Alternative Provision

There are various types of alternative provision.

Alternative Provision (AP) refers to suitable full-time education that is arranged for a pupil from the sixth school day (or earlier) of a suspension or the sixth school day (or earlier) after the first day of a permanent exclusion.

In other circumstances, AP may refer to education arranged for pupils who are unable to attend mainstream or special school and who are not educated at home, whether for behavioural, health, or other reasons.

AP includes Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), AP academies and free schools, and hospital schools, as well as a variety of independent, registered, unregistered and further education settings.

Preventative Support Programmes.

Preventative programmes are bespoke programmes to be delivered for the purpose of prevention exclusion of individual pupils or groups of pupils. A preventative programme can be negotiated by the school/academy with the provider under the framework of a 'direction offsite' as a short term measure that can be used as part of a school’s behaviour management strategy.  Such programmes will not in the main form part of the core educational entitlement or take pupils “off site” for extended or regular periods of time. Programmes may vary in length, according to the needs of the individual or group and the agreement between provider and commissioner. Places maybe:

Full Time Provision (25 Hours). This is designed to provide alternative education, securing appropriate learning experiences and qualifications for individual pupils to ensure progression. 

Full Time-Short Term Provision. A “revolving door” package can be negotiated by schools/academies for pupils to be placed in alternative provision for a fixed period of time only, with the fundamental aim of the learner returning to their “home” school after the agreed fixed period has ended. It is recommended that this provision is for 6-12 weeks and either full-time or part-time with the remainder of the education offer being delivered by a mainstream/special school.

Part Time Provision. As per full time provision, this will provide part of a package that as a whole delivers the full curriculum necessary to secure appropriate learning experiences and qualifications for individual pupils

Unregulated Alternative Provision. Some schools may offer a young person Alternative Provision that is not registered by Ofsted as an education provider. These are known as unregulated alternative provision. They are used to put a specific intervention in place and a young person may go for a day or two each week for a period and can be very successful in helping a young person to manage their education and needs. They are not and cannot be all or significantly all a child’s education provision and cannot be their only education offer. Schools will arrange the provision and talk to parents about whether they are right for their child. Schools may seek to use it for any child where they feel it is beneficial for support the child’s education. The local authority does not commission provision with unregulated alternative provision directly and specific provision will not be written into an EHC Plan.

Bradford AP 3-Tier Model of Support

AP Support falls into three distinct levels and Bradford recognises that each plays a crucial role in supporting students who require an alternative form of education. These levels include:

Tier 1: Targeted Support in Mainstream Schools 

• At this level, efforts are focused on providing additional support within mainstream schools to prevent exclusion or address early signs of disengagement.
• Strategies may include personalized interventions, mentoring, and counseling.
• The goal is to keep students within the mainstream educational environment whenever possible.

Work that can be completed by the AP specialist taskforce in tier 1 or 2:

Stabilise – Identify - Assess

This is in addition to targeted support in mainstream schools, which may also be referrals to other agencies within the schools' graduated support response, for example, Social, Communiction, Interaction and learning Team (SCIL), Education Pyschology (EP), Early Help referrals. 

Tier 2: Time-Limited Placements 

• When students face challenges that cannot be fully addressed within mainstream schools, they may transition to alternative provision settings.
• These placements are typically time-limited and designed to provide specialized support.
• Students receive tailored education and interventions to help them overcome barriers and eventually reintegrate into mainstream education.

Tier 3: Transitional Placements

• Tier 3 involves more intensive and longer-term placements in alternative provision.
• Students who have experienced significant difficulties, such as exclusion or complex social, emotional, or mental health needs, benefit from this level.
• The focus is on holistic support, skill development, and preparing students for successful reintegration into mainstream schools or other appropriate settings.

These three tiers collectively contribute to a comprehensive alternative provision model, ensuring that students receive the necessary support based on their unique needs and circumstances. 

AP panel is held every 2nd Thursday, dates for 2025-2026  panel are below. Please ensure referrals are made by midday the Monday prior to Panel to be heard at that weeks' Panel:

Thur 18th Sept, 2nd Oct, 16th Oct, 6th Nov, 20th Nov, 4th Dec, 18th Dec, 8th Jan 2026, 22nd Jan, 5th Feb, 26th Feb, 12th Mar, 26th Mar, 16th April, 30th April, 14th May, 4th June, 18th June, 2nd July, 16th July

Please note that tier 2 places are only available when the AP has places available. If Tier 3 places are required by the LA due to school exclusions, then it may be necessary that tier 2 places may have to close early.

The following link will take you to the Local Offer which has information and referrals forms for the AP 3-Tier model in Bradford including a list of AP providers: Alternative Provision in Bradford on the Local Offer.

