SEND reform: education otherwise than at school

Alternative provision: under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age who may not otherwise receive suitable education because of exclusion, illness or other reasons. Education arranged under this duty is referred to by the Department as alternative provision. Schools may also arrange off‑site provision to support pupils to improve their behaviour, and this is also known as alternative provision.  In practice, education of this type is commonly delivered through alternative provision outside the child’s mainstream school, including in alternative provision schools, hospital schools or non‑school alternative provision.

Early years/early years settings: early education and childcare for children aged 0–5, including childminders, maintained nursery schools, school-based nurseries and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries.

Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS): under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities may arrange special educational provision outside a school or further education setting where it would be inappropriate for that provision to be delivered in a school or further education setting. The Department refers to these arrangements as Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) and they are set out in an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP). Some stakeholders, especially those who advise on the SEN law, refer to such arrangements as Education Otherwise Than In School (EOTIS); we will use the term EOTAS in this consultation to describe current and also potential future arrangements. The provision often involves education in non‑school alternative provision (NSAP) settings alongside therapeutic and health support, such as speech and language therapy. 

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP): a statutory document outlining the education, health and social care support that is to be provided to a child or young person who has special educational needs (SEN) or a disability.

Further Education (FE) Settings: Ofsted inspects FE settings under the Education Inspection Framework. This includes General FE colleges, Sixth Form Colleges, 16-19 Academies, Specialist Colleges, Specialist Post-16 Institutions (SPIs), and Independent Training Providers (ITPs). A full list can be found here: Inspection information for further education and skills providers . 

Individual Support Plan (ISP): as proposed in the SEND consultation proposals, an Individual Support Plan is intended to be a record of need and provision for any child or young person receiving targeted, targeted plus or specialist support. 

Non‑school (unregistered) alternative provision (NSAP): NSAP provides alternative provision and special educational provision to children and young people as arranged by schools and local authorities. It is a diverse sector, comprising of many localised and often small providers, delivering training, vocational education and work experiences, which takes place in a variety of settings including work environments or outdoors. The sector also includes tuition, much of which takes place in a child or young person’s home or in the community, and non-accredited online providers.

Online Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS): to support quality and safeguarding, in 2023 the Department established a voluntary accreditation scheme for online education providers. The scheme is for providers of full-time online education.

Outcomes: specific goals or achievements set out for a child or young person to measure progress and success.

SEN: special educational needs.

SEND: special educational needs and disabilities – a broader term than SEN.

Special schools: schools designed to meet the needs of children with SEND.

Specialist Provision Package: as proposed in the SEND consultation, Specialist Provision Packages (SPP) are descriptions of specialist support provision for children and young people with the most complex needs, who require long-term specialist provision – those whose needs cannot be met within the Universal, Targeted or Targeted Plus layers of the reformed SEND system. They are based around the provision required to meet the needs of groups of children and young people who share similar characteristics and who require similar support to meet their needs. They are not based around specific diagnoses, and it will not be necessary for a child or young person to hold a diagnosis to access a Specialist Provision Package.