FEATURE FOCUS: ALTERNATIVE PROVISION
Successful approaches to alternative provision
Between 2021/22 and 2022/23, councils across the country recorded a 61% rise in school exclusions, with overall exclusion figures rising by 50% compared to 2018/19. The latest statistics from the Department for Education (DfE), show pupils with autism in England are nearly three times as likely to be suspended than their neurotypical peers. With 82% of young people in state-funded alternative provision (AP) with identified special educational needs (SEN) and social emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, for many it is their last chance of gaining an education that is every child’s right. Exclusion is life changing. These already vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people, face a bleak future, with just 4% achieving a pass in English and maths GCSEs, and 50% becoming NEET post-16.
I
n our second look at alternative provision this month, Fleur Sexton, Deputy Lieutenant West Midlands and CEO of dynamic training provider, PET-Xi,looks at some of the ways in which AP can be successfully implemented.
It is also often referred to as ‘the pipeline to prison’. Statistics gathered from prison inmates are undeniably convincing: 42% of prisoners were expelled or permanently excluded from school, 59% truanted, and around 47% of those entering prison have no school qualifications. With a prison service already at breaking point, providing children with the ‘right support, right place, right time’, is not just an ethical response, it makes sound financial sense. Let’s invest in
36
www.education-today.co.uk
keeping young people in education, rather than paying for their incarceration later in life. ‘Persistent disruptive behaviour’ - the most commonly cited reason for temporary or permanent exclusion from mainstream education – often results from unmet or undiagnosed SEN) or SEMH needs. These pupils find themselves unable to cope in a mainstream environment, which impacts their mental health and personal wellbeing, and their abilities to engage in a positive way with the curriculum and the challenges of school routine. A multitude of factors all adding to their feelings of frustration and failure.
The increasing number of exclusions is pushing AP to crisis point, with the additional demands of these settings being used to supplement local SEND systems. ‘82% of children and young people in state-place funded alternative provision have identified special educational needs (SEN) 2, and it (AP) is increasingly being used to supplement local SEND systems…’ SEND and AP Improvement Plan (March 2023).1 Some pupils on waiting lists for placements have access to online lessons or tutors, others are simply at home, and not receiving an education. In oversubscribed AP settings, class sizes have had to be increased to accommodate demand, raising
January 2024
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
