AP | Schools Week

SEND review: Tiered support package for alternative provision

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

Special schools left ‘begging’ councils for tax hike cash

One trust considers legal action over £400,000 loss, while council says it will scrutinise pay before handing out cash

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 […]

AP settings to get £7m post-16 transition funding, but only for one year

Alternative provision settings will given up to £750 for each year 11 pupil to aid their transition into post-16 work or training. But there are calls for the funding, totalling £7 million to cover 11,300 pupils this year, to become an annual addition to AP budgets, amid fears that excluded pupils lose support once they […]

Timpson exclusions review: the 7 things you need to know

The Department for Education is set to finally publish the Timpson review into exclusions today. The government has released its executive summary of the report, which includes the 30 recommendations ministers have agreed to implement “in principle”. We’ve been through and picked out the key things you need to know. 1. No proposals yet […]

Is this the real exclusions ‘scandal’ – leaving too many kids in mainstream?

How can the education committee claim the current level of school exclusions is too high, when no one even knows what the correct level should be, argues John Blake Every child in England is entitled to an education. Thus, this week’s report from the parliamentary education committee, on the experiences of students removed from mainstream schools as […]

Make schools publish termly exclusions and leavers data, and 9 other recommendations from the education committee

Schools should be forced to publish termly data on the number of exclusions they make and the number of pupils who leave of their own volition, MPs have said. The parliamentary education committee has released a report on exclusions, which calls for a “bill of rights” for excluded pupils and improvements to alternative provision. Here […]

Out-of-date pregnancy guidance isn’t helping schools, say critics

A worrying lack of up-to-date guidance on how to ensure pregnant pupils continue their education is fuelling a rise in the use of alternative provision for those expecting a baby. The government claims five-year-old advice on how to deal with pupils with “health needs” – which makes no specific mention of pregnancy – is good […]