Forgotten Children: Alternative Provision and The Scandal of Ever Increasing Exclusions

House of Commons
Education Committee
Forgotten children:
alternative provision
and the scandal of ever
increasing exclusions
Fifth Report of Session 2017–19
Report, together with formal minutes relating

to the report
Ordered by the House of Commons

to be printed 18 July 2018
HC 342
Published on 25 July 2018
by authority of the House of Commons
The Education Committee
The Education Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the
expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Education and its
associated public bodies.
Current membership
Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP (Conservative, Harlow) (Chair)

Lucy Allan MP (Conservative, Telford)
Michelle Donelan MP (Conservative, Chippenham)
Marion Fellows MP (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)
James Frith MP (Labour, Bury North)
Emma Hardy MP (Labour, Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Trudy Harrison MP (Conservative, Copeland)
Ian Mearns MP (Labour, Gateshead)
Lucy Powell MP (Labour (Co-op), Manchester Central)
Thelma Walker MP (Labour, Colne Valley)
Mr William Wragg MP (Conservative, Hazel Grove)
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Clerk), Anna Connell-Smith (Committee Specialist), Chloë Cockett (Committee
Specialist), Tommer Spence (Inquiry Manager), Jonathan Arkless (Senior Committee
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Forgotten children: alternative provision and the scandal of ever increasing exclusions 1
Contents
Summary3
1 Introduction 5
Context5
Policy5
Our inquiry 6
2 What’s going wrong in mainstream schools? 8

The rise in exclusions and pupils being educated in alternative provision 8
The causes of an increase in exclusions and referrals to alternative provision 10
A lack of early intervention and support 10
Behaviour policies 11
An increase in mental health needs 12
Off-rolling, Progress 8 and a narrowing curriculum. 12
3 The process of exclusion and referral 15

School powers and pupils’ and parents’ rights 15
Children getting to the right place at the right time 17
The right place 17
The right time 19
A lack of oversight 20
Commissioning of alternative provision 21
Fair Access Protocols 22
4 What does good alternative provision look like? 25

In-school alternatives 25
Quality of teaching 27
Recruitment and training of teachers 28
Leadership30
Continuing professional development 30
Curriculum and school ethos 31
Outreach and collaboration 32
Unregistered provision 33
5 Successful outcomes and destinations 36

Outcomes36
Destinations37
2 Forgotten children: alternative provision and the scandal of ever increasing exclusions
Conclusions and recommendations 40
Formal minutes 44
Witnesses45
Published written evidence 46
List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 49

Summary
Alternative provision is too often seen as a forgotten part of the education system, side-
lined and stigmatised as somewhere only the very worst behaved pupils go. All pupils
deserve high quality education, and while this is often the case, too many pupils are
failed by the system and they are not receiving the education that they deserve.
Alternative provision is in fact diverse, set up to meet the needs of a wide-cross section
of the pupil population, who will often arrive with complex needs and vulnerabilities.
We have been led by significant evidence and concerns about the over-exclusion of
pupils, but recognise that there are pupils in AP who will not have been excluded. Not
all of our recommendations will be necessary for them, but it is vital that their needs
are met by this provision.
Mainstream schools should be bastions of inclusion, and intentionally or not, this is

not true of all mainstream schools. We have also seen an alarming increase in ‘hidden’
exclusions. The school environment means that schools are struggling to support pupils
in their schools, which is then putting pressure on alternative providers. Pupils, parents
and schools can end up in conflict, putting further pressure onto a system that should
be supporting all pupils to achieve.
Going into alternative provision was the best outcome for some children we spoke to,
but in order to access it children have to be branded a failure or excluded in the first
place, rather than it being a positive choice.
A Bill of Rights for pupils facing exclusion
The lack of information and rights for pupils facing exclusion and their parents is an
obstacle to social justice and the educational ladder of opportunity. We want to see
greater rights for pupils and their parents, for those who are excluded from school,
internally isolated, informally excluded or on the verge of exclusion.
If all our recommendations were taken forward, this would create much stronger rights
for pupils who access alternative provision, and responsibilities for schools and local
authorities. Our conclusions and recommendations should be read as a Bill of Rights
for pupils and their parents:
• Schools should not rush to exclude pupils: schools should be inclusive.
• Parents and pupils have a right to know how often schools resort to
exclusion: schools should publish their permanent and fixed term exclusion
rates every term, including for pupils with SEND and looked-after children,
as well as the number of pupils who leave the school.
• Parents deserve more information when their children are excluded: the
exclusions process is currently weighted in favour of schools and leaves parents
and pupils fighting a system that should be supporting them.
• Pupils and their parents should have someone in their corner: when a
pupil is excluded from school for more than five non-consecutive days in a
school year, the pupil and their parents or carers should be given access to an
independent advocate. This should happen both where pupils are internally or
externally excluded from school, or where the LA is arranging education due
to illness.
• Parents and pupils should be given accurate information about the range
and type alternative provision that is available locally: all organisations
offering alternative provision should be required to inform the local authority
in which they are based of their provision. The local authority should then
make the list of alternative providers operating in their local authority
available to schools and parents on their website.
• Independent Review Panels should be able to direct a school to reinstate

pupils: legislation should be amended at the next opportunity so that this can
happen.
The quality of alternative provision is far too variable, with some outstanding provision
in places and in others far too poor. The teachers, who play the crucial role in the
education of pupils, can similarly be of high quality, while in other cases they are not.
Even the best teachers may be lacking in suitable training and development, which
impacts on the support that children receive. There seems to be high quality AP despite
the system, not because of it. There needs to be more collaboration between mainstream
schools and AP settings—and we encourage schools and local areas to do this.
We don’t know how well pupils achieve. Comparisons are made to pupils in mainstream
schools, but this can be an unfair comparison that doesn’t fully appreciate the
achievements that pupils in AP make. Children are also being prevented from achieving
by being unable to attend post-16 AP settings and we call on the Government to rectify
this anomaly.
1 Introduction
“If you are talking about back then, if I had thought about alternative
provision—as you lot would call it—the only reason why I would not have
picked it myself is because my family would look bad. It would look bad on
my side, being in one. So I don’t know. I don’t think I would have chosen it,
but, being in it now and having experienced it, I would have 100% chosen
it.”
Young person with experience of alternative provision
Context
1. Alternative provision (AP) is a broad term and imperfectly describes a wide variety
of types of school or educational settings. Our inquiry scope included Pupil Referral Units
(PRUs); alternative provision academies and free schools; hospital schools; and alternative
provision delivered by charities and other organisations as well as independent or un-
registered schools.
2. Statutory guidance covers the use of AP. It sets out that AP can be used by local
authorities to arrange education for pupils who are unable to receive suitable education
(usually due to exclusion or illness), by schools for pupils who have fixed-term exclusions,
but also to ‘improve’ a pupil’s behaviour.1 For the purposes of this inquiry, it does not
mean elective home education. However, we have found as part of our inquiry that there
is a concerning increase in the number of pupils who are being encouraged improperly
or without the necessary support to be educated at home who should be educated and
supported in the school system.
3. Children enter AP when they have been excluded from school; when they are unable
to attend school for medical reasons; if they are pregnant or are caring for their children;
when they are without a school place because they have left a custodial placement; and as
we found out, if they are not in a mainstream school for other, often less legitimate reasons.
In many cases, they are pupils who have been failed by the mainstream school system. The
thing that unites them is their right to good quality education and support, regardless of
why they are in AP. For many children alternative provision can be transformational, and
has made a real difference to students’ lives. However, the challenge appears to be ensuring
that the right children are receiving high quality alternative provision and entering for the
right reasons at the right time.
Policy
4. Our inquiry shines a spotlight on the unfairness that some pupils experience and
the challenges that many face, and stresses where improvements are needed to ensure
that pupils in alternative provision are not ignored and left to languish in poor quality
provision. This is an area of policy that has had a neglect of action and oversight in recent
years.
1 DfE, Alternative provision, January 2013

5. In 2012 Charlie Taylor released his report for the Government into alternative
provision,2 which was followed a year later by new statutory guidance.3 The 2016
Government White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere set out several potential
proposals for the AP sector.4 However, many proposals in the White Paper were not taken
forward, further pushing alternative provision to the periphery of education policy.
6. Subsequently, in January 2017, the Government published a literature review,

Alternative Provision: Effective practice and Post 16 Transition,5 which looked at ways to
increase key stage 4 outcomes and post-16 transition. This was followed, in October 2017,
by the Institute for Public Policy Research’s (IPPR) Making the Difference report,6 which
drew attention to the stark reality that many excluded pupils in school face. At the 2017
Conservative Party conference, the then Secretary of State for Education, Rt. Hon. Justine
Greening MP, announced that she would roll out changes to improve AP and make best
practice consistent across the country to ensure that all pupils in AP can achieve.7
7. Six months after the launch of our inquiry, the Government announced that Edward
Timpson would be leading an independent review of exclusions, and published Creating
opportunity for all: Our vision for alternative provision.8 The ‘vision’ paper sets out plans
for tackling many of the issues that we have heard about throughout our inquiry. The
Minister of State for School Standards, Rt. Hon. Nick Gibb MP, also referred to the
Government’s paper extensively throughout his evidence session with us. The Government
has introduced the Alternative Provision Innovation Fund, a £4 million grant funding
programme, and commissioned primary research to explore children’s, schools’, AP and
post-16 providers’ recent experiences of post-16 transition and what they consider to be
the most effective approaches.9
8. We were also pleased that during the inquiry, the Minister told us that following
the work, the Department would consider the action that is needed, “whether that is a
revision to the statutory guidance or legislation.”10 The Government’s vision, focus and
commitment are welcome, but the reviews and research must be conducted swiftly to
ensure that policy and practice changes are implemented as soon as possible.
Our inquiry
9. We received over 100 pieces of evidence in response to our call for evidence to this
inquiry, including responses from embassies all over the world. Witnesses to the inquiry
included academics and researchers; providers of alternative provision in many of its
forms; representatives of charities and organisations who work with young people who
attend alternative provision; teaching and local authority representatives; Ofsted; and
the Minister of State for School Standards. We held a private session on 20 March 2018
where we heard directly from young people and parents with experience of alternative
2 DfE, Improving alternative provision, March 2012

3 DfE, Alternative provision, January 2013
4 DfE, Educational Excellence Everywhere, March 2016
5 DfE, Alternative Provision: Effective Practice and Post 16 Transition, January 2017
6 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017
7 Conservative Party, ‘Education and skills will unlock our nation’s talent’, accessed July 2018
8 DfE, Creating opportunity for all Our vision for alternative provision, March 2018
9 DfE, Creating opportunity for all Our vision for alternative provision, March 2018
10 Q530
provision.11 We visited Newhaven School, a PRU in Greenwich, where we spoke to pupils,

parents and teachers. We also spent a morning at SILC Training, an unregistered provider
in Mitcham, where we spoke to instructors and students. The Chair visited Westside
School, an alternative provision free school academy.
10. We thank all our witnesses for their time and contributions, as well as those who
helped us speak directly to pupils and parents, whose input to this inquiry has been
invaluable.
11 When we reference this session, we refer to participants as either a young person with experience of alternative
provision, or a parent of a pupil with experience of alternative provision.
2 What’s going wrong in mainstream

schools?
“In the mainstream school there was absolutely nothing. Even when we asked
for it—demanded it—we never received it. It was a battle. It was a war. That is
what it felt like: a war against a parent. The education system should be a good
experience for a parent as well as a child, but it never was. “
Parent of a pupil with experience of alternative provision
The rise in exclusions and pupils being educated in alternative

provision
11. Many pupils enter AP as a result of being excluded from school. Exclusions can be:
• Permanent, where a pupil is unable to stay at their current school;
• Temporary, where a pupil is not allowed to attend school for a certain number
of days;
• Internal, where a pupil is placed in isolation and segregated from the rest of the
school.
Many pupils in alternative provision haven’t been excluded. These include:
• Pupils who remain on the roll of their mainstream school, but attend AP full
time;
• Pupils who attend AP part time, alongside attending their mainstream school;
• Pupils whose parents have been encouraged to take their child out of school
voluntarily.
12. Between 2006/7 and 2012/13, the number of permanent exclusions reduced by nearly
half, but has since risen, with a 40% increase over the past three years.12 In 2015/16, 6,685
pupils were permanently excluded from school. In the same year there were 339,360 fixed
period exclusions.13 However, the AP population is made up of a greater number of students
than those who are just permanently excluded. There are 16,732 pupils who attend pupil
referral units, AP academies or free schools and other provision like FE colleges. This
doesn’t include a further 9,897 pupils who also attend AP but have a mainstream school
as the main school at which they are registered.14 22,848 pupils are also educated in other
forms of AP, which includes, but is not exclusive to, independent schools and providers
that are not able to register as a school.15
12 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017, pp 12–13

