A major investigation by Ofsted into the use of alternative provision will not result in judgements being made about individual areas of the country, the watchdog has said today.
The inspectorate has published new guidance on how it will review alternative provision for a new report being published later this year.
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission will carry out a thematic review of AP as part of their new framework for SEND area inspections.
It will do this by carrying out visits to a small number of areas in England to investigate AP in depth.
The watchdog said it will not be making judgements about the areas chosen during these visits, but will share findings in a national report to be published this autumn.
Its findings will list the local areas visited, but Ofsted said it will not attribute findings to individual areas unless those areas agree to be identified.
The visits will take place across the spring and summer terms, and the inspectorate said that all types of AP may be examined during the visits.
Purpose of the Ofsted AP visits
Ofsted said that its visits will aim to find out the extent to which alternative provision is meeting the health, care and/or education needs of children and young people.
The watchdog also wants to “better understand the purposes for which alternative provision is used”.
The other purposes listed by the inspectorate are to identify the enablers and barriers to local area partners working together to commission and oversee alternative provision placements, and to highlight good practice in commissioning and oversight arrangements for alternative provision.
Who will Ofsted gather evidence from?
The new guidance says inspectors will gather evidence from a range of stakeholders.
They will seek to understand the experiences of:
- Children and young people and their families, including pupils attending alternative provision or receiving alternative provision outreach services
- Children and young people who have stopped receiving alternative provision in the last six months
- Children and young people who are on the roll of an AP provider but not attending
- Organisations that commission, or support the commissioning of, alternative provision
- Organisations that are involved in area-wide strategic planning for alternative provision
- Providers and practitioners who deliver alternative provision or services to children in alternative provision
Lee Owston, Ofsted’s national director for education: said “The current SEND system is not working for too many young people and their families, and we want to play our part in driving forward much-needed improvement.
“We know that the majority of children and young people in alternative provision have some form of SEND. But all too often alternative provision is being used for purposes that it was not originally intended to serve.
“These visits will help us to better understand how alternative provision is working for those who rely on it most, and support the sector in meeting growing demand. They will also highlight any areas that need to be improved.
“We hope that these thematic reviews will provide valuable insights as the government develops its plans for reform of alternative provision. They will also help support partners across education, health and social care to work together in delivering important improvements for children and their families.”
