The role of alternative provision is set to be a key focus of the Conservatives amid concerns about the outcomes of white working-class boys and the number of young people not in education or work.

Shadow education minister Saqib Bhatti said that the party wants to ensure that it is understood why pupils are in AP and that the provision is tailored to meet their needs.

He was speaking at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party conference, taking place in Manchester, which was asking “What are the barriers to giving every child the best start in life?”

Alternative provision

Mr Bhatti said that he recognised the challenge around the outcomes of white working-class boys, “that actually they are significantly not in education, employment or training (Neet) [and] that’s been exacerbated in a post-Covid world”.

He added that there was a need to make sure that “we get young, especially white working-class boys, back into education; if they are in an alternative provision, let’s look at the fundamental issue of why that is”.

Mr Bhatti, who was speaking last night, talked about ensuring that pupils’ needs are met in the context of the numbers of young people who are classed as Neet.

He added: “I think there is a huge amount of work to be done for those in need. We should also recognise that sometimes that overlaps with special educational needs, sometimes that overlaps with making sure that the standards of behaviour in school are enforced in the right way.”

Mr Bhatti said that when pupils do end up in AP it should be a tailored offering that recognises their needs.

‘Fit for the 21st century’

He added: “But, of course, that comes with a cost, and so one thing I’ll certainly be working on with [shadow education secretary] Laura Trott is around looking at what AP looks like, and how we try and get young children fit for the 21st century.”

When the panel host at the meeting, Teacher Tapp founder Laura McInerney, asked whether the Conservatives’ focus on alternative provision was being driven by worries about cost, Mr Bhatti responded: “No, I am worried that there is an area that we now need to focus on and try to get the standard up in that area, so I think the cost to society is too high to leave that untouched.”

During the event Mr Bhatti was also asked whether he would support the reported plan for a mandatory reading test to be brought in for students in Year 8.

He said: “I think I need to be convinced that having further testing at that age was going to deliver higher standards.

“I think this kind of piecemeal stuff from the government is not good - we left them an inheritance of some of the highest standards in the world.”

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