The role of Alternative Provision is to provide children and young people with another education setting that may suit their current needs, that provides:

• Early and short-term intervention to support pupils in their school or in placements between schools and AP;
• Education in the local community;
• Pupil centred interventions to ensure engagement in a curriculum that is appropriate and includes core subjects;
• Flexible support, according to need and which considers the whole child within their family context;
• Opportunities for pupils to develop positive relationships, build resilience and emotional wellbeing;
• Range of approaches, strategies, and skills to enable pupils to reintegrate into mainstream school as soon as possible.

Alternative Provision is for children and young people who are:

• At risk of being permanently excluded.
• Permanently excluded and need an education setting until the pupil is placed in a new school or setting.
• In need of targeted and specific in/outreach support and early intervention.
• Struggling to have their needs met in the current setting and the AP can temporarily meet the needs while other provision is being sourced.

In order to complete this referral, you will need:

• Evidence of parent/carer consent. 
• The voice of the child or young person and parent/carer.
• Supporting documentation on assessments and/or interventions and their impact.
• Current risk assessment(s).
• A named designated Professional Lead and their contact details. This individual will be responsible for the referral and monitoring progress throughout the placement.

If you have any queries or questions about this referral form, please contact [email protected].

Referral forms

Alternative Provision Referral Form
Consent Form
Risk Assessment

Important updates

• Please note that although AP providers have 15 days to respond following receipt of referrals, this does not mean we will have an outcome to share with you after 15 days. We progress as many consults with providers as we can, based on the information received within a referral. This can take longer than 15 days, for example when further information is requested. For referrals received between 1 and 15 Jan 2024 you can usually expect to hear by 15 Feb 2024. For those received between 16 and 31 Jan 2024 you can usually expect to hear by 28 Feb 2024.
• Please note incomplete referrals will be returned. In addition, we will not progress a referral without the completed Consent Form which should be sent with your completed referral. We may also request further information from you. If we do not receive this within 5 working days from sending the request to you, we will assume you no longer wish to progress the referral.