may require therapies and you should ensure that these get written into this part of the planTherapies can be classed as educational provision, such as speech and language therapy if it educates or trains your child. It will be important to set out all the necessary details such as who (in terms of role/qualification) will oversee the package of support, deliver it and what particular expertise they may need. If you are confident that a specific therapy is needed (such as Vibroacoustic therapy or Aversion Therapy (using VR) then you will need to provide evidence and be prepared to fight your corner if you want EOTAS funding and you will need to emphasise in this section that it should be EOTAS funded. This will mean the LA still has a legal duty to put the special educational provision in place.
- Section B should set out all of their alternative learning needs, including those that show why education in a setting is inappropriate. These could be, for example, mental health or sensory needs and these needs should dictate the therapies you feel necessary.
- Section I should be left blank if you wish to educate from home through EOTAS or independently. It should be filled in with an alternative provision if, for example, you have an independent school in mind.
- Section J will detail special educational needs and outcomes to be met by any agreed direct payments relating to section F. Ensure this is completed.
An IDP is split into three sections and schools in Wales have been developing their own IDPs so they will vary slightly. However section 1 will contain information on the child , section 2 will detail the learning needs and how they will be met and section 3 will include a timeline of key events, transitions ,transport needs. Parents need to ensure section 2 specifies the specific therapies/ technologies etc that your child needs . You must get those written into the IDP.
The Code of Practice states that LAs “should” fund support for the SEN of home-educated children where it is appropriate to do so (paragraph 10.30). However, the LA does not have a legal duty to provide special educational provision in this situation and, in my experience, there is a long wait.
I have assessed children for parents who want to educate at home without the financial support of the LA. They are often keen to get the necessary support ASAP and are not prepared to wait, and in the fortunate position to be able to finance what is required.
Parents must make sure their children receive a suitable full-time education if they are of school age, but this does not mean that it must be in a school setting.
The Code of Practice acknowledges this, stating at paragraph 10.35 that, “Local authorities should not assume that because the provision being made by parents is different from that which was being made […] in school that the provision is necessarily unsuitable “ However parents should never feel pressured into home schooling their child and should pursue the EOTAS route first as they will receive financial support. This only applies to the ages they would be expected to attend school.
Before you can pursue the EOTAS route you must have an IDP or EHC plan.
Education otherwise than in a school (EOTAS) includes early years and post 16 settings as well.
If the local authority (LA) agrees it would be inappropriate for your child’s education to be delivered in a school, it can agree to arrange for it to be delivered somewhere else, for example at home. The LA must arrange and pay for that provision.
However, EOTAS is different to someone choosing to educate at home (EHE- elective home education). If you choose to home school your child, effectively electing to home educate, then theLA is not responsible for meeting any of the costs or providing any support.
With an EOTAS package the LA is responsible for arranging and paying for the provision
Parents who wish to home educate their child without the financial support of the LA do not need permission unless they already attend school. If they attend a school / college/ early year setting and the parents feel it is not meeting their child’s needs.
Then they should write to:
- the school and explain that they intend to educate their child at home, and
- the LA and ask it to amend Section I of the IDP/ EHC plan to record that the child is being educated at home. Parents of children at special schools will also need to ask the LA to agree to their name being taken off from the school roll.
If you want LA financial support, then you must have an IDP/EHC