One in three alternative provision (AP) schools can only estimate the number of pupils on their rolls, the children’s commissioner for England has warned.
Dame Rachel de Souza’s report on the special and alternative provision sector found AP settings “do not know their pupils well – and know them less well than special and mainstream school settings”.
The sector is also “shouldering the burden of deep-rooted social problems without being given the full information or support they need”, she warned.
About 2 per cent of England’s pupils are educated in special schools and alternative provision in England. There are 334 AP settings in England.
Information obtained by de Souza’s office from schools found almost a third of APs (29 per cent) could only estimate the number of pupils on their rolls.
Seventy per cent could only estimate the number of pupils on waiting lists for mental health support, while 67 per cent could only estimate the number of pupils living in unsuitable accommodation.
‘Crucial role’ of AP
While this could be because many children attend temporarily, the report says, “given the crucial role of AP in helping children re-engage with education, they need to know their children and share information to provide the support they need to achieve this”.
The children’s commissioner has called for poverty and social care support to be embedded in AP settings, as well as improved data integration through a “pupil unique ID system”.
“Despite the efforts of the brilliant and skilled professionals who work there, special schools and alternative provision settings are shouldering the burden of deep-rooted social problems without being given the full information or support they need,” said de Souza.
“Too many assumptions are made about these children, and too little is known about the challenges they face beyond the school gates.”
Of the settings surveyed, 67 per cent listed poverty as their top concern, with a third operating in the most deprived school areas in England.
These schools are more likely to provide food, as well as mental health counselling, to their pupils, but have fewer enrichment activities, outdoor spaces and childcare facilities than mainstream schools, the report found.
A further 44 per cent of AP settings identified local area safety as a top issue, while 36 per cent said they were concerned about the aspirations of children in the area.
