ALT0058

Written Evidence submitted by Department for Education

Introduction

1.         The Government strongly believes that all children, regardless of their circumstances or setting, should receive a good education so that they can reach their potential.

2.         Alternative provision (AP) is for children of compulsory school age outside of mainstream or special schools, who would not otherwise receive suitable education for any reason, including children with behaviour problems who have been excluded, with health needs preventing school attendance or without a school place. These children are often the most vulnerable in society, with the most challenges in life and so ensuring high standards in AP is extremely important.

3.         There are a number of examples of outstanding practice in AP, with some of the most dedicated and inspiring teachers and institutions making a real impact to the lives of children within their institutions. However, there are instances where AP fails to enable children to achieve meaningful outcomes. Children in AP are disproportionately more likely to become NEET (not in education, employment or training), and children who are excluded from school are disproportionately represented within the criminal justice system. More can, and should, be done to raise standards overall and deliver a world-class alternative provision system.

4.         The Department welcomes the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into alternative provision, which looks at the quality of education and student outcomes, safeguarding and resources within AP, provision of AP within schools and regulation of independent providers.

5.         The Government recognises that further attention, action and reform needs to be taken to improve the quality of alternative provision. As the Secretary of State announced on 1 October 2017, the Department will bring forward proposals to ensure that alternative provision is the very best that it can be, and that current best practice in the sector is shared and becomes the norm, so that AP can give every child the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

6.         As part of this programme of reform, on 10 October 2017 the Government also announced a review into exclusions practice, particularly to explore exclusions as a route into AP. The review will focus on the variations in rates of exclusions between schools and local areas, and will also look at the groups of children who are disproportionately represented in exclusion statistics. The review will seek and share best practice and make recommendations to local authorities, schools and government.

The current landscape of alternative provision

7.         Alternative provision is for children of compulsory school age outside of mainstream or special schools, who would not otherwise receive suitable education for any reason.

8.         Local authorities have a duty to put alternative provision in place for most children who require it, with the exception of education needed by children who have been subject to fixed period exclusions of over five days, where schools must make arrangements for alternative provision. The local authority’s duty to arrange suitable education also applies where a child is registered at a school (maintained, academy, free school or independent) but cannot attend because of illness.

9.         The Department issues statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities and governing bodies of maintained schools acting as commissioners must have regard to. This sets out that good alternative provision is that which appropriately meets the needs of children who require its use and enables them to achieve good educational attainment on par with their mainstream peers.

10.       AP may include full or part-time placements delivered by a pupil referral unit (PRU), AP free school or AP academy, independent school, further education college, or other providers from the private and voluntary sectors.

11.       In England, there are currently:

1. 240 PRUs[1]
2. 72 AP academies (51 converters and 21 sponsored)
3. 39 AP free schools.

12.       As at 31 August 2016, Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics shows that 25,821 children were educated in state place funded settings.[2][3] 22,212 children were educated in other local authority commissioned AP settings, such as independent providers.

Provision of resources and funding mechanisms

13.       Funding for compulsory school age children in alternative provision is made available through high needs funding. It is provided to local authorities through the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), and also supports provision for 0-25 year olds with SEND.

14.       AP settings receive £10,000 per place (core funding) through the local authority’s high needs budget, plus top-up funding for specific children. The top-up funding may be paid by the commissioning school or local authority, depending on the local arrangements for AP. Institutions may also receive additional funding for services commissioned by the local authority, such as outreach work.

15.       Hospital education is also funded from a local authority’s high needs budget. It is funded mainly by the local authority in whose area the provision is based.

16.       In 2016/17, local authorities planned to spend 10.2% (£539m) of their high needs block on AP, and 1.5% (£82m) on hospital education. Authorities planned to spend the remaining 88.3% (£4,679m) of their total £5.3bn high needs block on SEND.

17.       From 2018/19 high needs funding will be distributed to local authorities through a national funding formula. Every local authority will receive at least a 0.5% increase per head in 2018/19, with some authorities that have been underfunded in the past receiving up to 3%.

18.       The Charlie Taylor review found that there is a wide range in the cost of AP per pupil; research has shown that places can cost between £9,500 and £18,000 per year full time dependent on the AP setting, although it is recognised that some providers are operating at far below these levels.[4]

Routes into alternative provision

19.       Alternative provision is put in place to ensure that every child has access to education, to give them the best possible chances in life.

20.       The Department expects that this provision is suited to individuals’ abilities, offering appropriate and challenging teaching and access to qualifications, supported by good arrangements for providers working with other relevant services such as social care and child and adolescent mental health services.