13 DfE, Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2015 to 2016, July 2017, p 3
14 Pupils are dual-registered if they attend two different schools. They are primarily registered at their main school
and have a second registration at the second school. For more information see: DfE, School census 2017 to 2018,
May 2018
15 DfE, Schools, pupils and their characteristics – 2018 – national tables, June 2018, Table 1b
13. This means that there are at least 48,000 pupils who are educated outside of mainstream
and special schools during the year.16 However, this does not include pupils who are
educated in alternative provision—often directed to offsite provision to improve their
behaviour or for medical reasons—but who remain on the full roll of their mainstream
school.17
14. According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), some groups of children
are more likely to be educated in alternative provision, or excluded, than other children.
Children in care, children in need, children with special educational needs and disabilities
(SEND) and children in poverty18 are all more likely to be excluded than their peers.19
Pupils with SEN support are almost seven times more likely to be permanently excluded
than pupils with no SEN.20 Boys are more likely to be permanently excluded than girls; for
every girl permanently excluded last year, over three boys were permanently excluded.21
Some ethnicities are disproportionately represented in alternative provision, including
Black Caribbean, Irish traveller heritage and Gypsy Roma heritage pupils.22
15. 47% of children in AP are 15 to 16 years old.23 25% of exclusions happen when
children are aged 14, and half of all exclusions happen in Year 9 or above.24 More broadly,
when FFT Education Datalab looked at moves pupils make, they found that there were
87,000 instances of a child leaving a state-funded school during the five years of secondary
school. Moves reach their highest point in Year 9, with 75% of all moves taking place in
the first three years of secondary school. 67,000 moves were to another placement in the
state sector; however, FFT Education Datalab found that 19,975 pupils left a mainstream
secondary school and were never recorded as being on a state-funded secondary school’s
roll again.25
16. The demand for places, driven by the high numbers of exclusions, is greater than
the sector can provide, with many alternative provision schools oversubscribed.26 This in
turn puts pressure on the AP sector, which then affects the quality of education that can
be provided to pupils who should be able to access alternative provision. Essex County
Council’s written evidence said that the recent Ofsted inspections of Essex PRUs have
highlighted how the lack of space that it has can impact on pupils’ “attendance, safety and
turnover.”27
17. We acknowledge that throughout this report we reference ‘mainstream schools’

and it is a catch-all term covering a wide variety of schools, including maintained
schools, academies, free schools, grammar schools and faith schools. The population
and educational landscape will vary across the country, with some areas having different
16 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017, p 7

17 The Difference (ALT 94) para 3
18 This refers to eligibility for free school meals, as in schools this is the standard poverty measure.
20 DfE, Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2015 to 2016, July 2017, p 5. New data was published on
19 July 2018.
21 DfE, Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2015 to 2016, July 2017, p 5
23 DfE (ALT 58) para 36
24 LKMco (ALT 62) para 3.1
25 FFT Education Datalab, ‘Who’s left: An introduction to our work’, accessed July 2018
26 Essex County Council (ALT 84) para 3.4; Q391 [Jules Daulby]
27 Essex County Council (ALT 84) para 32
types of schools making up their provision, along with variable involvement from local
authorities. It is important to understand whether there are specific types of schools that
are disproportionately excluding pupils.
18. The Timpson Exclusions Review should ensure that it looks at the trends in exclusion
by school type, location and pupil demographics.
The causes of an increase in exclusions and referrals to alternative

provision
A lack of early intervention and support
19. Witnesses to the inquiry described many challenges facing schools which might
contribute to their inability or unwillingness to identify problems and then provide
support. These include a lack of expertise in schools that would allow them to identify
problems.28 Schools and school representatives told us that schools no longer have the
financial resources to fund pastoral support, including teaching assistants, that would
often help keep pupils in mainstream schools.29 This raises the possibility that financial
pressures are affecting schools’ capacity and ability to identify and support problems and
provide the early intervention that is necessary.
20. The Timpson Exclusions Review should examine whether financial pressures
and accountability measures in schools are preventing schools from providing early
intervention support and contributing to the exclusion crisis.
21. We heard significant evidence about the increasing numbers of children with SEND
being excluded. In 2015/16, there were 2,990 permanent exclusions and 148,665 fixed
term exclusions of pupils with special educational needs.30 Many of these children are
arriving in the AP sector with unidentified and unmet needs.31 In line with what we
heard about funding challenges and a lack of expertise, we heard worrying evidence that
some schools may be deliberately failing to identify a child as having SEND. The National
Education Union told us that excluding pupils can save schools thousands of pounds,32
while the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers suggested that schools could be
deliberately not identifying pupils as having SEND, as it is more difficult to permanently
exclude a pupil with SEND.33 We also heard that schools are justifying permanent
exclusions of pupils with SEND, by claiming that they will get the support that they need
in alternative provision, and exclusion will speed up the assessment process.34 This then
leads to pupils with SEND being left for long periods of time in alternative provision while
the assessment takes place, which does not mean that a child’s needs are being met.35
22. In addition to strain being put on schools by meeting the needs of pupils with SEND,
there is a greater awareness of pupils’ mental health and well-being as a factor in their
28 Manchester Metropolitan University (ALT 87) para 1.1.4

29 NAHT (ALT 29) para 18; PRUSAP (ALT 17) para 5
30 DfE, Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2015 to 2016, National tables: SFR35/2017, July 2017,
Table 6
31 Chaselea PRU (ALT 28) para 4; The Limes College (ALT 8) para 5; Headteachers’ Roundtable (ALT 13) para 5.4
32 NEU (ALT 41) para 2
33 Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (ALT 55) para 2
34 Ms Joanne Southby (ALT 78) para 6; London South East Academies Trust (ALT 43) para 65
35 Ms Joanne Southby (ALT 78) paras 6–7
educational attainment. As more is understood about the impact of poor mental health
and adverse childhood experiences on children, more children are being identified as
needing support. Factors in children’s lives outside of school affect their behaviour and
ability to cope with school, and schools and wider support services struggle to support
them.36 This was evidenced in our report The Government’s Green Paper on mental health:
failing a generation, in which we looked at the factors impacting on young people’s mental
health. Among other factors, pupils told us that exam stress and subject choice, along with
negative impacts of social media, all impacted on their mental health and well-being.37
Behaviour policies
23. We have heard that there is an increase in zero-tolerance behaviour policies,

contributing to the rise in exclusions and increase in pupils attending alternative
provision.38 Matthew Dodd from the Special Educational Consortium told us that “on
curriculum, the same as with behaviour policies, the more rigid you make a structure
the more difficult it is for children who are different to fit into that.”39 Jules Daulby told
us that there needs to be flex in the system and reasonable adjustments should be made
to accommodate behaviours that arise from a child’s special educational needs, and that
she does not think that zero-tolerance behaviour policies allow for that.40 We were told
by one pupil that at their previous mainstream school, there “are these little things you
just can’t do, or if you do them you can get excluded for it. I think most people are getting
permanently excluded, just instantly, in my mainstream school right now. I don’t think
they are treating everyone fairly and evenly.”41
24. While it would be reasonable of schools to take a zero-tolerance approach to drugs

or weapons, a school culture which is intolerant of minor infractions of school policies
on haircuts or uniform will create an environment where pupils are punished needlessly
where there should be flexibility and a degree of discretion.
25. The evidence we have seen suggests that the rise in so called ‘zero-tolerance’
behaviour policies is creating school environments where pupils are punished and
ultimately excluded for incidents that could and should be managed within the
mainstream school environment.
26. The Government should issue guidance to all schools reminding them of their
responsibilities to children under treaty obligations and ensure that their behaviour
policies are in line with these responsibilities.
27. The Government and Ofsted should introduce an inclusion measure or criteria that
sits within schools to incentivise schools to be more inclusive.
36 Manchester Metropolitan University (ALT 87) para 1.3.1; NEU (ALT 41) paras 7–8
37 Education and Health and Social Care Committees, First Joint Report of the Education and Health and Social
Care Committees of Session 2017–19, The Government’s Green Paper on mental health: failing a generation, HC
642, paras 29–36
38 Mr John Watkin (ALT 45) para 1.4; National Association of Virtual School Heads (ALT 61) para 6; ASCL (ALT 90)
para 22
39 Q53
40 Qq367–370
41 Young person with experience of alternative provision
An increase in mental health needs
28. There are increasing numbers of children with mental health needs in schools and
alternative provision.42 In January 2017, 186,793 pupils in state funded mainstream or
special schools had social, emotional and mental health as their primary category of SEN.43
IPPR estimates this to be one in 50 children in the general population, and one in two
pupils in alternative provision.44 Mental health issues can affect pupils in different ways,
including on pupils’ abilities to cope with school, their attendance and their behaviour.
Exclusion can also affect a pupil’s mental health.45 Evidence from The Association of Child
and Adolescent Mental Health raised concerns that schools could be failing to intervene
in a timely or effective manner when there are concerns about a pupil’s mental health as
opposed to the needs being unidentified.46 Others suggested that social, emotional and
mental health (SEMH) needs are going undiagnosed and teachers are unable to identify
pupils with SEMH needs.47 In our report on the Government’s Green Paper on mental
health, we recommended that the Department’s review of exclusions examined the
increase of excluded pupils with mental health needs and how their needs are being met
and that the Government should ensure that PRUs are sufficiently resourced to meet the
needs of their pupils.48
Off-rolling, Progress 8 and a narrowing curriculum.
29. Pupils count towards the Progress 8 scores of schools if they are registered on the
school’s census in the January in which they are in Year 11. While Progress 8 tracks
the academic ‘distance’ travelled by a student and takes into account prior attainment,
pupils who fall behind in secondary school, for example for medical reasons or because a
pupil’s additional needs which were met in their smaller primary school but then become
unmet in larger secondary settings, can negatively affect a school’s results. Off-rolling—
the process by which pupils are removed from the school’s register by moving them to
alternative provision, to home education or other schools—was raised by many witnesses,
and we were told that the accountability system and Progress 8 was a major factor.49
30. We recognise that Progress 8 is a more nuanced and improved measure of school
performance accountability than existed previously. But we were concerned to hear some
headteachers including Drew Povey, Headteacher of Harrop Fold School, tell us that new
Progress 8 measures give an incentive for exclusion.50 Kevin Courtney from the National
Education Union explained that:
With Progress 8, and many other accountability measures, you know that
it is more time invested to get the same result from a child in challenging
circumstances. An easier thing to do is to remove the child if you are
42 Acorn Academy Cornwall (ALT 24) para m; Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (ALT 86) para 15
43 DfE, Special educational needs in England: January 2017 National tables: SFR37/2017, July 2017, Table 8
45 Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ALT 60) para 8
46 Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ALT 60) para 8
47 NEU (ALT 41) paras 18–19
48 Education and Health and Social Care Committees, First Joint Report of the Education and Health and Social
Care Committees of Session 2017–19 The Government’s Green Paper on mental health: failing a generation, HC
642, para 34
49 NAHT (ALT 29) para 15; AP Network (ALT 72) para 6.2; Pavilion Study Centre (ALT 19) para 6; Qq140–141 [David
Whitaker]; Q425 [Kevin Courtney]
50 Q95
thinking about the institution instead of thinking about the child. [ … ] If

we only focus on academic results, EBacc results, then that is what you get
as your focus. You cannot be surprised if schools concentrate on that if that
is what everybody tells them to concentrate on. For some children who are
not feeling happy in that system that can lead to mental health problems
and to challenging behaviour.51
31. We were told that a narrow curriculum can affect the engagement of some pupils
with their education,52 and Progress 8 in particular can narrow the curriculum for some
pupils.53 The National Education Union told us that SATs preparation can negatively
impact on children with SEND and their access to a broad and balanced curriculum as
their time is taken up focusing on SATs preparation, leaving little room for other lessons.54
One respondent to our call for written evidence acknowledged that Progress 8 can be seen
as more inclusive:
It can be argued that Progress 8 is a more inclusive standard in that it

