A Note on Unregistered Provision
We are aware of some confusion amongst stakeholders in the sector about what constitutes an unregistered alternative provision (AP) and whether unregistered APs are illegal schools. Our interpretation is:
An unregistered alternative provision is any educational setting that is geared towards providing holistic or alternative education to children and young people on a part time basis, either as an additional educational offering, or as part of a package of support for young people who require ongoing medical or therapeutic input and therefore will only access part time education on a long-term basis. Some unregistered APs will have their own venues or settings, others will operate from wherever the child or young person requires support (for example their home, school or a community hub). There is currently no regulatory body with whom alternative provisions operating in this way can register. An illegal school, on the other hand, is an unregistered setting that provides full time education to children and young people and could therefore register with the Department of Education.
Unregistered Alternative Provision is commissioned nationally to provide support for young people with a wide range of circumstances and needs. It is flexible and can often meet the needs of young people who are not able to attend a physical setting. In 2023, it is estimated that of the 67,600 AP places commissioned, 17% of these were with unregistered providers.
The kinds of young people who we see making significant progress with our support are:
- Those who have become disengaged from school and are either excluded or emotionally based school avoiders (EBSA).Those who have become disengaged from school and are either excluded or emotionally based school avoiders (EBSA).
- Those who have experienced trauma and dysregulation, and require the support of a trusted adult to make the most of their education (for example Looked After Children, or those with a Social Worker).
- Those waiting to transition to a special school place when it comes available.
- Those whose additional needs are complex and cannot be met in a school setting. For example children and young people who receive EOTAS (Educated Other Than At School) or those with life limiting illnesses.
The outcomes we support these children and young people towards vary depending on their needs. Some will be supported to continue successfully at their mainstream setting, others will be working towards a successful mainstream reintegration. Others will never be able to attend a mainstream or full time setting due to the complexity of their needs. All of these young people deserve access to high quality education that is safe, tailored to their needs, and aspirational.
Trusted By 160 Local Authorities
Targeted Provision is one of the largest unregistered alternative provisions in England. We have supported 8000 young people since 2019, and work with most local authorities.
We deliver bespoke education packages to all of our young people. The method of delivery, curriculum, and desired outcomes of each package will differ from child to child and will be agreed between the commissioning local authority or school, and our SEND Specialists.
We exist to meet the needs of children and young people whose needs are not met by the mainstream education system. By offering flexible support, delivered by trauma-aware professionals and monitored by SEND Specialists, we offer children and young people who are at risk of becoming disengaged the chance to build a relationship with a trusted adult, and continue their educational journey. We are a crucial part of the strategic team around each child we support.
Raising Standards of AP
We grew out of a need for better interim provision for young people with additional needs. Our team of senior special school leaders, teachers, and tutors recognized, based on their experience, the need to provide staff working with these cohorts with specialist training, skills, and strategies so that they could best meet the needs of each young person they worked with. It has been our mission since inception to improve the quality of education available to the most vulnerable children in society; those who are not offered school places due to their needs or who are unable to leave their homes.
We’ve come a long way; since September 2020, we have supported nearly 1000 young people to return to a suitable full-time setting. Those who have not returned to full-time education have either remained with us long-term on EOTAS packages or have moved on to other alternative provisions to meet changing needs or circumstances. A small number, sadly, have not engaged with our support due to personal, family, or logistical barriers. We work every day to improve our offer so that this most vulnerable cohort is kept safe. We have developed industry-leading safeguarding and lesson reporting systems and now have 3200 tutors safely recruited across the country. We have also seen, as has been well documented in the media, an increase in the number of young people falling out of mainstream school and an escalation in the complexity of their needs.
We have responded accordingly, reviewing and improving our policies and procedures regarding safeguarding, attendance, and mental health support, and developing accredited Social, Emotional, and Mental Health training for our teaching staff.
The growing number of unregistered entities
We have seen a rise in the number of unregistered alternative providers offering support to this vulnerable cohort and with it, increased concern from the commissioning schools and local authorities. Unregistered Alternative Provision as a sector has been referred to as the “wild west”; Who is the provider? What do they offer? How will the young person’s progress be monitored? Will they be safe? Will they ever return to the mainstream system? We’ve seen local authorities let down by providers who have been deemed illegal schools by Ofsted, and local authorities confused by changing or conflicting interpretations of the guidance around the number of hours or weeks that a child should be receiving unregistered provision.
In response to these growing concerns the DfE has suggested that a set of National Standards be developed, to regulate unregistered provision. We welcome this with open arms; we want every school and our local authority commissioners to have full transparency around what we offer; how we keep our young people safe, and how we support their emotional wellbeing and education. It is our hope that this transparency will lead to more safe and effective commissioning of unregistered AP, so that we are used as a necessary intervention, at the right time, to support a young person to remain engaged with their education and able to make progress towards qualifications and employment.
Targeted Provision’s Standards
To move the conversation forward, we have put together a suggested set of National Standards, which we will refer to as Targeted Provision’s Standards. These standards follow the same theses as the DfE’s suggested standards, and show how we, at Targeted Provision, go about ensuring the quality of our provision.
All standards come from national education legislation, including:
- Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2024
- NSPCC Safer Recruitment Training and Guidance
- The Ofsted Handbook
- The Independent Schools Standards
- Gov's Alternative Provision guidance (2013)
- Working Together to Improve School Attendance and Working Together to Safeguard Children
We hope that by sharing these standards, we can demonstrate the quality that commissioners should expect from alternative provisions and that providers like ourselves will come to be seen as a key strategic partner in the national effort to make education more inclusive. As well as children who, with the right support at the right time, can transition back into mainstream or special education, there will always be young people whose needs mean they cannot attend a formal school setting; regardless of the child we want them to have equality of opportunity, and to enjoy learning and succeed.
These standards have been endorsed by PRUSAP and the NAHE and have been written with the advice of Steve Shaw, Independent Consultant and Ex HMI of SEND and AP at Ofsted, and Safeguarding Network.
A Case Study
To finish, we want to share the story of one of our young people. Sam * was referred to us in Year 10. He had an EHCP with a primary diagnosis of ASC. Sam had lost his parents at a young age and lived with his grandparents. When his grandfather died, Sam’s mental health deteriorated. He developed agoraphobia and by the time we met him, had not left his bedroom or spoken face to face to another person for months. Sam was a child missing from education; he was not on roll with a school and was not receiving any form of educational input. It took Sam’s tutor months to build a relationship with him and it was because of the flexibility we could offer that she achieved it. While a formal setting would have marked Sam as absent from all sessions, our tutor adopted a different approach; she sat outside his bedroom and passed notes, or spoke to his grandmother, hoping that Sam would start to engage. Eventually, he did, and they discovered a mutual interest in film. Sam and his tutor would watch films separately and then discuss them together. As their relationship strengthened, Sam started to engage with some history and English lessons, and left his bedroom to study at the kitchen table. 18 months later, Sam sat Functional Skills exams and passed. He has applied for college.
Sam’s situation is sadly no longer rare; there are thousands of children missing school with significant and complex mental health barriers to re-engagement. Truly flexible education, delivered at a pace that worked for Sam and in his home was crucial in re-engaging him and helping him to make progress. We want the same opportunity to be made available to all young people who need it.
*names have been changed for privacy reasons
