IQM Guest Writer
Lisa Ingleby – Inclusive Provision and Pastoral Support Lead at Education Durham/Durham County Council
“Learn about the key actions taken by Education Durham at Durham County Council to ensure quality of provision for children and young people when accessing alternative provision which is unregistered.”
My role includes full oversight of the use of alternative provision by schools across County Durham, including the development and implementation of a quality assurance framework to monitor curriculum provision by referring schools. This also includes developing inclusive practices within alternative provision through collaborative work with other local authorities. I have extensive experience of leading pastoral provision within secondary and special schools at a senior level including supporting our schools who demonstrate excellent inclusive practices, to achieve the Inclusion Quality Mark.
The use of Alternative Provision by schools across County Durham to enhance the curriculum for a child or young person, or to support their sustainment in mainstream provision, has developed significantly over the last two years. One of the main routes into alternative provision is following a permanent exclusion which is a traumatic experience for a child or young person and their parents and carers. This meant that parents and carers held certain connotations regarding alternative provision which brought them apprehension. Communication with professionals in school and from outside agencies can sometimes prove difficult as sometimes parents and carers can feel overwhelmed, especially when they feel that the needs of their child or young person are not being met. Stability across relationships and expectations is therefore crucial. We developed our referral process used by schools to refer the child or young person into alternative provision which provide the parent/carer and child/young person with a voice as their views are requested. Involvement in induction has been particularly positive with parents and carers visiting provisions with their child prior to confirmation of start dates, meeting staff informally to begin to establish a relationship.
The working partnerships between the provisions and our schools has resulted in some sophisticated educational packages to meet complex needs of children and young people. The scale of the provision could be considered to place a restriction on the level of expertise of staff and therefore the breadth of curriculum. The uniqueness of the offer from each provider and bespoke accreditation which is regularly not available in schools is celebrated as a strength. There are no minimum requirements in terms of curriculum offer for providers to be placed in our Directory of Alternative Provision. Children and young people appreciate the choice of curriculum in alternative provision with connections made between enthusiasm for learning and positive behaviour choices. A vocational curriculum and therapeutic approaches offered by some of our providers help children and young people find a focus for the future, allowing them to appreciate the importance of the academic offer delivered via their home school.
Prior to placement in alternative provision, the rationale for placement articulated through the referral form will be based on the interest and skill of the child or young person. Once the placement starts, the expectation is that there is regular monitoring by schools to ensure that a broad and balanced curriculum is delivered through the child or young person attending both their home school and the provision. When considering positive reintegration practice, relationships between schools and providers are fundamental. Where children and young people have experienced positive relationships between their school and their provider, they experience a greater sense of belonging. This has resulted in effective reintegration of children and young people back into their home school on a full-time basis in significant numbers especially at Key Stage 3.
We consider our alternative provision providers to be one of our education partners. It is important that alternative provision is valued by schools to best support children and young people, not just sharing information but also assuming joint responsibility. This can be as simple as viewing alternative provision as a solution. It can also involve opportunities for school staff to visit the different settings and develop a better understanding of their offer and develop a mutually dependent relationship. This ensures the children and young people are placed in a provision which is a match for their academic, social, and emotional needs. This has been pivotal in reducing the number of moves which a child or young person could experience when placed in alternative provision. However, our expectation remains the same, the time they spend in the provision should be time limited and reintegration back into school is managed well. This underpins our ethos as an Education Team that children and young people remain in the school within their community.