reflects the average progress of all students in a school. But it is progress
in a far narrower set of subjects than would have been considered before.
Creative and technical subjects, which a lower-ability child would find
more accessible, have lost their validity and are disappearing from many
schools.55
If pupils are experiencing a narrow curriculum, they are missing out on the wider subjects
and opportunities that enable them to develop social and economic capital, which is vital
for their future education and adult life.
32. The Minister told us that he did not accept the argument about Progress 8 and
that it is the fairest way of holding schools to account for their academic attainment.
However, he acknowledged that there may be a case for schools being accountable for
the future outcomes of their past pupils.56 The Department for Education has changed
the methodology of Progress 8 so that the negative impact of some pupils’ scores will
be reduced.57 However outliers still remain a problem because Progress 8 double counts
maths and English, and it only takes two or three pupils to affect the overall progress
outcome of a school. This needs looking at. These changes also do not reduce the incentive
to off-roll pupils who will bring down the school’s Progress 8 score. Philip Nye from FFT
Education Datalab told us that one solution was to slightly change how league tables work:
We suggested that you could change the way the league tables work and say,
“Okay, let’s look at all the children who have been on-roll with you at any
period of time up to Year 11 and let’s allocate their results and weight them
according to how much time the child spent with you. If they were there for
51 Q425
52 Manchester Metropolitan University (ALT 87) para 2, Mr John Watkin (ALT 45) paras 1.5–1.6
53 Lancashire PRU Headteachers (ALT 36) para 1.4
55 Mr John Watkin (ALT 45) para 1.11
56 Qq450–451
57 DfE, Secondary accountability measures Guide for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools,
January 2018, pp 12–13
one term, that would only count for a relatively small amount. If they were
there up until halfway through year 10 and then left, let’s say, those kids
count to that extent against your results”.58
This would mean that all pupils who have spent time at a school would count towards
results. Retaining a degree of responsibility would reduce the attractiveness of off-rolling
as a way of schools to wash their hands of pupils who will bring down their Progress 8
score. If pupils are excluded or removed for home schooling, and if schools feel that a pupil
requires or would benefit from alternative provision, this would encourage the schools
that are making decisions about where to send them to make choices in the best interests
of their pupils and encourage greater oversight of pupils receiving education elsewhere.
33. The Minister was clear that the practice of off-rolling is unlawful:
Off-rolling is unlawful. There is only one reason a school can exclude a
pupil permanently from a school, and that is due to behavioural issues. Off-
rolling, to the extent that it occurs, is unlawful. Ofsted and the system as a
whole will be vigilant in looking out for those practices.59
We agree that Ofsted plays a role in ensuring that schools do not off-roll pupils. Ofsted
told us that it is vigilant in looking out for these practices by training its inspectors.60
34. We do not think that Ofsted should take sole responsibility for tackling off-
rolling. Off-rolling is in part driven by school policies created by the Department for
Education. The Department cannot wash its hands of the issue, just as schools cannot
wash their hands of their pupils.
35. The Headteachers’ Roundtable told us that schools “who retain children with
challenging behaviour risk disruption, poor outcomes (significant impact on Progress 8,
EBacc etc), low attendance, low staff morale, increased intervention costs [ … ], complaints
from parents, high exclusions costs and ultimately, critical and high stakes Ofsted
gradings.”61 We acknowledge the resourcing challenges.62 However, we also acknowledge
that there are schools that are inclusive despite those challenges.
36. An unfortunate and unintended consequence of the Government’s strong focus
on school standards has led to school environments and practices that have resulted
in disadvantaged children being disproportionately excluded, which includes a
curriculum with a lack of focus on developing pupils’ social and economic capital.
There appears to be a lack of moral accountability on the part of many schools and
no incentive to, or deterrent to not, retain pupils who could be classed as difficult or
challenging.
37. We recommend that the Government should change the weighting of Progress 8
and other accountability measures to take account of every pupil who had spent time
at a school, in proportion to the amount of time they spent there. This should be done
alongside reform of Progress 8 measures to take account of outliers and to incentivise
inclusivity.
58 Q22
59 Q453
60 Q416
61 Headteachers’ Roundtable (ALT 13) para 1.5
62 The Committee has launched inquiries into school and college funding and special educational needs and
disabilities.
3 The process of exclusion and referral

“Parents who advocate strongly for their kids are seen to be a pain and pushy.
I have had letters where I am described as being a particularly difficult person
to deal with, because I am advocating for my child, and because I know the
system and am prepared to say what is right and what is wrong.”
38. There are several ways that a pupil can be referred to alternative provision. Pupils
may be placed by their school, while others may be placed by their local authority. If
a child is permanently excluded, it is the responsibility of the local authority to find
them an alternative school. The local authority also has a duty to provide education for
pupils with additional health needs where their illness will prevent them from attending
school for 15 or more days and where suitable education is not arranged. Schools can
commission their own alternative provision places for pupils who are being directed off-
site for education to improve their behaviour. Local protocols will also affect the referral
pathway. Peterborough City Council operates a Pupil Referral Service, creating a single
service.63 In other areas, referrals may go through a Fair Access Panel, while in others
some will be directly referred by the local authority or school.
39. We already know that many pupils are in alternative provision because they are
excluded from school. While we have found that many pupils are excluded from school
when perhaps they should not be, there will be pupils who have been excluded from school
for good reason. Where pupils have committed violent or criminal acts, exclusion may
be the only viable option as pupils and teachers have the right to learn and work in safe
environments. Some pupils will be too ill to attend school, or will self-exclude due to
mental health difficulties. But no pupil who is excluded should be given up on, and every
pupil should be educated in high quality provision that meets their need for and right to
a good education.
School powers and pupils’ and parents’ rights

40. In England, only headteachers can exclude a pupil, which can only be for disciplinary
reasons.64 It can appear confusing who is responsible for arranging education in this case.
Headteachers must tell parents of an exclusion, and in some cases, including in the case
of permanent exclusions, must inform the governing boards and local authority. While
governing bodies and proprietors of maintained schools and academies must arrange
suitable full-time education from the sixth day of fixed period exclusions (or first day for
looked after children), it is the local authority that has the duty in other cases.65
41. There are many challenges that come with exclusion, or referral to alternative
provision, for pupils and parents. We heard that the decision about where a child is sent
63 Peterborough Pupil Referral Service (ALT 30) para 2.1

64 DfE, Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, July 2017, p 8
65 DfE, Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, July 2017, pp 16–17
to is largely out of their hands, and decisions made by the school, or local authority, will
be affected by financial considerations, availability of suitable provision and whether the
provision has places.66 A parent told us:
When we were sat around the table with our education and care plan,
putting things into place, the headmaster from my son’s primary sat at the
table and the only contribution from him was, “Well, this is cutting into my
budget now. It is costing me £100 a day to keep this child in this AP school.
What can we do quickly?” It was not about my child. The focus was about
moving him on quickly because it was cutting into the budget. It was not
about the welfare of my child.67
42. Parents and pupils often do not know their rights regarding exclusions, and where
the pupil is internally excluded or directed off-site, there is no system of redress.68 When
a school is proposing to exclude a child, however right it may be, it is likely that it is also
a time of stress or tension, with pressure on the relationship between the pupil and/or
parent and the school. Jules Daulby told us:
There are so many parents that feel they get, “Oh, another call from the
school”, and what ends up happening is the parent and the child become
against the school, and it should be the school and the parent saying to the
child, “Right, this is how we’re going to help”. That relationship is really
important, and sometimes it feels very much that the family and child are
to blame, and the school will not work with them until they turn themselves
around.69
Navigating the exclusions process can be difficult and parents and pupils can be left
fighting a system that they do not understand and that they feel is stacked against them.
In addition, we heard that parents often do not have the time or social capital to challenge
schools. Dr Gazeley, Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Sussex told us:
Some parents are very much better placed to exert their rights than others,
and one of the issues is that many of the children who get tied up in all these
processes have parents who do not have the knowledge, the understanding,
the trust or the experience to exert their rights, and they do not have access
to advocacy either. They are in a very dependent position o[f] trust for
professionals, some of whom do a very good job and some of whom we
know are not doing the right things. It is really important to recognise that
some parents can leverage the system and some cannot, and we need to
think about how we help them.70
43. Only in the case of permanent exclusion can a parent appeal against the decision. If a
parent’s appeal fails, they can appeal to the Independent Review Panel, but the Independent
Review Panel can only be convened if parents apply within 15 school days.71 Many parents
will not know about their right to do so, and may lack the time and capacity to do so
66 Nacro (ALT 69) para 1.2

67 Parent of a pupil with experience of alternative provision
68 Ms Diana Robinson (ALT 16) para 5.4; The Engage Trust (ALT 32) para 7
69 Q381
70 Q406
and meet the deadline. Responsibility for bringing together the panel rests with the local
authority, or academy trust. The panel should have one lay member, a school governor
and a headteacher representative, and guidance states “every care should be taken to avoid
bias or an appearance of bias.”72 We consider that an appearance of bias can arise, purely
by the makeup and weighting of the panel. We heard from Matthew Dodd, from the
Special Educational Consortium, that their power is weighted in favour of schools as the
“Education Act 2011 removed the right to reinstatement, so an independent review panel
cannot enforce a reinstatement.”73 We do however acknowledge that if a governing body
does not reinstate a pupil it must make a financial payment to the local authority.
44. The exclusions process is weighted in favour of schools and often leaves parents
and pupils navigating an adversarial system that should be supporting them.
45. Legislation should be amended at the next opportunity so that where Independent
Review Panels find in favour of the pupils, IRPs can direct a school to reinstate a pupil.
46. Where responsibility sits for excluded children in a local area has become very
ambiguous. The Timpson Exclusions Review needs to clarify whose responsibility it is
to ensure that excluded or off-rolled pupils are being properly educated. This could be
the local authority or it could be local school partnerships, but at the moment too many
pupils are falling through the net.
47. When a pupil is excluded from school for more than five non-consecutive days in a
school year, the pupil and their parents or carers should be given access to an independent
advocate. This should happen both where pupils are internally or externally excluded
from school, or where the LA is arranging education due to illness.
Children getting to the right place at the right time

48. We were told that it is often not in the hands of the pupil or parent when decisions are
made about where a pupil attends alternative provision. Where a pupil is directed off-site
to ‘improve their behaviour’, a parent does not have to agree to the placement, much less
the actual details of the placement,74 although statutory guidance does state that “where
possible, parents should be engaged in the decision taken by the school to direct a pupil
off-site.”75 In addition, for many pupils their journey to the right provision takes time. This
can be because the permanent exclusion process takes time,76 either because the process
adheres to statutory timescales or because schools leave pupils to languish and struggle
for too long.
The right place
49. Of the alternative provision that is inspected by Ofsted, 88% is ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.77
However, 18% of places in maintained schools for excluded pupils are in ‘requires
73 Q78
74 Independent Parental Special Education Advice (ALT 74) para 11
75 DfE, Alternative provision, January 2013 p 12
76 The CE Academy (ALT 14) para 40.2
77 Ofsted, Maintained schools and academies inspections and outcomes as at 31 August 2017: main findings,
November 2017 p 1
improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ provision.78 Of the alternative provision in the independent

sector, 72% of independent alternative providers have a good or better inspection rating.79
However, the quality, and availability, of provision is variable. In 11 local authorities, there
are no ‘good’ places in alternative provision, while in Dudley, Gateshead, Newcastle and
Thurrock, all PRUs are ‘inadequate’.80 It appears that there are areas of the country, and
therefore large numbers of pupils, that have no access to high quality alternative provision
and therefore high quality educational opportunities for those who may be set up to fail
in mainstream school.
50. We asked parents and pupils if they felt that they had a say in where they were referred
to, either following a permanent exclusion or any other move. While the young people we
met with seemed happy that they were in high quality provision that was working for
them, none of them felt that they had been offered a choice about there they would attend
school. This was also reflected in the discussion we had with parents. One parent told us
“Against my wishes, they put my son in an EBD [emotional and behavioural difficulties]
school, which is about the worst provision you can put an autistic child in, quite literally.
It was catastrophic for him. I objected about as strongly as I could to that, and they put
him in there anyway.”81
51. In 2012, the Taylor Review of alternative provision found that while the DfE kept a
central register of AP providers, it only contained partial, un-validated information. Taylor
therefore recommended that the Department no longer maintained a central list.82 While
this recommendation was acted on, this had led to no clear responsibility for alternative
provision oversight. Essex County Council told us that because there is no requirement
on alternative provision providers to register with the local authority before they offer
provision, local authorities can be unaware of the provision that is available in their area.83
This was explained to us in the context of quality assurance, but if local authorities are
not aware of the provision that is out there to quality assure, they will be equally unaware
of providers with whom they can place children. We are unconvinced that schools and
parents will be able to place pupils in the most appropriate setting for them if they do not
know about the full range of alternative provision on offer.
52. Pupils who require alternative provision because their medical conditions or needs
mean they cannot attend school have little control over the education that they receive.
Cath Kitchen, Chair of the National Association of Hospital and Home Teaching, told
us that “our children do not always have a choice about when they move into alternative
provision because they are placed there because of their health needs. There is no choice
for parents or for young people because they are moved to a hospital that best meets their
medical needs.”84 She went on:
The children who have physical medical needs most often come into
alternative provision because they are admitted to hospital as an inpatient.
When they go into hospital, depending on which local authority and what
78 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017 p 35

