alternative provision | Schools Week

‘Recovery premium’ rolled out for all special school and AP pupils

Catch-up cash will increase for mainstream secondaries, rising to £60k on average, but rates frozen for most primaries

SEND review: Tiered support package for alternative provision

Green paper proposes three-tier system focused on early intervention in mainstream schools

SEND review: The proposed reforms to alternative provision

Changes to the way AP is funded and used by schools have been put forward by the government

Public urged to report illegal schools as pupils taught in ‘squalid’ settings

Ofsted warns parents and councils are paying thousands for ‘woeful’ education in ‘squalid’ conditions at unregistered schools

Revealed: the 21 areas set for £15m AP taskforces to prevent crime

The government has confirmed the 21 areas set to receive funding under a scheme to prevent vulnerable pupils in alternative provision “entering a life of crime”. Alternative provision specialist taskforces will be launched across England in “serious violence hotspots”, receiving £15 million between them in Treasury funding. The taskforces will include mental health professionals, family […]

DfE report: Schools in big MATs shun moves to share responsibility for excluded pupils

Schools in large multi-academy trusts have “refused to engage” in efforts to make them more responsible for excluded pupils in some parts of England, according to a government-commissioned report on alternative provision. New research for the Department for Education highlighted the need for “formal mechanisms” to deal with mainstream schools declining to work more closely […]

Home education among pupils with EHC plans up by a quarter in one year

The number of children with education, health and care plans being educated at home has risen by almost a quarter in just one year. Data published by the Department for Education today shows that 3,660 pupils with EHC plans were in elective home education as of January this year, up from 2,983 in January 2020. […]

Alternative provision in crisis: deficits, closed sites and restructures

A leading alternative provision setting is being forced to close a specialist site due to a creaking high-needs funding system exacerbated by Covid. Others facing six-figure deficits are considering restructures. The London East Alternative Provision (LEAP) will have to close the Tommy Flowers Vocational Centre in Whitechapel at the end of the year despite delivering […]

Government rules out relaxing SEND support rules – for now

The government has tentatively ruled out relaxing SEND support requirements during the current lockdown, instead urging authorities to make alternative arrangements if they are struggling to meet children’s legal provision. As Schools Week reported last week, ministers were asked to “guarantee” they would not re-introduce temporary legislation that “downgrades” support for SEND pupils. For three […]