Commissioning and ending an Alternative Provision

Commissioning alternative provision 

There is specific guidance on alternative provision to which the governing bodies of maintained schools and local authorities must adhere. When commissioning AP in order to support the improved behaviour of a Looked After Child, schools will need to ensure the following:

• They have clearly identified the needs of the child and used all possible strategies and interventions to support the Looked After Children in school 
• They construct a personalised plan for intervention in writing, which has clear objectives for improvement and attainment according to the ability of the child 
• The plan for intervention contains arrangements for assessment and monitoring progress, timeframes for achievement and a baseline of the current position against which to measure progress 
• Where the objective is school integration, the plan should specify how the AP will complement and keep up with the child's current curriculum, schemes of work and qualification routes 
• The plan for intervention is linked to any other plan the child may have, such as an EHC Plan 
• The plan has a clear timeframe for regular reviews of progress and the criteria for such reviews are set out 
• The plan lays out the objectives for the next steps in the child's education. This may be reintegration to school or progression to further education, training or employment for a child in Key Stage 4 
• The plan specifies what criteria will be used to judge when the child is ready to be reintegrated into their school, when appropriate 
• Records are kept of the child's progress in the AP 
• There is appropriate staff liaison between the school and the AP 
• Where a child looked after is referred to an AP on a part-time basis, the intervention plan will need to include the child's attendance at school on the other days 

The end of a placement at an Alternative Provision

At the end of a placement at an Alternative Provision, the school should have a plan and processes with clear strategies in place to reintegrate the child.

• The AP provider should give a full written report to the governing body on the child's attendance, academic achievements and improvements to their personal, social and emotional wellbeing. This report should also be shared with the carer, social worker and VSO 
• The governing body should also seek the child's views on the success of the placement and give due regard to the child's feedback 
• If the objective was for the child to progress to further education, training or employment, the AP provider and the school should work together to ensure that appropriate provision is in place 
  • The child's views about the AP should be ascertained for future planning purposes 
  • The destination of the child should be recorded by the school