79 FFT Education Datalab, ‘What we’ve learnt about the independent alternative provision sector’, accessed July
2018
80 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017 p 35
81 Parent of a pupil with experience of alternative provision
82 DfE, Improving alternative provision, March 2012 pp 9–10
83 Essex County Council (ALT 84) para 5.3
84 Q49
type of hospital, whether it is a regional one or just a local hospital, they will
access teaching while they are there. If they have a mental health condition
that means it cannot be safely managed within the community, they also
are entered into an inpatient provision; they call them tier 4 CAMHS units,
where again they are accessed there. If their mental health is so severe they
may be sectioned under the Mental Health Act and then put in a different
type of environment. If there are no places in tier 4 units, then they may
be placed in private hospitals. In private hospitals a lot of the education
provision there is not regulated and you do not have a choice about where
you go.85
53. The Government should encourage the creation of more specialist alternative
providers that are able to meet the diverse needs of pupils with medical needs, including
mental health needs.
The right time
54. We spoke to several young people during our inquiry, and for many of them they
arrived in alternative provision after having had failed moves, having spent time in
‘inclusion’ or ‘isolation’, or having given up on attending school altogether. One young
person was moved four times in three years, before arriving at their current alternative
provision. Another young person told us that they spent Year 7 and Year 8 in and out of
school, and it took a long time for them to get the support that they needed. One of the
young people we spoke to who attended alternative provision for medical reasons told us:
I didn’t get given the choice to go to the online tuition until nearer the end
of my treatment. If I had been offered that earlier, I might have been able to
get more schooling in, which might have improved my results at the end.
If I’d had it at the start of my treatment, that might have helped us in the
long run.86
We were therefore pleased to hear from the Minister that “We want to see increasing
parental and pupil engagement in terms of decisions about going into alternative provision.
We want those pupils and their parents to be more engaged in that process than they
perhaps currently are.”87
55. Some pupils need a different environment to learn in. Currently parents and pupils are
not sufficiently involved and the process can often take too long. Where schools recognise
that alternative provision is the most suitable option for a pupil, schools should feel able
to find the right provision for that pupil. Parents and pupils have a tremendous stake in
their education and schools and local authorities need to include them more in decisions.
56. There is an inexplicable lack of central accountability and direction. No one appears
to be aware of all the provision that is available, which impacts on both schools, local
authorities and parents. Unless all providers are required to notify the local authority
of their presence, not all schools or LAs will be able to make informed decisions about
85 Q58
87 Q501
placements. Without someone to take responsibility for co-ordinating and publishing

information about the local provision that is available, parents and pupils will remain
unable to fully participate in discussions about alternative provisions referrals.
57. All organisations offering alternative provision should be required to inform the
local authority in which they are based of their provision. The local authority should
then make the list of alternative providers operating in their local authority available to
schools and parents on their website.
58. Pupil Referral Units, and other forms of alternative provision, should be renamed
to remove the stigma and stop parents being reluctant to send their pupils there. We
suggest that the Government seeks the advice of pupils who currently attend alternative
provision when developing this new terminology. Many have described AP as specialist
provision, offering children a more tailored, more personal education that is more
suited to their needs.
A lack of oversight
59. We heard that there can be little oversight of pupils in alternative provision, with
The Pendlebury Centre PRU suggesting that there can be an “out of sight, out of mind
mentality by some.”88 The Engage Trust suggested that there is too little scrutiny of the
school’s actions in placing children into alternative provision, and even when pupils
are sent to registered provision like AP Academies, there is little or no oversight of the
decisions made by schools.89
60. The Department’s guidance states that the headteacher of a school must, without
delay, notify the local authority of:
• Any permanent exclusion;
• Any exclusion that means that the pupil would be excluded for a total of more
than five school days (or more than ten lunchtimes) in a term;
• any exclusion which would mean that the student misses a public examination
or national curriculum test.90
In addition, headteachers must tell the local authority and governing body termly of
any other exclusions that they have not already informed them of. Where a pupil lives
in a different local authority to the school from which a pupil is permanently excluded,
the pupil’s home authority must be informed.91 However, it is unclear what impact this
reporting has and whether there is any further scrutiny undertaken of the decisions that
schools are making.
61. The Department’s guidance clearly suggests that there is a role for local authorities to
play in the oversight and monitoring of exclusions, as headteachers are required to notify
them of exclusions.92 However, we heard the diversification of the school system has caused
88 Pendlebury Centre PRU (ALT 12) para 1.6

89 The Engage Trust (ALT 32) paras 3–4
92 DfE, Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, July 2017 p 15
the role of the local authority in alternative provision to become more difficult.93 Ralph
Holloway from Essex County Council told us about the challenges that local authorities
can face when placing pupils in AP:
We might have had some involvement with that young person or we might
not. It depends upon the individual school and the circumstances in which
that young person was permanently excluded. We get a notification and
within literally 24 hours we have to have that referral into one of our pupil
referral units. Within six school days that young person will be starting
their position with the PRU. There is not much room there for making an
informed decision about what is the best provision for the young person.94
The ADCS felt that there is a role that the local authority should play when relationships
between the school and parent break down.95 Kevin Courtney from the NEU also told us:
You need an honest broker locally who is keeping all schools honest in
these behaviours. That is the much vaunted middle tier. Everyone has their
own opinion about who that middle tier should be, but there needs to be
something that is robust that can challenge a headteacher. The head teacher
has to make a professional decision but it should be a local authority or
some other body that is in dialogue with them, rather than thinking it is
parents that are going to be keeping that right.96
62. Local authorities have statutory responsibilities to provide suitable education

for pupils and yet can have little oversight or scrutiny over decisions about exclusions
and placement decisions. This may be due to inadequate resourcing, which needs to
be addressed. We are also concerned by the lack of transparency about exclusion rates
that are available to parents about schools.
63. We recommend that LAs are given appropriate powers to ensure that any child
receive the education they need, regardless of school type.
64. Schools should publish their permanent and fixed term exclusion rates by year
group every term, including providing information about pupils with SEND and looked-
after children. Schools should also publish data on the number of pupils who have left
the school.
Commissioning of alternative provision
65. Ofsted’s 2016 report on alternative provision found that the commissioning of AP
is varied, describing a landscape where some schools use a fully centralised system, right
through to schools commissioning solely in isolation.97 Ofsted also found that just less
than a third of the schools they looked at systematically evaluated the quality of teaching
93 NASUWT (ALT 57) para 16; NEU (ALT 41) para 13

94 Q115
95 ADCS (ALT 39) para 8
96 Q428
97 Ofsted, Alternative Provision, February 2016, p 10
and learning in the alternative provision they were commissioning,98 and the majority
of staff working at the alternative providers in their sample had not attended any formal
child protection training.99
66. Schools do not always have the capacity and specialist knowledge to have full
responsibility for the commissioning of long-term placements for pupils who will often
have complex needs. If, as we discussed in paragraph 52, local authorities are unaware
of provision in their area, they too do not always have enough knowledge to make
appropriate commissioning decisions. A fragmented approach to commissioning
responsibilities and a lack of oversight and scrutiny around decisions means that
pupils are being left vulnerable to inappropriate placement decisions.
Fair Access Protocols
Admissions
67. Every local authority is required to have a Fair Access Protocol (FAP) in place,
developed in partnership with local schools.100 FAPs are designed to ensure that pupils
who do not have a school place are able to find one quickly, so that their time out of school
is kept to as little as possible.101 This would include pupils who do not have a mainstream
place due to exclusion, or already being in alternative provision. However, we heard that
there is significant variation in how they are run and managed, and how well they work.102
We heard that where providers thought FAPs were working, they said that the protocol
was shared by all schools,103 met regularly,104 and included peer challenge.105
68. However, despite clear evidence of good practice and systems that do work, we were
concerned to hear that systems can be put in place that benefit schools and disadvantage
pupils:
I think there is almost a misunderstanding or a lack of willingness to

understand that the purpose of fair access protocols, as far as I am aware, is
as the local authority’s vehicle for the most vulnerable children to be brought
back, discussed and ideally put back into a mainstream school. Where those
protocols are set up, which they are in some cases, to protect schools and
enable them to put up barriers to taking children back, it becomes a way of
keeping children in alternative provision.106
The National Association of Virtual School Heads told us that in some areas access to AP
is controlled by groups of headteachers who fund and gatekeep provision and their criteria
do not include looked-after children who have just arrived in the local authority.107

100 DfE, Fair Access Protocols: Principles and Process, November 2012, p 3
101 DfE, Fair Access Protocols: Principles and Process, November 2012, p 3
102 Q183 [Emma Bradshaw]; Q185 [Joanne Southby]; Qq430–431 [Sue Morris-King]
103 London East Alternative Provision (ALT 25) para 15
104 London East Alternative Provision (ALT 25) para 19
105 Headteachers’ Roundtable (ALT 13) para 1.2; Q429 [Stuart Gallimore]
106 Q185 [Joanne Southby]
107 National Association of Virtual School Heads (ALT 61) para 8
Reintegration
69. We heard that sometimes reintegration of pupils back to mainstream school does not
happen.108 Reintegration can be much harder for pupils in key stage 4, who may actually
benefit from staying in alternative provision.109 We also heard that a lack of ambition can
inhibit reintegration.110 We also note that where there are selective local authorities, this
can place a greater amount of pressure on schools as there are a smaller number of schools
that are able to take pupils returning from alternative provision.111 Ralph Holloway from
Essex County Council suggested that schools can opt-out, telling us:
Our fair access protocol works very much on a district basis, so it would
be equivalent to a smaller authority. It is only as strong as the individual
schools within it and their commitment to the fair access protocol, and that
is the difficulty.112
70. We were told that when mainstream schools are reluctant to accept pupils from AP,
and where they fail to provide a rapid return to mainstream, this can lead to some pupils
feeling rejected. London South East Academies Trust suggested that pupils can often be
reliant on the benevolence of headteachers, rather than the system, in order to return to
mainstream school.113 We were privately told that there are certain types of schools that
do refuse to accept pupils who are returning from AP. We further heard that there is a
lack of scrutiny about decisions that are being made and no challenge about decisions that
are made:114
In terms of getting kids back from alternative provision into mainstream or

for a child who has been permanently excluded, there should be fair access
protocols that allow in-year admission. If a child has been excluded they
should be able to get back into a mainstream school using these fair access
protocols. There is no scrutiny of how they are used. Basically we would say
there is no scrutiny virtually at every level in this system.115
We were disappointed that the Minister was not able to tell us who was accountable when
schools do not co-operate. When asked who was accountable when schools in some areas
do not sign up to them, he told us that it “is about professionals co-operating together.”116
When pressed further about what happens when schools do not take part, he told us
that schools are not entitled to do so, and assured us that the Exclusions Review being
undertaken by Edward Timpson would look at this.117
71. The best Fair Access Protocols work well because they are local and understand the
needs of their communities. However, this is not always the case, and it is not right that
some schools can opt out of receiving pupils back to mainstream schools or following
the Fair Access Protocol.
108 Lancashire PRU Headteachers (ALT 36) para 3.2; Q422 [Sue Morris-King]
109 Mr John Watkin (ALT 45) para 2.4
110 Office of the Children’s Commissioner (ALT 79) para 17
111 The Limes College (ALT 8) para 20
112 Q127
113 London South East Academies Trust (ALT 43) para 36
114 Ms Diana Robinson (ALT 16) para 1.3; Q188 [Emma Bradshaw]
115 Q73 [Matthew Dodd]
116 Q458
117 Q459
72. Government should issue clearer guidance on Fair Access Protocols to ensure that
schools understand and adhere to their responsibilities and encourage reintegration
where appropriate. No school should be able to opt-out and if necessary either the local
authority or the DfE should have the power to direct a school to adhere to their local
Fair Access Protocol.
73. There is too little consistency around the process of exclusion and referral to AP.
We have heard too much that suggests that there is not the focus on collaboration and
community that is described by Dr Gazeley:
One of the issues around resource and responsibility is the sense that the
schools that we looked at were sites of good practice and we scoped them
very carefully, but that sense that their collective responsibility is within
local communities. Sometimes the solutions do not lie solely within the
grasp of the individual school, which is partly why some of the focus on
alternative provision within our particular study was about co-development
of solutions across local context, which was very much thinking about what
is it that young people might need, with a very positive, flexible, resourceful
mindset, rather than thinking about it as punitive, places overflowing
because children are not wanted.118
74. We think that there is a lot to learn from the existing Virtual School Head model for
looked-after children. Local authorities’ duties to looked-after children include promoting
their educational achievement. The Children and Families Act 2014 required local
authorities to employ someone to carry out that duty: Virtual School Heads. Among other
things, Virtual School Heads advise on educational provision for looked-after children;
track and monitor the progress and achievements of their pupils, support and quality
assure the Personal Education Plan process and advise on the use of the Pupil Premium
Plus. They act as the educational champion for their virtual school cohort.
75. We see no reason why a similar role and duty should not be created with responsibility
for children in alternative provision. The duties of this role would include maintaining a
list of all pupils being educated in AP, ensuring that appropriate monitoring of placements
takes place by the commissioning schools and where a child is placed by the local authority
monitoring the quality of provision and outcomes of the pupil. It would also include
supporting the commissioning of appropriate alternative provision and acting as an
advocate for the best interests and views of the pupil. This role would create a mechanism
by which Fair Access Protocols were consistently co-ordinated and overseen, Fair Access
Panels were attended and schools challenged where they refuse to accept pupils.
76. There should be greater oversight of exclusions and the commissioning of

