1. REFORM OF ALTERNATIVE PROVISION Neil Remsbery, Behaviour and Attendance in Schools Division, DfE 11 October 2012 1

2. OUTLINE What do we mean by AP? Who is in AP? Who provides AP? Chronology of reform 2010 - 2012 Taylor Report’s recommendations What next? 2

3. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY AP? (section 19 of Education Act 1996) The duty to arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age, who would not get suitable education without such provision. This duty is placed upon LAs, except for children on fixed-term exclusions over 5 days, when it is placed upon the school. Schools directing pupils to off-site provision in order to improve their behaviour.

4. WHAT HAS TO BE PROVIDED? Education must be suitable, ie appropriate to the pupil’s age, aptitude and ability and any special needs he or she may have. (Since 2011) Education must be full-time unless the child’s health means this would not be in his or her best interests – before then the full-time entitlement was for excluded pupils only.

5. WHO IS IN AP? Permanently excluded pupils; Pupils on fixed-term exclusion; Pupils directed off-site for provision to improve their behaviour; Pupils with medical needs; Pupils for whom no suitable school place is available (eg new arrivals); School phobics/refusers; Pregnant pupils and mothers of compulsory school age (but note equality legislation).

6. WHO PROVIDES AP? Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) – around 400; (From Sept 2011) AP Academies and Free Schools; Independent schools; FE colleges; Hospital schools; Home tuition services; Voluntary and independent sector providers. 6

7. HOW MANY IN AP? Total numbers unknown as only certain groups covered by census; As of Jan 2011, 14,000 sole or dual main registrations in PRUs, plus 9,000 dual subsidiary registrations. Also 23,000 in AP and registered with LA as in AP; Those placed in (non-PRU) AP by their school while still on school roll are not included; Previous survey indicated around 70,000 in total in AP at any time, and around 135,000 getting some AP in the course of a school year.

8. AP AND PUPILS WITH SEN Allowed to name PRU on SEN statements, but generally discouraged; Where no high quality BESD provision available, PRU may be the most appropriate placement; In Jan 2011, 79.0% of pupils in PRUs had identified SEN, compared with 20.6% of pupils in all schools; 12.1% of pupils in PRUs had statements, compared with 2.8% in all schools (mainstream secondary 2.0%, primary 1.4%) – down from 14.2% in 2007; No published breakdown of type of SEN of pupils in PRUs. 8

9. CHRONOLOGY 2010 - 2012 White Paper, Importance of Teaching, Nov 2010; Education Act 2011; Ofsted report mid 2011; Disorder/riots summer 2011; Charlie Taylor’s Report, Improving Alternative Provision, Mar 2012. 9

10. WHITE PAPER “Children and YP being educated in AP are some of the most vulnerable in society”; From Sept 2011, all pupils in AP to have right to full-time provision; “We will increase the autonomy, accountability and diversity of alternative provision”; In the light of Ofsted findings, DfE to consider how best to ensure high-quality provision; Plan to make schools responsible for the AP for, and attainments of, excluded pupils. To be trialled. 10

11. EDUCATION ACT 2011 11 PRUs remain PRUs, not ‘short stay schools’; Delegated budgets for PRUs from FY 2013-2014 (control over staffing to be given to PRUs through regulations); Creation of ‘alternative provision Academies’ –first 5 AP Free Schools opened in Sept 2012; first PRU conversions to AP Academies expected Oct-Dec.

12. OFSTED REPORT ON AP Visited 23 schools, 16 PRUs and 61 AP providers used by those commissioners; Found great variations in quality and need for substantial improvements in commissioning, monitoring and evaluating impact; Recommendations for schools/PRUs, LAs and DfE; Main recommendations for DfE around registration and inspection; DfE response incorporated into Taylor Report. 12

13. TAYLOR REVIEW In early September 2011, SofS asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a full review of the AP sector; Many visits and meetings Oct/Nov; Report published Mar 2012 – 28 recommendations.

14. SUMMARY OF TAYLOR RECOMMENDATIONS Better commissioning by schools; Schools to take on LA responsibilities; Ofsted to inspect schools on their use of AP; Most PRUs should become AP Academies – SofS should intervene to make this happen when PRUs under-perform; All new state-funded provision should be AP Academies or Free Schools – new PRUs only in exceptional circumstances; PRUs and AP Academies should play a role in teacher training 14

15. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS Consultation April- May; Statutory guidance published July 2012, in force Jan 2013; Regs to allow PRUs to become AP Academies and enable SofS to intervene where PRUs under-perform; Regs planned to give schools greater flexibility with off-site direction; Regs on ITT in place and first trainee teachers in PRUs 2012/2013; Ofsted inspecting schools in use of AP and planning thematic inspections; Working with sector on ‘medical needs’ guidance. 15

16. WHAT NEXT? Statutory guidance (and off-site direction regs?) to come into force Jan 2013; PRUs to have delegated budgets and responsibility for staff from April 2013; possible other amendments to regs arising from this; New funding arrangements for PRUs, AP Academies and Free Schools to be in place from April 2013; ‘Medical needs’ guidance to be published Dec/Jan. 16

17. ISSUES PRUs faced with a number of changes at the same time; How should we measure ‘success’? Possible impact of raising participation age; Possible impact of World Class Qualifications/E-Bacc. 17