21.       In many cases, the aim is for the child to reintegrate back into mainstream after their placement. Where this is not possible, the Department expects schools and providers to work together to ensure that the young person can move on to suitable education, employment or training.

22.       Children can require alternative provision for a wide range of reasons. Some examples of children in AP are:

1. Children who have been excluded from school either permanently or for a fixed period;
2. Children who are unable to attend school for health reasons – including those with mental health and emotional needs;
3. Children who are directed off-site by a school without being excluded, for the purpose of improving their behaviour;
4. Children who are awaiting placement in a mainstream school;
5. Children who are pregnant or mothers.

23.       A child with these characteristics would not, however, necessarily need AP (for example some pregnant girls will attend a mainstream school).

24.       It is up to the commissioner to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child but they should take into account the views of the child, their parents and other professionals. The Department sets out the responsibility of the commissioner in statutory guidance.[5]

25.       There are circumstances in which schools are responsible for the commissioning of AP. Where a child is excluded for a fixed period, it is the duty of the school (maintained schools, academies and free schools) to put alternative education arrangements in place from the 6th school day of the exclusion. This is also triggered by consecutive fixed-period exclusions totalling more than five school days. The school may also refer a child off-site to an alternative provider to improve behaviour without issuing an exclusion.

26.       Where a child has received a permanent exclusion, the local authority must put AP in place from the 6th school day of the exclusion.

27.       While there is no statutory requirement as to when suitable full-time education should begin for children placed in alternative provision for reasons other than exclusion, the Government expects local authorities to ensure that such children are placed as quickly as possible as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15 days or more.

Exclusions as a route into AP

28.       Although it is not the sole route, the Education Select Committee inquiry specifically refers to exclusions as a route into AP.

29.       Permanent exclusions should be a last resort. A child can only be permanently excluded by the head teacher from a maintained school, academies and PRUs[6]:

1. in response to a serious breach, or persistent breaches, of a school’s behaviour policy; and
2. where allowing the child to remain would seriously harm the education or welfare of them or others in the school.
3. Schools should, as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding children with a special educational need (SEN) statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan.

30.       When excluding a child from these schools, head teachers must comply with the legal requirements specifically relating to exclusion, including by having regard to statutory guidance. They must also comply with general legal requirements, such as the requirement for decisions to be lawful, reasonable and fair, and not to discriminate against a child because of a protected characteristic such as disability or race.

31.       Governing boards must review head teachers’ exclusion decisions in certain circumstances. Where a governing board upholds a permanent exclusion, parents can request that the decision is reviewed by an independent review panel.

32.       The latest statistics on exclusions showed that in 2015/16 in England[7]:

1. The rate of permanent exclusion was 0.08%, and the number of permanent exclusions was 6,685. 81% of all permanent exclusions occurred in state-funded secondary schools.
2. The rate of fixed period exclusions was 4.29%, and the number of fixed period exclusions was 339,360. 80% of all fixed period exclusions occurred in state-funded secondary schools.
3. In the longer-term, the rates of permanent and fixed exclusions across all state-funded primary, secondary and special schools have followed a generally downward trend since 2006/07; however, the rates have started to rise again since 2013/14, as shown in figures 1 and 2.
4. Persistent disruptive behaviour is the most common reason for exclusion.

Figure 1: Annual number and rate of permanent exclusions from 2006/07 to 2015/16

Figure 2: Annual number and rate of fixed period exclusions from 2006/07 to 2015/16

Review of exclusions

33.       As part of the Government’s response to the Race Disparity Audit (RDA) Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, the Department committed to a review of exclusions practice. The aim of the review is to explore and evaluate the differential practice in the use of exclusions and implications for pupil groups disproportionately represented in the national statistics.

34.       Although the practice of exclusions operates within a national, legal framework, official statistics, which are included on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, shows significant geographical variation and disproportionate representation of certain groups of pupils, including FSM children, looked after children (LAC), children with a SEN statement or EHC plan, Black Caribbean children and children from Gypsy, Roma or Traveller communities. The review will explore why, when the same legal framework and statutory guidance applies to all schools (maintained schools, academies and PRUs), in all areas of the country, and to all children, the practice of exclusions is so varied and certain groups remain more likely to be excluded. The review will source best practice where schools and / or local authorities have taken action to seek to address this. The review will consider mainstream schools and local authority practice in relation to exclusions of children of compulsory school age and will make recommendations to government, local authorities, and schools.

Children in alternative provision

35.       Children in AP have a range of needs with varying levels of complexity. Vulnerable groups are disproportionately represented in AP settings.

36.       Children attending AP settings range from nursery to post-16, however 47% of children in AP are 15 to 16 year olds (year group 11).