alternative provision for all pupils by the local authority. These children need a
champion, and schools need both challenge and support.
77. There should be a senior person in each local authority who is responsible for
protecting the interests and promoting the educational achievement of pupils in
alternative provision, which is adequately resourced. This role and post-holder should
be different from that of the Virtual School Head for Looked-After Children.
118 Q366
4 What does good alternative provision

look like?
“A good PRU delivers a lot of love and a little magic into the lives of those who
have very frequently, and sadly, experienced too little of either.”
Peterborough Pupil Referral Service (ALT 30)
78. AP is diverse and it would not be appropriate to set a one-size-fits-all template for
what good alternative provision looks like, but in this chapter we set out some of the issues
and challenges that alternative provision faces and highlight good practice. We have heard
from many outstanding providers, teachers, headteachers and local authorities who offer
the very best of provision to their pupils. They talk about providing supportive, flexible
environments that meet individual needs and allow pupils to flourish. No provision that
we have heard from or visited is the same, but no pupil is the same. There is no template
for good AP, but the challenge that we set is providing consistently good AP to all pupils
no matter where they are living.
In-school alternatives
79. Learning Support Units (LSUs) were introduced in schools from 1999 as part of
the Excellence in Cities partnerships and Education Action Zone partnerships. Funding
was provided to schools with the intention to improve behaviour and reduce exclusion.119
Ofsted found that the while a quarter of units didn’t help pupils learn effectively, it did find
that most LSUs were successful in reducing exclusions and promoting inclusion.120
80. There is a lack of agreement about whether in-school alternatives to alternative

provision are increasing or decreasing. Some told us that schools were using in-school
provision more,121 in many cases the reason being funding pressures, while other
witnesses said that funding pressures and a focus on Progress 8 were driving schools to
reduce their in-school provision.122 Two large providers of alternative provision, Nacro
and YMCA Training, both argue that in-house provision may not be best for the pupil,123
and Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service told us that it is opposed to in-school
options for pupils with medical needs, particularly those with mental health needs.124
81. We heard about the importance of in-school alternatives needing to be good quality,
but we also heard that in many cases this is not the case.125 Dr Val Gillies, Professor of
Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Westminster, told us that:

120 Ofsted, Excellence in Cities and Education Action Zones: management and impact, May 2003, p 58
121 YMCA Training (ALT 34) para 26; Nacro (ALT 69) para 5.1; ADCS (ALT 39) para 5
122 London South East Academies Trust (ALT 43) para 53; ASCL (ALT 90) para 16; Mrs Lorraine Thompson (ALT 67)
para 9; SSCYP (ALT 5) para 24
123 Nacro (ALT 69) para 5.1; YMCA Training (ALT 34) para 26
124 Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (ALT 86) paras 26a–d
125 Ms Joanne Southby (ALT 78) para 19
Where there is that segregated model, of course they are not keeping up
with what is going on in the classroom. The provision in terms of education
can sometimes be very poor. They may be in a unit where there are not any
trained teachers, and even where the teachers are coming into the unit, that
is usually given to supply teachers. It does not tend to be a very popular job.
Teachers do not want to go into the unit and teach them, so they do not
have an opportunity to build a relationship with the teachers in the first
place. The longer they are in those units, the harder it is then to reintegrate
back in to mainstream.126
82. Many of the young people we spoke to talked about being put in isolation in
mainstream school for large parts of academic years. Some of the pupils were put in
isolation for behavioural reasons, while others were removed from the classroom for
other reasons, including because they were victims of bullying. The young people told us
about the impact that isolation had on them. One young person who was isolated because
they had been bullied told us that “With that kind of support, I gave up with the school
system—I chose not to go.”127 Another described their experience of learning: “There were
a lot of different people in the isolation room that I was put in, but it was a box, essentially.
[ … ]They would give you a textbook to copy from. There would be no real learning.”128
We were also told by a young person with experience of alternative provision about their
experience of isolation in mainstream school:
At first, I felt like I had been naughty and was in trouble, but I obviously
couldn’t work out what I’d done. They changed my time for eating my
dinner. I would go and eat my dinner before everyone else even started
theirs. I was isolated not just from my lessons but from everyone completely.
It makes you feel bad. You feel like you’re not going to have friends. Even
though I was in a very bad situation at the time, I was still never allowed
that freedom.129
83. Diana Robinson raised concerns about the move towards a ‘sin bin’ approach:
I don’t think this is the ‘in-school alternatives’ being proposed in this

question. Instead I think the ‘sin-bin’ or ‘seclusion room’ is being proposed.
I have witnessed the awful environment of such facilities, where the pupil
is held in isolation with no work or intervention to address whatever ‘sin’
had led him or her to be placed there. It does not provide education, but
punishment.130
84. However, we were told about successful interventions that are delivered in-house, using
inclusion style models. Drew Povey, Headteacher of Harrop Fold school in Manchester,
told us that his school hadn’t excluded a pupil in over ten years.131 He told us that Harrop
Fold has three levels of intervention rooms, and described the success of this model using
the example of a pupil called Kodie:
126 Q86
130 Ms Diana Robinson (ALT 16) para 5.3
131 Q83
Her progress was phenomenal. She did have her challenges at school and I am
absolutely certain in many other settings she would have been permanently
excluded. But we believed that she could turn a corner. We have tiers of
provision within the school that are slightly different from what you might
see elsewhere and it is perfect for our young people. We got Kodie through
to the end. She did not break any records when it came to exam results, but
she did well and she went on to college. She will be coming back to Harrop
to train as an apprentice as a teaching assistant.132
Drew Povey also told us that his school’s approach also included a mindset shift, moving
from saying that they “cannot” exclude, to exclusion being something that they “do not”
do.133
85. We also heard that in-school alternatives can also have other protective benefits. Dr
Val Gillies told us about the power of mentors:
They are a great resource and they are the first to go in terms of education
cuts at the moment, but because teachers are so pressured they often do not
have an opportunity to get to know young people or understand the various
different challenges that they might be dealing with, so mentors can operate
as a really important bridge.134
We also heard that in-house AP maintains a learner’s sense of connectivity with the
school,135 although we are concerned that this would only be the case where in-house
provision is of good quality.
86. In many cases, high quality in-school alternatives can be used to prevent exclusion
and provide support to pupils. In-school alternatives will not be the right provision for
some pupils, and where they are poorly set up, they can cause damage to pupils and cause
more harm than good.
87. Government should collect best practice and provide dedicated resources and
guidance to schools to improve behaviour and reduce exclusion and develop appropriately
resourced Learning Support Units. This guidance should include that all LSUs are staffed
by at least one qualified teacher. The Government should also investigate the practice of
placing students in isolation units.
88. Ofsted should carry out thematic inspections of in-school alternative provision.
Quality of teaching
89. The Department for Education recognises the quality of teaching as the single biggest
factor influencing the children’s classroom experience.136 This is true of all provisions, and
should be true for all pupils. We were told by one young person:
The teachers at my school, in my final year of school, sat down with me at

the start of the year, because they had known that I had fallen behind from
132 Q89
133 Q83
134 Q105
135 ADCS (ALT 39) para 5
136 NAO, Retaining and developing the teaching workforce, September 2017 p 17
not going in and being in isolation. They sat down with me and said, “What
can you do? What do you feel comfortable with? Is there anything that we
need to work on?” They did listen to me with that, but they would also
speak to me. They would find ways of trying to help you remember. If you
wanted extra work, they would give it to you. They would say, “I’d support
you no matter what.”137
Recruitment and training of teachers
Recruitment of qualified teachers
90. 82% of teachers in all AP providers have qualified teacher status (QTS). 60% of teachers
in AP free schools are qualified, compared to 84% of teachers in PRUs. 95% of teachers in
mainstream schools have QTS.138 According to the Institute for Public Policy Research,
the number of vacancies in the maintained AP and special sector has nearly trebled since
2011. Vacancies are 100–150% higher than in mainstream secondary schools.139
91. Alternative provision needs high quality teachers. Professor David Berridge told us:
These children need the best teachers. These children need the most skilled
and the most dedicated teachers. Traditionally in England, the best teachers
have wanted to work with the high flyers that may be the most academically
rewarding and enriching, but how we can create a system that incentivises
the best teachers to go to the areas where they are needed?140
However, as well as issues with qualified teachers, a child educated in a special or AP

schools is twice as likely as a mainstream pupil to be taught by a supply teacher. We heard
that a workforce staffed by supply teachers can have an impact on the development of
relationships between staff and pupils, which is necessary for successful teaching and
behaviour management.141
Quality of teaching
92. Witnesses raised issues about the quality of teaching in alternative provision, in part
linked to poor recruitment, but also linked to misconceptions about the sector. Joanne
Southby, Executive Head at London South East Academies Trust, told us:
Potential candidates can be attracted for the wrong reasons including

misunderstanding that PRUs are schools and teachers will be equally
accountable for outcomes and progress as they would in any mainstream
environment. Sometimes, potential teachers assume that teaching in a PRU
would be “easier” as less might be expected of pupils and parents’ evenings/
extra-curricular activities non-existent. This can lead to reduced fields of
quality candidates or unsuitable appointments which result in disrupted

138 DfE (ALT 58) para 44
140 Q27
education for pupils due to staff absence, capability processes and higher
turnover. Committed staff in PRUs have high retention, but securing them
in the first place can be difficult.142
93. IPPR also found that in 80% of PRUs’ Ofsted inspections that it analysed, low
expectations or the quality of teaching and learning were identified as an area of
improvement.143 Concerns have been raised about the lack of subject specialists in AP,
which has an impact on the curriculum that can be offered, but also the workload of
teachers who are experts in their subject.144 Managing the behaviour of pupils is clearly an
important part of the role of teachers in AP, however Kevin Courtney told us:
In lots of places we are starting to think what you need on the behavioural
management side of it is somebody who is good with the kids. You need
that but you also need the expertise of a teacher. You need qualified teachers
at the heart of the system145
Initial teacher training
94. Some schools are overcoming the recruitment challenges, and training teachers in
innovative ways. In Peterborough, the Executive Headteacher delivers training to PGCE
students and all trainees have a placement within the Pupil Referral Service.146 Acorn
Academy Cornwall is developing the Multi-Academy Trust as a teaching school and is a
partner in the delivery of Initial Teacher Training through local partnerships.147 Education
Links said that it and other providers are moving to ‘grow their own’, whereby they train
unqualified teachers or classroom assistants.148 However, the National Education Union
raised concerns about the appropriateness of PRUs for initial teacher training, saying
that it is “simply inappropriate to have emerging teacher trainees working with the
most vulnerable children and young people. Equally, it is unfair for trainee teachers to
receive initial training in such environments, ultimately having an adverse effect on their
professional development.”149
95. Teaching in alternative provision should be held in high regard, and attract the
highest quality leaders and teachers. However, alternative provision is clearly not seen
as a prospective career choice for the most talented teachers. This is likely to be down to
a lack of professional development opportunities and also proper understanding of the
challenges and rewards of working in alternative provision.
96. All trainee teachers, in order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status, should be
required to undertake a placement outside of mainstream education, for example in a
special school or in alternative provision.

