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Education for those who cannot attend school (Alternative Provision - AP)

Overview of Alternative Provision (AP)

Local Authorities must provide education for children and young people who have been permanently excluded or who are too ill to attend school for some time. This is called Alternative Provision or AP.

AP interim placements are for children and young people who have just been excluded, this is called Day Six Provision (this name is because schools have to provide education from the 6th day of a permanent exclusion, so they may use AP's to provide this).

In Kirklees, Day Six Provision is provided by The Elland Academy (Which is part of the Delta group of academies).

The Elland Academy website (opens link in new window)

After this Day Six provision, a more permanent placement is sought, this could be another school or a longer term placement at an AP setting or provider.

The Department for education (DfE) have issued some guidance about Alternative Provision (DFE Guidance), (opens new page)

Alternative Provision offers a unique curriculum (which can include more practical work) and approaches that re-engage learners with education and which meet their needs, as well as helping them to prepare to go back to school or prepare them for adulthood.

Schools and the local authority may also use alternative provisions in neighbouring areas if appropriate, details of these will be found in the Local Offers for those areas.

In Kirklees, AP is provided by the following:

Provision for children & young people who have been permanently excluded (PX) – this is called “Day 6 Provision”.

The Elland Academy are the provider of Day 6 Provision in Kirklees, with space for 55 children in Key Stages 1,2,3&4.

Medical Provision for children and young people who are too ill to physically attend a setting.

Medical Provision is 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).

Schools or the Local Authority are responsible for making referrals to Alternative Providers.

You should speak with your school about AP's first as they are able to make referrals for a young person to attend an AP.

Kirklees Inclusion Multi Agency Panel (IMAP)

Schools are able to seek alternative provision/support to help meet the needs of the young people on their roll if they are not able to offer this support themselves. This is often a temporary arrangement.

Kirklees Local Authority has contracted various Alternative provisions to be able to provide a different approach for our young people when this need is identified.

A panel has been established where opportunities for support to families and children can be considered. This panel is called the Inclusion Multi Agency Panel ( IMAP). A referral to this panel may lead to Alternative Provision placement or advice around support and links to other agencies.

In Kirklees we are excited by the prospect of having this multi-agency approach in place. We hope to best serve our Kirklees families through meaningful and productive collaborations to genuinely make the difference.

Children that are on a school roll can access support from IMAP through referrals made by their school.

If you are a parent of a child not on a school roll and would like to contact the panel please use the following email address IMAP@kirklees.gov.uk.

The DFE Vision for Alternative Provision explains the governments vision for how they would like AP's to work.

DFE Vision for Alternative Provision webpage (opens link new window)