37.       Data shows that a significant number of children in AP are economically poor white boys: 72% of children in PRUs and AP academies and free schools are boys, which compares to 51% in state-funded primary and secondary schools.[8] The disparity in gender in AP is greatest in the 5-10 age range, where 89.5% of children in these settings are boys.

38.       76% of children in PRUs, AP academies and free schools and 63% of all children in local authority AP are white. This compares to 75% in state-funded primary and secondary schools.8,9 Further to this, 7.5% of children in PRUs, AP academies and free schools and 4.9% in local authority AP are black. This compares to 5.6% in state-funded primary and secondary schools.

39.       40.8% of children in PRUs and AP academies and free schools are eligible for and claiming free school meals, compared to 14.0% in all mainstream, state funded schools.[9] The percentage has been declining each year since 2014, when it reached 42.2%. This trend has also been seen in state-funded primary and secondary schools.

40.       It is known that there is a higher proportion of children in state place funded AP who have diagnosed special educational needs compared to those in mainstream schools; 77.1% of children have a SEN or disability, and 10.4% have SEN statements or EHC plans. This compares to 14.4% and 2.8% in all schools respectively.[10] Most of these will have a social, emotional or mental health (SEMH) need which have implications on their behaviour.

41.       Further to this, children receiving SEND support are almost 4 times more likely to be permanently excluded compared to those without a SEN.[11]

The quality of teaching in alternative provision

42.       The Department believes that all children should have access to the highest quality teaching by high quality staff with suitable training and experience.

43.       AP requires a wide range of specialist staff who are well trained, caring and knowledgeable to meet the complexity and variety of children’s needs in AP. This requires excellence in teaching and pastoral support, and the provision of effective multi-agency support such as with social care providers and Mental Health workers.

44.       The levels of teachers with qualified teacher status (QTS) varies across AP settings. 82% of teachers in all AP providers have qualified teacher status; in PRUs this is 84%, whilst in AP free schools only 60% of teachers have QTS. This compares to 95% in mainstream schools.[12] The Institute for Public Policy Research’s report Making the Difference: Breaking the link between school exclusion and social exclusion[13] suggests that this is due to a higher number of trainee teachers in PRUs. Further to this, AP academies and free schools are not required to employ teaching staff who have QTS – this mirrors the flexibility of mainstream academies and free schools, independent schools, studio schools and university technical colleges.

45.       Although there are many examples of remarkable providers with high quality teaching, it is recognised that the quality of teaching on offer, the skills of the staff, the cost and its effectiveness vary greatly across AP providers.

46.       Before 2012 PRUs could not operate work-based teacher training such as the Graduate Teacher Programme, students could not do an assessed teaching practice and teachers could not complete QTS or a newly qualified teacher (NQT) year in a PRU. This was suggested by some providers as being a factor in causing high-quality staff leaving AP in order to train or qualify elsewhere.

47.       Following Charlie Taylor’s review of alternative provision in 2012[14], the Department implemented changes to allow PRUs to offer teacher training placements, enabling teachers in AP and mainstream to have techniques and training for better behaviour management and prevention in schools. This aims to enable PRUs and AP academies to attract and retain good staff, and raise standards of behaviour management in mainstream schools, as more of their teachers will have had the opportunity to spend some of their training in a PRU.

Educational outcomes and destinations of students

48.       All children, regardless of their circumstances or the settings in which they find themselves, should be helped and encouraged to achieve or exceed the standards of a good education that will enable them to succeed in life.

49.       The educational outcomes of children and young people who have spent time in alternative provision are considerably worse than their peers, even when controlling for pupil characteristics. Very few achieve the qualifications that will help them succeed in adult life and they are considerably more likely to become NEET.

50.       Data has also shown that some children who have been excluded are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. A study found that 63% of prisoners had been suspended or temporarily excluded when at school, and 42% were expelled or permanently excluded.[15] Of those young offenders sentenced in 2014 that were recorded as being 16 or 17 years old on their sentence date, on average approximately 20% had been permanently excluded from school.[16]

51.       Not every child in AP is entered for qualifications such as GCSEs. Data shows that for those who are, qualification rates are low, with their performance often considerably worse than their peers in mainstream schools.

52.       However, it is recognised that for many children in AP such as those in hospital schools, there are other barriers that prevent them from successfully gaining qualifications. For some children, including those with long-term and/or debilitating illnesses, the success is being able to continue some form of education.

