In Kirklees we have agreements or contracts in place with all of the Alternative Provision (AP) settings, these contracts ended in August 2023. We have done some work to look at these contracts and make sure we have enough AP places for the children and young people in Kirklees who need them.
The following information explains what Alternative Provision we currently have in Kirklees and what changes we have coming up.
- Provision for children & young people who have been permanently excluded (PX) – this is called “Day 6 Provision”.
Engage Academy will continue to provide time limited education for KS1&2 children who have been permanently excluded until December 2023. For KS 3 children, this will be provided by Reach Academy and Pivot will provide this for KS4 young people.
This provides education until a permanent setting (either AP or other setting) can be provided.
In January 2024 there will be a new provider of Day 6 Provision, with space for 55 children in Key Stages 1,2,3&4. The Local Offer will be updated with this information when it is ready.
- Medical Provision for children and young people who are too ill to physically attend a setting.
Ethos College will continue to provide medical teaching until December 2023. From January 2024 this will be provided by Great Heights Academy Trust which will have 45 places available.
- KS3&4 Assessment Places
Employability Solutions (Huddersfield) are providing 16 Assessment Places for young people in KS 3 & 4 who are experiencing significant social, emotional and mental health difficulties which is affecting their learning and ability to attend a setting. These places run for up to 12 weeks and provide a chance for assessment to take place about the young persons needs, some short term interventions. This is also a chance for the young people to be educated in a more relaxed environment, which can help them to feel better about education and themselves.
At the end of the placement, there will be clear recommendations of the support required for them to access education as well as clear next steps for the young person.
Kirklees are working to create 16 more Assessment Places in the North of Kirklees, with the aim of these being available from January 2024.
- Alternative Provision placements for Y9 onwards
Kirklees has 40 AP places for young people in years 9-11, these are from:
- Employability Solutions: 16 places
- Brian Jackson Huddersfield: 12 places
- Brian Jackson Heckmondwike: 12 places
These offer unique education for young people who are not able to access mainstream education. They offer time spent doing vocational work (ie job based) as well as time spent doing more traditional work, such as English and Maths but taught by AP staff within a setting designed for young people with SEMH needs. These places are NOT for young people with EHCP’s.
These places are more flexible than traditional teaching and are unique to each young person.
Specialist long term places for pupils with EHCPs and SEMH needs.
For Key Stage 1&2 Engage Academy will provide 14 specialist places for children and young people with an EHCP and SEMH as their main area of need. Reach Academy will provide 26 places for KS 3 children and Ethos College will provide 20 places for KS 4 young people.
These are not AP placements but specialist placements and are the same as if a child or young person attended a special school such as Ravenshall or Southgate, the way to access a place here is to request it at an EHCP review.
As well as the above placements, Kirklees has a number of smaller other offers:
- Outdoor Education with TAO Activities
TAO Activities provide therapeutic outdoor education through a 12 week programme (this can be extended or reduced if needed) with highly skilled and experienced staff with a focus on supporting young people to re-engage with education. TAO focuses intensively on social skills, resilience, independence and increasing mental health and well-being.
- Online Learning with Academy 21
This will provide an alternative online approach to learning for children & young people who are experiencing difficulties learning in a traditional classroom setting by providing the following:
- A tailored online education programme for pupils and personal guidance and support
- A broad curriculum and the opportunity to study for recognised qualifications in several subject areas (including GCSE’s)
- Regular reviews with the overall aim to support young people back into attending an educational setting (when they are ready).
