How Schools Can Monitor Pupils Placed in Alternative Provision

Your responsibilities do not stop at the school gate

When a pupil starts in alternative provision, it can feel as though they have moved out of the school’s day-to-day view. But in most cases the pupil stays on your roll, and your responsibilities continue. Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is clear that schools remain responsible for the safeguarding of pupils placed with AP providers, and the DfE’s statutory guidance on alternative provision expects commissioners to monitor placements and review them regularly.

Tracking pupils in alternative provision well is about four things: knowing where they are, knowing they are safe, knowing they are making progress, and knowing what happens next.

1. Know where every pupil is, every session

Attendance is the most important daily check. Agree with the provider that attendance will be shared every session, not at the end of the week, and that any unexplained absence will be reported straight away so it can be followed up the same day. A pupil who does not arrive at AP may be at risk.

Make sure your own register uses the correct code for pupils attending off-site provision. Pupils at provision arranged by the school are usually recorded as attending an approved educational activity, while different codes apply where the local authority has arranged the education. Check the current DfE attendance guidance and make sure attendance staff know which code to use.

2. Make sure safeguarding information flows both ways

Before the placement starts, share the safeguarding information the provider needs, with their designated safeguarding lead, on a need-to-know basis. Obtain written confirmation that the provider has carried out the appropriate safeguarding checks on its staff, as KCSIE requires.

During the placement, agree how and how quickly the provider will share concerns with your DSL, and how your DSL will share relevant updates back. A concern raised at AP on a Tuesday afternoon should not wait for an end-of-term report.

3. Track progress against clear objectives

Every placement should have objectives agreed at the start. Ask the provider for regular progress updates against those objectives, including:

• attendance compared with before the placement
• engagement and behaviour
• progress in English and maths
• qualifications being worked towards and achieved
• wellbeing and personal development, such as confidence and social skills

4. Visit and quality assure the provision

Quality assurance of AP should include visits, both planned and unannounced where appropriate. During a visit, talk to the pupil, see them learning, check the timetable matches what was agreed, look at how attendance and safeguarding are recorded, and agree any actions. Record what you found and follow up any actions at the next visit. Many local authorities run their own quality assurance processes for providers in their area, so it is worth finding out what already exists.

5. Keep the timetable under control

Timetables in AP often change – sessions are added, days move, or a placement is reduced as a pupil reintegrates. Every change should be agreed and recorded, with the date it takes effect, so that everyone knows where the pupil should be on any given day. Unrecorded changes are one of the most common causes of confusion about a pupil’s whereabouts.

6. Review regularly and plan the exit

Hold review meetings at agreed intervals with the provider, the family and the young person. Ask whether the objectives are being met, whether the placement should continue, change or end, and what the next step is. Placements without a review date tend to drift. Every pupil should have a clear exit plan, whether that is a return to school, a move to a specialist setting or a transition to post-16 education, employment or training.

7. Report to leaders and governors

Senior leaders and governors should know how many pupils are in AP, where they are, how well they are attending and whether placements are working. Inspectors will ask about this too. A short, regular report covering attendance, safeguarding, progress and costs gives leaders the oversight they need.

A simple monitoring checklist

• attendance received every session, with same-day follow-up of absence
• written confirmation of the provider’s staff checks on file
• an agreed route for sharing safeguarding concerns with your DSL
• regular progress updates against the placement objectives
• quality assurance visits recorded, with actions followed up
• timetable changes agreed and dated
• review dates set and an exit plan in place

How ReferralMS helps schools monitor AP

ReferralMS gives schools a live view of every pupil they have placed in alternative provision. Providers record session-by-session attendance with DfE codes, and schools can see it straight away. Safeguarding concerns raised by the provider reach the school securely. Timetable changes are proposed and agreed online with a dated record, quality assurance visits can be logged with follow-up actions, and progress and outcomes are kept alongside each placement – ready for review meetings, governors and inspection.