Using Alternative Provision

The governing board must comply with the Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) Regulations 2010 and the Arranging Alternative Provision A Guide for Local Authorities and Schools  2025:

 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a1ee367da1f1ac64e5fe2c/Arranging_Alternative_Provision_-_A_Guide_for_Local_Authorities_and_Schools.pdf.

When possible, in-school interventions or targeted support from AP schools should be used to meet a pupil’s individual needs and circumstances – whether behavioural or special educational.

Headteachers should ensure a formal process for arranging, at short notice, suitable full-time alternative education for pupils receiving suspensions over five school days is in place.

All children, regardless of circumstance or setting, should expect to receive a good education. Commissioners responsible for arranging alternative provision should ensure that it is good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks.

Alternative provision must be suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any SEN they have.

A part-time timetable should not be used to manage a pupil’s behaviour and must only be in place for the shortest time necessary. Any pastoral support programme or other agreement should have a time limit by which point the pupil is expected to attend full-time, either at school or alternative provision. There should also be formal arrangements in place for regularly reviewing it with the pupil and their parents. In agreeing to a part-time timetable, a school has agreed to a pupil being absent from school for part of the week or day and therefore must treat absence as authorised.

Pupil support units

A pupil support unit is a planned intervention occurring in small groups and in place of mainstream lessons. The purpose of this unit can be two-fold:

a) as a planned intervention for behavioural or pastoral reasons

b) as a final preventative measure to support pupils at risk of exclusion.

In both circumstances, the underlying ambition should be to improve behaviour and maintain learning with the goal to successfully reintegrate pupils into mainstream lessons. The approach in the unit should be aligned to the culture of the whole school and compatible with the school’s behaviour policy.

Most pupil support units are established solely to accommodate pupils from the school in which they are located, whilst some units, often termed ‘in-school Alternative Provision (AP) units’, are established to accommodate pupils from other schools as well. The placement of pupils from the local authority or a separate school into a unit is a form of alternative provision and those arranging and providing the placement must adhere to their legal duties, which are set out in legislation and summarised in the Alternative Provision Statutory Guidance. When a placement is commissioned by another school, the pupils must be admitted in accordance with the ‘host’ school’s published admissions arrangements and registered as a pupil at the ‘host’ school in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. The pupil should remain dual registered at the referring school. 

Reintegration

Schools should support pupils to reintegrate successfully into school life and full-time education following a suspension (this may also be after a cancelled exclusion) or period of off-site direction (see paragraphs 36 to 47 of the exclusion 2024 guidance). They should design a reintegration strategy that offers the pupil a fresh start; helps them understand the effect of their behaviour on themselves and others; teaches them how to meet the high expectations of behaviour in line with the school culture; fosters a renewed sense of belonging within the school community; and builds engagement with learning.

The reintegration strategy should be clearly communicated at a reintegration meeting before or at the beginning of the pupil’s return to school. During a reintegration meeting, the school should communicate to the pupil that they are valued, and their previous behaviour should not be seen as an obstacle to future success. Where possible this meeting should include the pupil’s parents. It is important to note that a pupil should not be prevented from returning to a mainstream classroom if parents are unable or unwilling to attend a reintegration meeting. To ensure ongoing progress, the strategy should be regularly reviewed and adapted where necessary throughout the reintegration process in collaboration with the pupil, parents, and other relevant parties.

Where necessary, schools should work with relevant staff and multi-agency organisations, such as teachers, pastoral staff, mentors, social workers, educational psychologists or the safer schools team, to identify if the pupil has any SEND and/or health needs.

A part-time timetable should not be used to manage a pupil’s behaviour and must only be in place for the shortest time necessary. Any pastoral support programme or other agreement should have a time limit by which point the pupil is expected to attend full-time education, either at school or alternative provision. There should also be formal arrangements in place for regularly reviewing a part-time timetable with the pupil and their parents. In agreeing to a part-time timetable, a school has agreed to a pupil being absent from school for part of the week or day and must take the appropriate steps for a leave of absence.

Monitoring and quality assurance of alternative provision placements

The Department for Education’s (DfE) statutory guidance on Arranging Alternative Provision dated February 2025 details that, the commissioning school or local authority is ultimately responsible for the provision they put in place. As such the commissioner, prior to placement, should always conduct their own due diligence to assess whether the provision is safe, offers high quality education and is suitable for meeting the child’s individual needs.

Where Bradford schools commission alternative provision they understand their responsibility to undertake the initial and subsequent regular checks to ensure that the provision is safe and suitable – including for each individual pupil.

To support in this Bradford schools, in conjunction with Local Authority partners, have developed a Quality Assurance template to support those using alternative provision placements in their monitoring and quality assurance duties. Quality Assurance Checklist - Template for schools