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What is Alternative Provision (AP)?

Government guidance describes AP as “education arranged by Local Authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; education arranged by schools for pupils on a fixed period exclusion; and pupils being directed by schools to off-site provision to improve their behaviour”.

Who is AP for?

The DfE [1] identifies four ‘areas of need’ for students entering AP:

  • Pupils who need an alternative curriculum or learning environment e.g. more tailored support and/or attention from school staff
  • Pupils in AP due to one-off incidents e.g. for violence in mainstream school or for arriving in the local area mid-year
  • Vulnerable pupils e.g. those who have mental health difficulties
  • Disengaged pupils e.g. those who have very low rates of attendance at mainstream school. 

Children who are not able to thrive in mainstream education need alternative provision to help them realise their aspirations.

Showcasing Outstanding AP

There is some excellent AP practice nationwide.  Indeed, there are 62 outstanding APs, and we aim to shine a light on them by showcasing them to raise the profile of AP and developing mentoring networks between them and other APs to improve outcomes. Even though these 62 APs nationwide currently provide an outstanding education, national statistics show us that, on average, young people excluded from mainstream schools have shockingly poor outcomes and AP settings vary widely in what they provide for these most vulnerable of children.

The estimated costs of exclusion are £370,000 per young person in lifetime education, benefits, healthcare and criminal justice costs[3].

How Many AP are there?

Given the very broad definition of an AP, there are many different types; from very small with no inspection, to 49 newly formed Free School AP. Under the wider definition of AP, there are 348 state-maintained AP schools and at least 739 Alternative Providers.  Over 10% of APs are unregulated provision and there are no public records kept for them. 

Of the 348 state-maintained AP schools, 337 have been inspected by OFSTED (11 haven’t) as at 31 March 2020[4].  62 APs have been judged outstanding, 223 good, 31 requires improvement and 20 inadequate at their most recent OFSTED inspection.  Under the new OFSTED Framework there are several APs that have been judged outstanding, including Westside School, the Boxing Academy and Derby Pride. 

Demographic of Young Peple in AP

Children educated in AP are the most vulnerable children in society:

  • 40% of young people in APs have Free School Meals (FSM) in comparison to 14% in mainstream schools
  • Young people with FSM are 4 times more likely to be permanently excluded than those who aren’t eligible for FSM
  • 77% of students in APs have Special Educational Needs (SEN)
  • Students with SEN are 6 times more likely to be permanently excluded
  • Children in Need are 3 times more likely to be permanently excluded

Just less than 8,000 young people were permanently excluded from mainstream school and nearly 200,000 young people received fixed-term exclusions in 2019-2020.

Young people who are in the following categories are more likely to be excluded than their peers:

  • Male
  • Black Caribbean or White and Black Caribbean
  • Gypsy/Roma or Traveller of Irish Heritage
  • Young people with SEN and/or SEMH
  • Young people with an education, health and care plan (EHCP)
  • Young people who are eligible for FSM

AP Heads have told us that a greater understanding of how to help young people with Speech and Language challenges and SEMH is particularly needed in AP.

Government Focus to Date

The DfE commissioned in 2012 the Charlie Taylor review of AP,  followed by the Timpson review of school exclusions in March 2018 to explore how headteachers use exclusions in practice and why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded than others.  The latter review made 30 recommendations for system improvement, all of which were accepted in principle by the government, as with the 25 recommendations of the Taylor review. 

At the moment, all APs are categorised as PRUs by Ofsted, and Ofsted inspects APs/PRUs in the same way as any school, with few allowances despite the much smaller scale of the school and the wide range of needs within it. Historically, many statistics have shown that PRUs have been a step to youth justice involvement for too many and then prison.  APs set up in recent years are very much trying to break that link.

[1] Department for Education, 2018. Alternative provision market analysis. ISOS Partnership. (pp.27–28)

[2]Centre for Social Justice, 2020. Warming the Cold Spots of Alternative Provision

[3] IPPR, 2017. ‘Making the Difference.’

[4] Gov.co.uk, 2020, State-funded schools inspections and outcomes as at 31 March 2020

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