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<p>The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent
by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England
for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a
Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning
arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the
provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.</p><p>The
department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns
that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP
they use and ensuring that it is safe.</p><p>The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory
guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered
where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience
and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility
for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives
and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.</p><p>Some
local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’
provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary,
safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc.
These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior
to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high
quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.</p><p>‘Keeping
children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges
must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare
of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where
a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding
of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil.
Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding
checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example,
those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.</p><p>Ofsted
does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal
investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally
as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent
school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or
one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section
97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect
the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.</p><p>The School Inspection
Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well
a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including
in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023</a>.
Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the
inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process.
A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is
making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of
a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking
responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.</p><p>From January 2023, Ofsted is
inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational
Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states
that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered
and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs.
The Handbook can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook</a>.</p>
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