It’s no surprise that Charlie is struggling with school again, and in this holiday I’ve seen a positive change in him, with no school based anxiety. It’s nice to have my happy caring Charlie back and I love to see that. I have had a couple of opportunities to discuss school with him and he has got very withdrawn and become selectively mute and refusing to speak to me regarding school. When I did finally get him to open up about school he became very distressed and did not want to go back, he was very scared at the prospect. Deep down that’s all anxiety is, fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the known and fear of what may become.

So now I have started to delve deeper into the realms of EOTAS. The letters stand for Education Other Than At School and that is exactly what it will be. Education that is delivered by the LA, provided by the LA, but not in an educational setting such as a school environment. I have included an article detailing the process below:

Education outside of school | Department of Education (education-ni.gov.uk)

Guidance for education otherwise than at school | Department of Education (education-ni.gov.uk)

Unfortunately our LA has not had much dealings with EOTAS so are not quite equipped to handle the process. This now means I will have to research all elements of education required, dissect the EHCP to address the outcomes and fit it in the plan for EOTAS and work out all the costings. As we all know, it’s always about budget. And I will have to prove that Charlie’s EOTAS plan will not only meet the outcomes but cost less than his current placement. Once again, more life admin that takes me away from my primary role as mother! And just intensifies the fact that working for an employer is so difficult whilst juggling these demands and trying to balance Charlie’s needs with life. It is not compatible.

I have another exciting project in the pipeline! I can’t wait to share it with you all. Fingers crossed I will be able to get it organised by the beginning of September and before the children go back to school and when meetings ect will resume. It will be a lit of hard work but if it means that I will be able to work from home more then it will definitely be worth it. The aim will always be to get an income that is sustainable and financially viable that works around the children and means my only demand is from the children’s lives. That would be a dream and I hope I achieve it.

For now though, EOTAS planning will take up the majority of my time as I need it to be built and in place before the next annual review and hopefully we will not need to go to tribunal court, however, I am fully prepared for that battle this time around.

Stay well all.

Georgina x