2014/15

53.       In 2014/15, only 15.9% of children in AP[17] were entered for 5+ GCSEs or equivalent. 1.7% of children in AP achieved 5+ GCSEs at A*-C or equivalent; 13.0% achieved 5 or more grades A*-G; and 58.2% achieved a pass in any qualification. This compares with 92.4%; 64.9%; 91.0% and 97.9% respectively in all schools.[18]

54.       In 2014/15, 57% of children in AP went to a sustained education, training or employment destination after key stage 4, compared with 94% from state-funded mainstream schools. Of the 57% of children and young people from AP, 9% were recorded in an employment destination, which compares to 3% in mainstream (out of 94%). 47% of children and young people went to a sustained education destination – of which 36% went to study in a further education college or other FE provider.

2015/16

55.       In 2015/16, only 1.1% of children in AP achieved 5+ GCSEs at A*-C or equivalent including English and Maths GCSEs, which represents an increase in 0.1% from 2014/15. It compares with 53.5% of pupils in all schools in 2015/16. In 2015/16, 42.6% of children in AP[19] were entered for English and Maths GCSEs – of this, only 3.6% achieved A*-C.[20]

56.       Further to this, children who end KS4 in an AP provider make up approximately 2% of all KS4 children, but of them, 37% are recorded with not having a destination sustained or recorded as NEET, which is an improvement on this previous year.[21]

2016/17

57.       In 2016/17, 4.4% of pupils in AP achieved 9-4 passes in English and Maths GCSEs, compared to 63.3% for all state-funded schools.[22]

Accommodation, safety, regulation and inspection of alternative provision

58.       The Department believes all children should receive education in a safe environment that is fit for learning.

59.       AP academies and free schools which are in need of building condition projects, such as dealing with issues of poor building condition, building compliance, energy efficiency and health and safety, are able to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund.[23] Some support is available for Ofsted-rated good or outstanding AP academies and free schools for the expansion of existing facilities and/or floor space to either increase the number of admissions in the main year of entry or address overcrowding.

60.       For all schools maintained by local authorities including PRUs, the Government provides both School Condition Allocations (SCA) and Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) to local authorities for capital expenditure (buying or improving long-term assets, such as equipment or buildings). The total capital funding provided to local authorities for all their schools via these two routes for FY 2017–18 was £579 million.

61.       The Department sets out schools’ duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within statutory guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education”[24], which applies to AP academies and free schools and PRUs.

62.       Ofsted inspects and regulates the services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages. The inspection framework used by Ofsted is dependent on the type of AP setting.

63.       Ofsted inspects PRUs and AP academies and free schools under the same framework as mainstream state-funded schools.[25]

64.       As of 31 August 2017, 80.5% of PRUs, AP academies and free schools inspected by Ofsted achieved a rating of ‘Outstanding or good’. Although 9.5% were rated as requiring improvement or inadequate, this proportion is lower than for all other schools (10.4%).[26]

65.       Ofsted inspects registered independent schools offering AP against the same standards as mainstream independent schools.[27]

66.       Any AP provider, which is not maintained by a local authority, that caters full-time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age; or one or more such child who is looked after or has EHC plan or has a statement of special educational needs, must by law be registered with the Department. This ensures that pupils receive an education that meets the minimum legal standards, and will also result in the provider being inspected by Ofsted.

67.       Those providers that fall below the requirements mentioned in paragraph 66 do not have to be registered or inspected by Ofsted. However, in all cases and regardless of whether the setting being commissioned is registered, the local authority or school acting as the commissioner should assure themselves that the setting is registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks.

In-school alternatives to external alternative provision

68.       The Department expects schools and local authorities to consider and address any emerging issues at an early stage using in-house provisions, to ensure the children’s needs are being met to reduce the potential need for future exclusion, and therefore reducing the need to send pupils off-site and into AP.

69.       Previous research shows that there is no one simple approach nor a set of strategies that should be applied, and that there are many examples of schools’ outstanding, current practice of alternatives to external alternative provision. Many schools use a variety of behavioural management techniques, with clear rules and their consistent application being seen as supporting positive outcomes. These schools instil a supportive culture and ethos led by senior leaders, that is underpinned by high quality teaching and a curriculum tailored to the needs of children. Other approaches include internal isolation arrangements, ‘afternoon schools’, attendance management techniques, anger management sessions for children who show aggression, employer involvement, alternative curricula and careers guidance.

70.       Good pastoral support is also key within in-school alternatives – some schools enable specific staff to have non-teaching time to allow them to take the lead on monitoring and supporting behaviour, to focus on relationship development and building rapport with students, and to oversee or enact early intervention.