145 Q435
146 Peterborough Pupil Referral Service (ALT 30) para 5.1.1
147 Acorn Academy Cornwall (ALT 24) paras 6.1–6.2
148 Education Links (ALT 59) para 11
Leadership
97. When there are challenges like recruitment issues, unqualified teachers and a pupil
cohort that is transient and with high needs, leadership is crucial. However, according
to The Difference, vacancies in leadership roles have more than doubled in the AP and
special school sector between 2011 and 2016.150 Kiran Gill told us:
The challenge that we have is we also have large leadership vacancies

in alternative provision, so we need to get people in who can do that
inspirational training for younger, unqualified and trainee teachers. At
the moment, the latest reviews we have into continuous professional
development on alternative provision show that there isn’t a lot out there
and that this sector is often quite isolated from the developments that are
happening in the mainstream sector.151
98. In order to address these challenges, The Difference programme will recruit teachers
with a minimum of three years’ teaching experience and at least middle-leadership
experience. These teachers will take on leadership roles in PRUs before returning to
mainstream schools in leadership roles, with the expectation of disseminating best practice
and thereby reducing exclusions.152 This practice of cross-fertilisation of knowledge
between sectors already happens in other countries in the UK, where exclusion rates are
much lower.153 In 2016/17 one pupil in Scotland was permanently excluded.154 In 2015/16,
five pupils in Scotland were permanently excluded. This equates to 0.0007% of the school
population. This compares to 6,685, or 0.8% of the school population in England.155 This
was further reflected by Dr Gillooly, Head of Strategic Development & Innovation at the
Scottish charity Includem who told us:
[Exclusions] are reducing. There are fewer exclusions, and the length
of period of exclusion is reducing. There are ways that schools can look
at alternatives for young people. It is possible, for instance, to come to an
agreement within a local authority that a child will attend another school
within the local authority for a period of time, but there is always the
presumption that they will be reintegrated back into that original school
where at all possible. These situations are looked at and monitored, so that
presumption of mainstreaming and presumption of inclusion is absolutely
running through all of the practice around how we deal with challenging
behaviour.156
Continuing professional development
99. Paul Devereux, a Head of Hospital and Hospital Outreach Education but submitting
evidence in a personal capacity, described how supply teachers often teach pupil with
medical needs, and supply staff lack access to good quality training, which means that

151 Q27
154 “Scottish schools stamp out permanent exclusions” TES, January 2018
155 “Do Scotland’s exclusion figures tell us the full story?”, TES, March 2018
156 Q397
their understanding of the curriculum can be behind current standards.157 More broadly,
we heard that there are challenges for schools having to provide subject knowledge training
when teachers are teaching outside of their specialism, as well as broader skills needed for
the setting.158 We were told that schools can find themselves caught between a rock and a
hard place: much as they would wish to allow their staff to attend training, the often small
size of provision, and the need for high levels of staffing, means that the practicalities of
releasing staff is difficult to accommodate. This training is important to ensure that staff
are kept up to date with training, particularly as pupils arriving in AP can present with
high risk behaviours.159
Curriculum and school ethos

100. When we spoke to pupils in alternative provision, they told us that they valued
the relationship that they have with their teachers.160 They felt that teachers building
relationships with pupils is not possible in mainstream schools.161 We particularly noted
the language they used: one young person likened their school to a family,162 while another
young person talked about their “school mummy.”163 One young person from alternative
provision told us why having that relationship with teachers was important:
they understand that maybe somebody is having a giddy day or a depressed

day, or they’re very tired, or a bit anxious, and then they will work around
that. So it’s easier for you to work when you know that they know what
you’re going through, and it’s understanding, and then you can have a
relationship with them.
When I was at mainstream, I was a bit scared of the teachers, but at

[alternative provision] I’m friends with quite a few of them and they’re all
really nice people—the nicest people I’ve ever met.164
101. When asked if they feel that there are areas of the curriculum that they feel that they
miss out on, they didn’t agree, instead talking about the different subjects that they do get
to study, like media, sociology and citizenship.165 One young person who attended AP for
medical reasons talked about taking fewer GCSEs being a deliberate choice, and how the
decision was made to focus on maths and English as those subjects would best help them
in the future.166 There was a recognition that sometimes a smaller provision will not offer
the wide choice that a mainstream school would,167 and that the timing of their arrival in
AP could affect their subject choices:
But there would be subjects like science which we could be missing out on,
because students join late year, so I could have been here since Year 8 but
some have joined from Year 10 or 11, and that could affect my education as
157 Mr Paul Devereux (ALT 64) para 11
158 Essex County Council (ALT 84) para 2.2
160 Young people with experience of alternative provision
165 Young people with experience of alternative provision
well, because it’s joining in late. So we have to start everything all over again
from 15, if we missed out on something. That’s the only poor thing about
alternative provision, but other than that you take literally everything that
mainstream school does, or my school does anyway, and you get treated
nearly the same.168
We also heard from one young person that they appreciated the classes where they were
taught how to control their emotions and well-being and felt that it helped them.169
102. However, while young people did not seem worried that they were missing out on
aspects of the curriculum, we also heard concerns about the curriculum on offer. Written
evidence echoed the young people’s views that small provision can find it challenging to
offer a broad and balanced curriculum.170 Other concerns included insufficient stretch in
the curriculum,171 and only low qualifications on offer, which can result in pupils being
unable to progress to further study at college.172 We were told that the most effective
alternative provision offers a broad and balanced curriculum that combines academic
subjects with vocational options, along with teachers having high expectations for their
pupils.173
Outreach and collaboration

103. Some providers of AP told us about the outreach that they do with schools, giving
support and advice to mainstream schools. One mainstream school also told us that
it provides inclusion support.174 Many alternative providers have significant pastoral
staffing, including psychotherapists, counsellors, educational psychologists. Many are
significantly aware of the many vulnerabilities that the cohort of children have, and can
assess and co-ordinate support.175
104. We heard that some alternative providers build partnerships with other schools and
services, which provides support and expertise to pupils that the providers alone cannot
provide.176 However, we think that it appears that this can often be one-sided and relies
on alternative providers reaching out to mainstream schools. We are also concerned that
this perpetuates an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality and alternative provision being
seen as a ‘sin-bin’ where only badly behaved pupils learn and failed teachers work. We
consider that the work by The Difference is a step towards improving relations between
mainstream schools and alternative provision.

170 Essex County Council (ALT 84) para 2.2; Headteachers’ Roundtable (ALT 13) para 3.1
172 Office of the Children’s Commissioner (ALT 79) para 13
173 NEU (ALT 41) para 27; Ms Joanne Southby (ALT 78) para 15
174 TBAP Multi Academy Trust (ALT 46) para 6.1–6.2; Acorn Academy Cornwall (ALT 24) para 5.3; Hospital and
Outreach Education (ALT 21) paras 15–16; Leyland St. James’ CE (Aided) Primary School Inclusion Services (ALT 9)
para 2.1
175 AP Network (ALT 72) para 2.1
176 Association of School and College Leaders (ALT 90) para 38; NAHT (ALT 29) para 29; Essex County Council (ALT
84) para 2.2
Unregistered provision
105. Unregistered provision is often used as alternative provision. It is so called because
it is not required to be registered with the Department for Education. Schools that are
unregistered but required to be registered are operating illegally. Schools must register if
they provide full time education for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one
or more pupils of compulsory school age with an Education Health and Care plan or one
or more pupils of compulsory school age who are looked after by the local authority. There
is no legal definition of ‘full time’. However, the Department for Education clarified that
they would consider an establishment that is open during the day and for more than 18
hours a week to be providing full time education.177 Providers that are registered with the
Department are required to be inspected and this will either be by Ofsted, or an approved
independent inspectorate. The Difference states that while local authorities are required
to keep a register of alternative providers, even if they are unregistered, in many cases the
local authority registers were partial and not validated.178
106. Many unregistered providers offer a valuable service to pupils and schools, and often
offer vocational options or creativity and flexibility that is needed by pupils.179 However,
we were told that the quality of education and pastoral support offered by these providers
is variable, and in many cases poor.180
107. We recognise that there are many excellent unregistered providers and commissioning
schools that have robust quality assurance processes.181 However, given what we have
heard in paragraphs 60 and 66 about the lack of oversight that there can be when schools
themselves commission alternative provision for pupils, we are concerned that there are
pupils who are attending unregistered provision for substantial parts of their education
and being put at risk of harm as well as receiving poor quality education. Sue Morris-King
from Ofsted told us:
When we see pupils going out for just one day a week to something like
motor mechanics that they find very engaging, that probably would not
lend itself to any kind of registration or inspection. We look at that through
our section 5 inspections and we hold the school or PRU to account
there. However, there is a big gap between where we are now and all the
unregistered providers where pupils can go for four and possibly five days a
week, if they go to two different places, and nobody inspects it.182
Despite the lack of consensus around the issue of registration of provision, there was
agreement that children should be in safe and high-quality provision. Some argued that
all alternative provision should be registered.183 Others suggested that regulation, but
not registration, could be a way forward.184 David Whitaker, from the Headteachers’
Roundtable, told us
177 Correspondence from the Minister for School Standards regarding alternative provision, June 2018, p 3
179 Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (ALT 55) para 9; SSCYP (ALT 5) para 27
180 Essex County Council (ALT 84) paras 5.1–5.2; London South East Academies Trust (ALT 43) para 58
181 Pavilion Study Centre (ALT 19) paras 26–29
182 Q419
183 The Limes College (ALT 08) para 31; Mrs Lorraine Thompson (ALT 67) para 11b
184 Nacro (ALT 69) para 6.1; ASCL (ALT 90) para 64
One of the problems with the system is that if everybody has to make a
significant shift to be registered, we might lose some really great providers
who are working with small numbers of children, who are doing some
part-time, who are doing it really well. Some of them are reluctant to turn
themselves into schools and I think there should be a more graduated
approach to that.185
108. We recognise that requiring provision to register could be burdensome and that
ASCL has said that some valuable provision could be lost.186 We have also been told that
there are providers that want to be registered but current guidelines means that they are
unable to do so.187
109. We do not consider that there are sufficient checks on unregistered providers. If
pupils are placed in unregistered provision, without sufficient oversight, their education
and safety is put at risk. We are not convinced that the quality and consistency of
oversight is enough not to require there to be registration and regulation across the
sector.
110. No pupil should be educated in unregistered provision for more than two days a
week. The Government, Ofsted and independent school inspectorates should consider
how this may affect different forms of alternative provision so that where providers want
to accept pupils for more than two days a week, they are able to register and be subject
to a suitable inspection and regulation regime. Schools that commission any alternative
provision should be responsible for the quality of that provision.
111. We were fortunate to visit and take evidence from high quality provision and meet
with pupils who are clearly thriving in their alternative provision. However, we are
concerned that there are too many barriers to alternative provision offering the type of
high quality education we would expect pupils to be able to benefit from. We recognise that
the very nature of alternative provision, often offering flexible, short-notice school places
for vulnerable, disruptive and/or disengaged pupils, can often make providing this high-
quality provision challenging. We are encouraged where we see providers overcoming this
creatively, by working collaboratively and looking for options that enable them to support
pupils holistically and provide them with a broad and balanced educational experience.
However, the onus to collaborate should not rest with alternative providers. All schools
have a responsibility to reach out to support the pupils in their community.
112. Alternative provision should be seen as part of a suite of options that schools have
at their disposal, and this should extend beyond school places. Mainstream schools
should utilise the expertise of alternative provision schools and actively seek their advice.
Alternative provision will have specific expertise that mainstream schools will benefit
from, just as mainstream schools will have expertise that alternative providers will benefit
from. Sharing of expertise will benefit pupils and teachers in all schools and help to dispel
the stigma and myths about alternative provision.
185 Q135
186 ASCL (ALT 90) para 64
187 Red Balloon Learner Centre Group (ALT 48) paras 13–20
113. Mainstream schools should be more proactive in their engagement with alternative
provision. All mainstream schools should be ‘buddied’ with an alternative provision
school to share expertise and offer alternative provision teachers and pupils opportunities
to access teaching and learning opportunities.
5 Successful outcomes and destinations

