Alternative provision

Alternative Provision (AP) settings are places that provide education for children who can't currently attend their school.

The difference between Specialist and Alternative Education:

Specialist Education refers to places within special schools, or specialist units attached to mainstream schools. They are permanent places (unless the child or young person's needs change significantly).

Alternative Education is usually intended to be a temporary placement; to address a child or young person's barriers to education and successfully prepare them for reintegration to school.

The Government definition of Alternative Provision is as follows:

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;
Pupils being directed by schools to off-site provision to improve their behaviour.

Alternative Provision may be an option for pupils who are:

At risk of being permanently excluded;
Permanently excluded and in need of a placement until their new school begins;
In need of targeted and specific support and early intervention;
Struggling to have their needs met in their current setting.

Alternative Provision provides these pupils with another temporary education setting that suits their current needs, with:

Early and short-term intervention to support them in their school (or in placements between schools and AP);
Education in the local community;
Pupil-centred interventions to help pupils engage in an appropriate curriculum that includes core subjects;
Flexible support, according to need and which considers the child's family context;
Opportunities for pupils to develop positive relationships, build resilience and emotional wellbeing;
A range of approaches, strategies, and skills to enable pupils to reintegrate back into mainstream school as soon as possible.

Within Suffolk, the types of alternative provision are:

Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)
Alternative Provision Academies (APAs), and
Alternative Providers (non-school based)

Some alternative education providers in Suffolk are registered schools called Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) or Alternative Provision Academies.

Pupils may be offered places at these schools in the following circumstances:

Following a permanent exclusion,
For support with barriers that are being experienced within their mainstream schools,
To prevent a permanent exclusion; and/or
Those who are medically unable to attend their mainstream school.

The PRUs and Alternative Provision Academies currently within Suffolk are:

The Albany Academy (Bury St Edmunds)
The Attic (now known as Horizon) (Lowestoft, Carlton Colville and Walpole)
First Base Bury (Bury St Edmunds)
First Base Ipswich (Ipswich)
Parkside (Ipswich)
St Christophers (Ipswich)
Alderwood (Ipswich)
Westbridge (Ipswich)
Olive AP (Stowmarket)
SENDAT Chalk Hill (Sudbury)
Include Suffolk (Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft)

In addition to the PRU/APA registered schools listed above, there is also alternative provision which has been defined as education outside school arranged by local authorities or schools.

In these settings, pupils participate as part of their regular timetable, away from the site of their registered school and not led by school staff. Schools can use this type of provision to prevent exclusions, or to try and re-engage students with education.

Unlike Pupil Referral Units and other full-time provision, there is no requirement for the these Alternative Providers (APs) to register with any official body and no consistent arrangements to evaluate their quality.

View our directory of Alternative Providers here.

There is a Monitoring and Evaluation Group (formerly known as Alternative Provision panel) that meets monthly to discuss children and young people where alternative provision is being requested. Referrals to this group must come from the school the child or young person is currently on the roll of.

The group consists of staff members from Whole School Inclusion (WSI), Specialist Education Services (SES), Alternative Provision and Transport. The group tracks children and young people’s academic progress, attendance, and reintegration.

The Provider Services Team ensure that:

Specialist education providers are commissioned appropriately and continue to comply with expectations;
Contracts are robustly monitored and managed whenever a Suffolk child/young person is placed in specialist provision;
Any new provider supplies SCC with the required information, including checks on relevant policies and safeguarding practices.

The Quality Assurance of providers is the responsibility of Ofsted and other regulatory bodies. If a provider is not compliant, if there is poor performance or if there is a serious concern such as an inadequate Ofsted notification, the Provider Services team will escalate this to senior leaders within Education and Social Care (if applicable), in order to jointly take the appropriate action.

The Provider Services team is also responsible for the expansion and ongoing improvement of specialist school placements within Suffolk. To do this the team collects and manages data across the whole SEND Partnership (Health, Education and Social Care) to predict future demand.

Alternative provision

Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Alternative Provision Academies (APAs)

Alternative Providers (Unregistered)

How does my child access Alternative Provision?

Provider Services