71.       Government has taken a number of actions recently to facilitate these forms of in-house alternatives, including: strengthening the tools and powers available to teachers by clarifying that they can use reasonable force to maintain good order and discipline, extending their searching powers and allowing teachers to impose same-day detentions; developing teacher capacity so they have the knowledge and skills needed to address behavioural issues; supporting best practice by issuing non-statutory advice to schools on promoting good behaviour and maintaining discipline, and strengthening accountability using Ofsted’s ‘personal development, behaviour and welfare’ judgement introduced in September 2015.

72.       In 2017, Government also commissioned an independent review on behaviour in  schools led by Tom Bennett, which looked at leadership, culture and methods to improve pupil behaviour, and also highlighted strategies school leaders can use to: prevent classroom disruption, maintain good discipline and promote pupils’ education.[28]

Recent changes to AP

73.       The Government has taken a number of steps to improve the quality of alternative provision in recent years, most notably:

1. 2010: Importance of Teaching White Paper set out that all children being educated in AP should get full-time education; the quality of provision should be improved by giving existing providers more autonomy and encouraging new providers into the sector, including AP Free Schools - Since 2010 the Government has opened 39 new AP free schools and 72 AP academies. DfE also piloted a new approach to permanent exclusions with schools being given power, money and responsibility for AP for permanently excluded pupils.[29];

2. 2011: Education Act 2011 and Children, Schools and Families Act 2010 came into force, which included a number of measures to improve AP such as commencing the requirement for pupils in AP to receive full time education; and providing for AP free schools and the conversion of pupil referral units (PRUs) into AP academies; 

3. 2012: the Department commissioned a review of alternative provision led by Charlie Taylor, which included 28 recommendations focused on improving the quality of AP.[30] Following this, the Department implemented a number of changes including ensuring that Initial Teacher Training placements can be delivered in alternative provision schools, and making schools’ use of AP a greater focus of school inspection practices within the Ofsted frameworks of inspection;

4. 2013: Revised statutory guidance on alternative provision came into force which set out the roles and responsibilities of commissioners and providers of AP.[31]

5. 2014: the Children and Families Act 2014 introduced reforms to the SEND system – relevant to many of the children in AP who have SEND - which aimed to improve the support available to children and young people with SEND by joining up services for 0-25 year olds across education, health and social care and by focusing on positive outcomes in terms of education, employment, housing, health and community participation.

6. 2017: in January 2017 research commissioned by the Department was published in Alternative Provision: Effective Practice and Post 16 Transition[32], to explore the evidence for effective strategies that support young people in alternative provision to increase attainment at key stage 4 and to make a successful transition to post-16 provision. The Department asked Tom Bennett to undertake an independent review of behaviour management in schools. His report Creating a culture: how school leaders can optimise behaviour, published in March 2017, focused on leadership, culture, and systems that lead to good pupil behaviour.[33] In July 2017 updated statutory guidance on Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England was published, which came into force on 1 September 2017.

Further reform of AP

74.       Further changes are already underway. The Department has recently made changes to the alternative provision census which will begin from the January 2018 AP census, which collects information on any placements outside of state place funded schools (22,212 pupils at the last census), where a local authority is fully funding the place. Additional data items have been added to the AP census through regulations that were laid in July 2017, to better understand how these placements are used, and the needs of the children. The updates will enable us to collect data on the reason children are in these placements, who is providing the education, how long children have been attending their current setting and which school they attended immediately prior to the placement.

75.       The Government is committed to improving the role all education settings play in supporting children with SEND and promoting good mental wellbeing of children. This is important to AP given the significant representation of children with SEMH needs. The Government is committed to the publication of a children and young people’s mental health green paper by the end of this year. The green paper will focus on how to go further in improving prevention and access to specialist support.

76.       As the Secretary of State announced on 1 October 2017, the Department will bring forward proposals to ensure that alternative provision is the very best that it can be. As part of this programme of reform, a review into exclusion practice will also take place.

77.       The Department also intends to procure investigatory research on the current AP landscape shortly, the findings of which will be used to inform policy development in AP. The expressions of interest were published on 23 October 2017. This programme of research will focus on three strands:

1. Prevention – school practice on preventing children from needing AP, including use of offsite direction and exclusions.
2. Provision – examining provision, practice and pupil prospects in AP settings.
3. Placement – i.e. the AP market. Local authority placement practice (including funding and commissioning models) and an assessment of how well supply is meeting demand.

Conclusion

78.       The Government is committed to reforming alternative provision, to ensure some of the most vulnerable children in society have the opportunity to achieve their potential. We welcome the Education Select Committee’s inquiry and stand ready to contribute further, and we will be interested in the evidence presented to the Committee.

November 2017