“He has done so much to prepare him for the outside world. With that confidence
and self-esteem, he is now just set through. [ … ] He has a lot of options to look at,
where 12 months ago he would never even have thought of anything. They have
prepared my son for the outside world.”
Outcomes
114. Pupils in alternative provision should be able to access both GCSEs and technical
qualifications. However, we were told that “1% of children in alternative provision get five
good GCSEs with English and maths but 99% do not”.188 Further evidence told a more
nuanced story of the 1% figure and the focus on measuring outcomes by five good GCSEs,
the same as their peers.189 The 1% figure refers only to pupils who are single-registered
at their alternative provision; most pupils are dual-registered and therefore their exam
grades count towards the performance of their mainstream school.190 Providers told
us that pupils in AP were unlikely to achieve 5 A*-Cs at GCSE whether they were in
mainstream or in alternative provision.191
115. In reporting outcomes by five good GCSEs, there is no recognition of the challenges
that alternative provision and its pupils must overcome in order to achieve good exam
results. We were told that it is rare for pupils to arrive with evidence of past work;192 that
there are challenges when pupils have been studying a number of different exam board
syllabi;193 and that schools often take pupils late into their key stage 4 journey.194 Alternative
providers have to spend time addressing issues such as poor attendance, disengagement,
building relationships with families and referring pupils for assessments for unmet needs
before they can begin to focus on academic education.195
116. Providers pointed out the range of successes that their pupils have achieved, even if
they are not academic. We have also heard from and met pupils who are now better able
to manage their anxiety or anger; are regular school attenders; are more confident and
engaged with learning; and are on high quality post-16 courses or in jobs. The Education
Support Centre in Hertfordshire told us:
Ex-students return to share with us their success in life such as a local

postman, an owner of a barber’s shop, a blind football referee at the 2012
Olympics, an emergency services worker, a carpenter to name a few.196
117. Transition or return to mainstream can also be a successful outcome, and one
that some providers work towards, particularly at key stage 3. However, as discussed in
188 Q2 [Kiran Gill]
189 PRUSAP (ALT 17) para 14; The Limes College (ALT 8) para 22; ADCS (ALT 39) para 4
190 National Association of Hospital and Home Teaching (ALT 31) para 3.1; PRUSAP (ALT 17) para 16
191 The Limes College (ALT 8) para 22
192 Ms Joanne Southby (ALT 78) para 14; London South East Academies Trust (ALT 43) para 73
193 PRUSAP (ALT 17) para 15
194 Bridge Short Stay School (ALT 23) para 6
196 North Herts Education Support Centre (ALT 22) para 1d
paragraphs 70 and 71, we heard that reintegration is often not a possible outcome for
pupils, with some schools being reluctant to reintegrate pupils.197 Sue Morris-King, a
senior Her Majesty’s Inspector at Ofsted told us:
Reintegration is crucial, but what we are often seeing is pupils who are
in pupil referral units for the long term and are not going back into the
mainstream. They can spend three, four or even more years in full-time
alternative provision.198
Where pupils are reintegrated without appropriate support, schools can struggle to keep
pupils in their school, and they are likely to return to alternative provision, often through
permanent exclusion.199 Some alternative provision offers outreach to help support pupils
as they reintegrate back to mainstream provision.200
118. Fundamentally, outcomes for children in AP are not good enough and their successes
and achievements often go unrecognised. Their outcomes are currently judged against
mainstream performance measures and do not take into consideration the circumstances
that have led pupils to be educated in alternative provision and the challenges that both
pupils and teachers face. Acknowledging these challenging circumstances and their
vulnerabilities should not mean that schools are able to make excuses for poor performance
and all alternative providers must have high expectations for their pupils. We welcome the
Government’s commitment to create a bespoke performance framework for AP and the
acknowledgment by the Minister that “when we come to assess alternative provision, it
needs to be more than just the A to C figure, the GCSE results. It does also need to be
things like attendance, behaviour and so on; all those pastoral non-qualification-related
issues.”201
119. This framework should take into account the fragmented educational journey that
these pupils will have had, and enable schools to demonstrate all the achievements
of their pupils. We urge the Government to ensure that it uses the very broadest of
measures, including softer skills that pupils have developed as well as harder outcomes
like apprenticeship take up.
Destinations
120. 94% of Year 11 pupils from a mainstream or special school go on to a sustained
education or employment or training destination,202 compared to 57% from alternative
provision.203 Pupils from AP can face limited choices about where they can go on to
based on the qualifications they achieved, or didn’t achieve, at AP,204 or their educational
histories.205 Pupils who move on from AP to college can struggle to integrate as the college
is too large and presents challenges that pupils are unable to navigate and cope with.206
197 SSCYP (ALT 5) para 7c; Ms Diana Robinson (ALT 16) para 1.3
198 Q422
200 Essex County Council (ALT 97) para 5; Education Links (ALT 59) para 22
201 Q477
202 To count as a ‘sustained’ destination, the young person has to be participating for ‘two terms’ or ‘six months’
the following academic year – the period considered is October to March.
203 DfE, Destinations of key stage 4 and key stage 5 students, England, 2015/16, October 2017, p 21
204 Office of the Children’s Commissioner (ALT 79) para 13; Mr John Watkin (ALT 45) para 4.2
205 Lancashire PRU Headteachers (ALT 36) para 3.1
206 Wac Arts College (ALT 20) para 3.3
It is important, when we are thinking about post-16: for these young people,
that the transition is often very, very difficult for them. If they are coming
from an alternative provider—coming from a PRU or a small special
school—into a huge college they can find that transition very difficult.
Sometimes we find they get the college place but don’t manage to stay once
they lose the really good support from their PRU or alternative provision.207
Some providers of alternative provision extend their support to pupils beyond Year
11 to help them with their transition to post-16 education, to help pupils to transition
successfully.208
121. Alternative provision is not funded post-16, and the statutory duty on a local authority
to provide education to pupils who are too ill to attend school also only extends to 16,
despite the participation age having been raised to 18. However, some providers argue that
there is a case for post-16 provision. Wac Arts College told us:
There are very few providers of alternative provision for post 16 students.
However our experience is that provision such as ours meets a very specific
need. Our pre 16 students have all had difficult experiences in secondary
school and as a result many under-achieve at GCSE. Offering them continuity
between the pre and post 16 phases gives them the opportunity to recover
from that under-achievement in a familiar and secure environment.
There are students who simply are not ready at 16 to face the challenges
of a large and relatively impersonal college or school. We believe, having
worked with our students for more than three years, that there is a place in
the system for our kind of provision.209
122. The Minister told us:
It is a power local authorities have. It is not a duty. The duty is to provide

alternative provision for those of compulsory school age to 16. There are 49
PRUs, alternative settings, that do have provision beyond the age of 16, but
that is a very small number compared to total provision settings. I am sure
this is something that we will look at, in terms of the alternative provision
review.210
123. It is extraordinary that the increase in the participation age was not accompanied
by statutory duties to provide post-16 alternative provision. Pupils neither stop being
ill at 16, nor do they stop being in need of additional support that would enable them
to access education. These pupils are being denied access to post-16 education because
the system is not designed or funded to accommodate their additional needs. There is
a clear will in the sector to provide post-16 education to pupils in alternative provision,
and a clear need on the part of pupils.
207 Q437 [Sue Morris-King]

208 Ms Joanne Southby (ALT 78) para 16; The CE Academy (ALT 14) para 22; Mr David Holloway OBE (ALT 47) para 9;
London East Alternative Provision (ALT 25) para 22
209 Wac Arts College (ALT 20) paras 3.2–3.3
210 Q506
124. Given the increase in participation age to 18, the Government must allocate
resources to ensure that local authorities and providers can provide post-16 support to
pupils, either in the form of outreach and support to colleges or by providing their own
post-16 alternative provision.
Conclusions and recommendations

What’s going wrong in mainstream schools?
1. The Timpson Exclusions Review should ensure that it looks at the trends in exclusion
by school type, location and pupil demographics. (Paragraph 18)
2. The Timpson Exclusions Review should examine whether financial pressures and
accountability measures in schools are preventing schools from providing early
intervention support and contributing to the exclusion crisis. (Paragraph 20)
3. The evidence we have seen suggests that the rise in so called ‘zero-tolerance’
behaviour policies is creating school environments where pupils are punished and
ultimately excluded for incidents that could and should be managed within the
mainstream school environment. (Paragraph 25)
4. The Government should issue guidance to all schools reminding them of their
responsibilities to children under treaty obligations and ensure that their behaviour
policies are in line with these responsibilities. (Paragraph 26)
5. The Government and Ofsted should introduce an inclusion measure or criteria that
sits within schools to incentivise schools to be more inclusive. (Paragraph 27)
6. We do not think that Ofsted should take sole responsibility for tackling off-
rolling. Off-rolling is in part driven by school policies created by the Department
for Education. The Department cannot wash its hands of the issue, just as schools
cannot wash their hands of their pupils. (Paragraph 34)
7. An unfortunate and unintended consequence of the Government’s strong focus on

school standards has led to school environments and practices that have resulted
in disadvantaged children being disproportionately excluded, which includes a
curriculum with a lack of focus on developing pupils’ social and economic capital.
There appears to be a lack of moral accountability on the part of many schools and
no incentive to, or deterrent to not, retain pupils who could be classed as difficult or
challenging. (Paragraph 36)
8. We recommend that the Government should change the weighting of Progress 8 and
other accountability measures to take account of every pupil who had spent time at
a school, in proportion to the amount of time they spent there. This should be done
alongside reform of Progress 8 measures to take account of outliers and to incentivise
inclusivity. (Paragraph 37)
The process of exclusion and referral
9. The exclusions process is weighted in favour of schools and often leaves parents
and pupils navigating an adversarial system that should be supporting them.
(Paragraph 44)
10. Legislation should be amended at the next opportunity so that where Independent
Review Panels find in favour of the pupils, IRPs can direct a school to reinstate a pupil.
(Paragraph 45)
11. Where responsibility sits for excluded children in a local area has become very
ambiguous. The Timpson Exclusions Review needs to clarify whose responsibility it
is to ensure that excluded or off-rolled pupils are being properly educated. This could
be the local authority or it could be local school partnerships, but at the moment too
many pupils are falling through the net. (Paragraph 46)
12. When a pupil is excluded from school for more than five non-consecutive days in a school
year, the pupil and their parents or carers should be given access to an independent
advocate. This should happen both where pupils are internally or externally excluded
from school, or where the LA is arranging education due to illness. (Paragraph 47)
13. The Government should encourage the creation of more specialist alternative providers
that are able to meet the diverse needs of pupils with medical needs, including mental
health needs. (Paragraph 53)
14. There in an inexplicable lack of central accountability and direction. No one appears
to be aware of all the provision that is available, which impacts on both schools, local
authorities and parents. Unless all providers are required to notify the local authority
of their presence, not all schools or LAs will be able to make informed decisions
about placements. Without someone to take responsibility for co-ordinating and
publishing information about the local provision that is available, parents and pupils
will remain unable to fully participate in discussions about alternative provisions
referrals. (Paragraph 56)
15. All organisations offering alternative provision should be required to inform the local
authority in which they are based of their provision. The local authority should then
make the list of alternative providers operating in their local authority available to
schools and parents on their website. (Paragraph 57)
16. Pupil Referral Units, and other forms of alternative provision, should be renamed
to remove the stigma and stop parents being reluctant to send their pupils there.
We suggest that the Government seeks the advice of pupils who currently attend
alternative provision when developing this new terminology. Many have described
AP as specialist provision, offering children a more tailored, more personal education
that is more suited to their needs. (Paragraph 58)
17. Local authorities have statutory responsibilities to provide suitable education for
pupils and yet can have little oversight or scrutiny over decisions about exclusions
and placement decisions. This may be due to inadequate resourcing, which needs
to be addressed. We are also concerned by the lack of transparency about exclusion
rates that are available to parents about schools. (Paragraph 62)
18. We recommend that LAs are given appropriate powers to ensure that any child receive
the education they need, regardless of school type. (Paragraph 63)
19. Schools should publish their permanent and fixed term exclusion rates by year group
every term, including providing information about pupils with SEND and looked-
after children. Schools should also publish data on the number of pupils who have left
the school. (Paragraph 64)
20. Schools do not always have the capacity and specialist knowledge to have full
responsibility for the commissioning of long-term placements for pupils who will
often have complex needs. If, as we discussed in paragraph 52, local authorities
are unaware of provision in their area, they too do not always have enough
knowledge to make appropriate commissioning decisions. A fragmented approach
to commissioning responsibilities and a lack of oversight and scrutiny around
decisions means that pupils are being left vulnerable to inappropriate placement
decisions. (Paragraph 66)
21. The best Fair Access Protocols work well because they are local and understand the
needs of their communities. However, this is not always the case, and it is not right
that some schools can opt out of receiving pupils back to mainstream schools or
following the Fair Access Protocol. (Paragraph 71)
22. Government should issue clearer guidance on Fair Access Protocols to ensure that
schools understand and adhere to their responsibilities and encourage reintegration
where appropriate. No school should be able to opt-out and if necessary either the
local authority or the DfE should have the power to direct a school to adhere to their
local Fair Access Protocol. (Paragraph 72)
23. There should be greater oversight of exclusions and the commissioning of alternative
provision for all pupils by the local authority. These children need a champion, and
schools need both challenge and support. (Paragraph 76)
24. There should be a senior person in each local authority who is responsible for protecting
the interests and promoting the educational achievement of pupils in alternative
provision, which is adequately resourced. This role and post-holder should be different
from that of the Virtual School Head for Looked-After Children. (Paragraph 77)
What does good alternative provision look like?
25. Government should collect best practice and provide dedicated resources and guidance
to schools to improve behaviour and reduce exclusion and develop appropriately
resourced Learning Support Units. This guidance should include that all LSUs are
staffed by at least one qualified teacher. The Government should also investigate the
practice of placing students in isolation units. (Paragraph 87)
26. Ofsted should carry out thematic inspections of in-school alternative provision.
(Paragraph 88)
27. All trainee teachers, in order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status, should be required
to undertake a placement outside of mainstream education, for example in a special
school or in alternative provision. (Paragraph 96)
28. We do not consider that there are sufficient checks on unregistered providers. If pupils
are placed in unregistered provision, without sufficient oversight, their education
and safety is put at risk. We are not convinced that the quality and consistency of
oversight is enough not to require there to be registration and regulation across the
sector. (Paragraph 109)
29. No pupil should be educated in unregistered provision for more than two days a week.
The Government, Ofsted and independent school inspectorates should consider how
this may affect different forms of alternative provision so that where providers want to
accept pupils for more than two days a week, they are able to register and be subject to
a suitable inspection and regulation regime. Schools that commission any alternative
provision should be responsible for the quality of that provision. (Paragraph 110)
30. Mainstream schools should be more proactive in their engagement with alternative
provision. All mainstream schools should be ‘buddied’ with an alternative provision
school to share expertise and offer alternative provision teachers and pupils
opportunities to access teaching and learning opportunities. (Paragraph 113)
Successful outcomes and destinations
31. This framework should take into account the fragmented educational journey that
these pupils will have had, and enable schools to demonstrate all the achievements
of their pupils. We urge the Government to ensure that it uses the very broadest of
measures, including softer skills that pupils have developed as well as harder outcomes
like apprenticeship take up. (Paragraph 119)
32. It is extraordinary that the increase in the participation age was not accompanied by
statutory duties to provide post-16 alternative provision. Pupils neither stop being ill
at 16, nor do they stop being in need of additional support that would enable them to
access education. These pupils are being denied access to post-16 education because
the system is not designed or funded to accommodate their additional needs. There
is a clear will in the sector to provide post-16 education to pupils in alternative
provision, and a clear need on the part of pupils. (Paragraph 123)
33. Given the increase in participation age to 18, the Government must allocate resources
to ensure that local authorities and providers can provide post-16 support to pupils,
either in the form of outreach and support to colleges or by providing their own post-16
alternative provision. (Paragraph 124)
Formal minutes
Wednesday 18 July 2018
Members present:
Robert Halfon, in the Chair
Lucy Allan Ian Mearns

