What Is Section 19 Education? A Guide for Greater Manchester Parents

If your child isn't attending school, you can very quickly find yourself hearing a whole new language.

Section 19. Alternative Provision. EOTAS. EHCP.

They are often talked about as though they are all the same thing.

They aren't.

What does Section 19 actually mean?

Section 19 comes from the Education Act 1996.

It places a duty on local authorities to arrange suitable education for compulsory-school-age children who, because of illness, exclusion or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education.

So when a child is out of school, the answer cannot always simply be:

“They have a school place available.”

Having a school place and actually being able to access education are not necessarily the same thing.

The question is whether that child is receiving suitable education.

Is Section 19 Alternative Provision?

Alternative Provision can be used as part of the education arranged for a child.

But I think we also need to be careful about what we mean when we say “alternative”.

If a child cannot access a classroom, putting them in a different classroom isn't necessarily going to solve the problem.

Some children need something genuinely different.

That could be tuition, online learning, specialist provision, outdoor education, 1:1 work or several different things brought together.

One provider doesn't necessarily need to do everything.

What about EOTAS?

EOTAS means Education Otherwise Than At School.

It isn't simply another name for Section 19.

EOTAS relates to children and young people with SEND where it would be inappropriate for the special educational provision they require to be delivered in a school or other educational institution.

An EOTAS package can therefore be made up of different provision according to the individual child's needs.

Where could The Wild Mane Project fit?

We can be one part of a child's wider package of education and support.

Our 1:1 provision combines equine-assisted learning, nature, wilderness activities and therapeutic approaches.

For some participants, the priority may initially be engagement.

For another, we might be working around communication, emotional regulation, relationships, self-esteem or specific outcomes identified within their EHCP.

We can also include observations, outcome measures and reporting where these are required as part of commissioned provision.

We aren't a school and we aren't trying to recreate one outdoors.

We provide something different that can sit alongside education and other support.

And that is really the point of individual provision.

Start with the child, look at what is preventing them from accessing education, and build the provision around what they actually need.