Emma Hardy Lucy Powell
Draft Report (Forgotten children: alternative provision and the scandal of ever increasing
exclusions) proposed by the Chair, brought up and read.
Ordered, That the Chair’s draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraphs 1 to 124 read and agreed to.
Summary agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report be the Fifth Report of the Committee to the House.
Ordered, That the Chair make the Report to the House.
Ordered, That embargoed copies of the Report be made available (Standing Order No.
134).
[Adjourned till 11 September 2018 at 9.30 am

Witnesses
The following witnesses gave evidence. Transcripts can be viewed on the inquiry publications
page of the Committee’s website.
Tuesday 21 November 2017
Professor David Berridge, Professor of Child & Family Welfare, University

of Bristol, Kiran Gill, Founder, The Difference, and Philip Nye, Researcher,
Education Datalab Q1–47
Tuesday 6 February 2018
Matthew Dodd, Co-coordinator and Policy Advisor, Special Educational

Consortium, Cath Kitchen, Chair, National Association of Hospital and
Home Teaching, and Jane Pickthall, Chair, National Association of Virtual
School Heads Q48–81
Dr Val Gillies, Professor of Social Policy and Criminology, University of
Westminster, Kevin Kibble, CEO, The Nurture Group Network, and Drew
Povey, Headteacher, Harrop Fold School Q82–113
Tuesday 6 March 2018
Claire George, Head of Service, Peterborough Pupil Referral Service, Ralph

Holloway, Transformation of SEN Service Manager, Essex County Council,
and David Whitaker, Founding Member, Headteachers’ Roundtable Q114–173
Colin Jeffrey, Fairbridge and Achieve Programme Manager, The Prince’s
Trust, Emma Bradshaw, Headteacher, The Limes College, Chaz Watson,
Director, SILC Training, and Joanne Southby, Executive Head, London
South East Academies Trust Q174–220
Tuesday 20 March 2018
Private session with young people and parents with experience of

alternative provision
Q221–360
Tuesday 17 April 2018
Jules Daulby, Director of Education, Driver Youth Trust, Dr Louise Gazeley,

Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Sussex, and Dr Marion Gillooly,
Head of Strategic Development & Innovation, Includem Q361–407
Tuesday 1 May 2018
Stuart Gallimore, President, Association of Directors of Children’s Services,

Sue Morris-King, Senior HMI, Ofsted, and Kevin Courtney, Joint General
Secretary, NEU Q408–443
Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister for School Standards, Department for
Education Q444–545
Published written evidence

The following written evidence was received and can be viewed on the inquiry publications
page of the Committee’s website.
ALT numbers are generated by the evidence processing system and so may not be complete.
1 Acorn Academy Cornwall (ALT0024)
2 ADCS (ALT0039)
3 Anonymous 2 (ALT0011)
4 Anonymous 4 (ALT0105)
5 AP Network (ALT0072)
6 Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ALT0060)
7 Association of Colleges (ALT0071)
8 Association of Educational Psychologists (ALT0068)
9 Association of School and College Leaders (ALT0090)
10 Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (ALT0055)
11 Bridge Short Stay School (ALT0023)
12 Catch22 (ALT0063)
13 Centre for Social Justice (ALT0092)
14 Chaselea PRU (ALT0028)
15 Circles Alt Ed Ltd (ALT0018)
16 CLIC Sargent (ALT0037)
17 Department for Education (ALT0058)
18 Dr Pat Thomson (ALT0056)
19 Driver Youth Trust (ALT0081)
20 Education Links (ALT0059)
21 Essex County Council (ALT0084)
22 Essex County Council (ALT0097)
23 Essex Youth Offending Service (ALT0066)
24 Essex Youthbuild (ALT0051)
25 ForcesWatch (ALT0095)
26 Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (ALT0086)
27 Headteachers’ Roundtable (ALT0013)
28 Hospital and Outreach Education (ALT0021)
29 Independent Parental Special Education Advice (ALT0074)
30 Individio Media Limited (ALT0085)
31 Lancashire PRU Headteachers (ALT0036)
32 Leeds City College (ALT0053)
33 Leeds City Council (ALT0027)
34 Leeds City Council (ALT0050)

35 Leyland St. James’ CE (Aided) Primary School Inclusion Services (ALT0009)
36 LKMco (ALT0062)
37 London East Alternative Provision (ALT0025)
38 London South East Academies Trust (ALT0043)
39 Manchester Metropolitan University (ALT0087)
40 Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland (ALT0102)
41 Ministry of Education and Research, Norway (ALT0101)
42 Ministry of Education and Research, Sweden (ALT0106)
43 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (ALT0099)
44 Ministry of Education, Singapore (ALT0100)
45 Ministry of National Education, Poland (ALT0103)
46 Moat House PRU (ALT0038)
47 Mr David Holloway OBE (ALT0047)
48 Mr John Reilly (ALT0003)
49 Mr John Watkin (ALT0045)
50 Mr Paul Devereux (ALT0064)
51 Mrs Liz Hyman (ALT0083)
52 Mrs Lorraine Thompson (ALT0067)
53 Mrs Lynn Watson (ALT0035)
54 Ms Diana Robinson (ALT0016)
55 Ms Joanne Southby (ALT0078)
56 Nacro (ALT0069)
57 NAHT (ALT0029)
58 NASUWT (ALT0057)
59 National Association of Hospital and Home Teaching (ALT0031)
60 National Association of Virtual School Heads (ALT0061)
61 National Education Union (ALT0041)
62 New Schools Network (ALT0042)
63 NISAI (ALT0065)
64 North Herts Education Support Centre (ALT0022)
65 Nottingham Centre for Children, Young People and Families, Nottingham Trent
University (ALT0052)
66 Nurture Group Network (ALT0040)
67 Office of the Children’s Commissioner (ALT0079)
68 Ofsted (ALT0091)
69 Open Road West Norfolk Trust (ALT0096)
70 Pavilion Study Centre (ALT0019)
71 Pendlebury centre PRU (ALT0012)

72 Peterborough Pupil Referral Service (ALT0030)
73 Pool Academy (ALT0098)
74 Pool Academy (ALT0104)
75 PRUSAP (ALT0017)
76 Red Balloon Learner Centre Group (ALT0048)
77 Red Balloon Learner Centre Group (ALT0049)
78 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (ALT0044)
79 SCHOOLS NorthEast (ALT0089)
80 Special Educational Consortium (ALT0093)
81 SSCYP (ALT0005)
82 St Georges Academy (ALT0070)
83 TBAP Multi Academy trust (ALT0046)
84 Teens and Toddlers (ALT0033)
85 The CE Academy (ALT0014)
86 The Difference (ALT0094)
87 The Engage Trust (ALT0032)
88 The Hawkswood Group (ALT0026)
89 The Limes College (ALT0008)
90 The Prince’s Trust (ALT0082)
91 TLG - Transforming Lives for Good (ALT0088)
92 Tute Education Limited (ALT0073)
93 Wac Arts College (ALT0020)
94 YMCA Training (ALT0034)
95 Young Enterprise (ALT0080)
List of Reports from the Committee

during the current Parliament
All publications from the Committee are available on the publications page of the
Committee’s website. The reference number of the Government’s response to each Report
is printed in brackets after the HC printing number.
Session 2017–19
First Report Fostering HC 340

Cm 9662
Second Report The future of the Social Mobility Commission HC 866
Cm 9619
Third Report The Government’s Green Paper on mental health: HC 642
failing a generation: First Joint Report of the
Education and Health and Social Care Committees
of Session 2017–19
Fourth Report Appointment of the Chair of the Social Mobility HC 1048
Commission
First Special Report Children and young people’s mental health—the HC 451
role of education: Government Response to the
First Joint Report of the Education and Health
Committees of Session 2016–17
Second Special Report Apprenticeships: Government Response to the HC 450
Second Joint Report of Session 2016–17
Third Special Report Multi-academy trusts: Government Response to the HC 452
Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2016–17
Fourth Special Report Exiting the EU: challenges and opportunities for HC 502
higher education: Government Response to the
Committee’s Ninth Report of Session 2016–17
Fifth Special Report Primary assessment: Government Response to the HC 501
Committee’s Eleventh Report of Session 2016–17
Sixth Special Report Evidence check: Grammar schools: Government HC 623
Response to the Committee’s Fourth Report of
Session 2016–17

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House of Commons

Report, together with formal minutes relating

Ordered by the House of Commons

Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP (Conservative, Harlow) (Chair)

Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website at

All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Education

2 What’s going wrong in mainstream schools? 8

3 The process of exclusion and referral 15

4 What does good alternative provision look like? 25

5 Successful outcomes and destinations 36

Conclusions and recommendations 40

Published written evidence 46

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 49

Mainstream schools should be bastions of inclusion, and intentionally or not, this is

A Bill of Rights for pupils facing exclusion

• Schools should not rush to exclude pupils: schools should be inclusive.

• Independent Review Panels should be able to direct a school to reinstate

Young person with experience of alternative provision

1 DfE, Alternative provision, January 2013

6. Subsequently, in January 2017, the Government published a literature review,

2 DfE, Improving alternative provision, March 2012

provision.11 We visited Newhaven School, a PRU in Greenwich, where we spoke to pupils,

2 What’s going wrong in mainstream

Parent of a pupil with experience of alternative provision

The rise in exclusions and pupils being educated in alternative

• Permanent, where a pupil is unable to stay at their current school;

Many pupils in alternative provision haven’t been excluded. These include:

12 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017, pp 12–13

17. We acknowledge that throughout this report we reference ‘mainstream schools’

16 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017, p 7

The causes of an increase in exclusions and referrals to alternative

A lack of early intervention and support

28 Manchester Metropolitan University (ALT 87) para 1.1.4

23. We have heard that there is an increase in zero-tolerance behaviour policies,

24. While it would be reasonable of schools to take a zero-tolerance approach to drugs

An increase in mental health needs

Off-rolling, Progress 8 and a narrowing curriculum.

thinking about the institution instead of thinking about the child. [ … ] If

It can be argued that Progress 8 is a more inclusive standard in that it

3 The process of exclusion and referral

Parent of a pupil with experience of alternative provision

School powers and pupils’ and parents’ rights

63 Peterborough Pupil Referral Service (ALT 30) para 2.1

66 Nacro (ALT 69) para 1.2

Children getting to the right place at the right time

The right place

improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ provision.78 Of the alternative provision in the independent

78 IPPR, Making the Difference, October 2017 p 35

The right time

placements. Without someone to take responsibility for co-ordinating and publishing

• Any permanent exclusion;

88 Pendlebury Centre PRU (ALT 12) para 1.6

62. Local authorities have statutory responsibilities to provide suitable education

Commissioning of alternative provision

93 NASUWT (ALT 57) para 16; NEU (ALT 41) para 13

Fair Access Protocols

I think there is almost a misunderstanding or a lack of willingness to

98 Ofsted, Alternative Provision, February 2016, p 28

2 What’s going wrong in mainstream schools? 8

3 The process of exclusion and referral 15

4 What does good alternative provision look like? 25

5 Successful outcomes and destinations 36

Conclusions and recommendations 40

Published written evidence 46

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 49