If your child cannot attend mainstream school full-time, alternative provision (AP) may be an option worth understanding.
What is alternative provision?
Alternative provision refers to education arranged by local authorities or schools for pupils who need a different setting or approach to learning.
Children might need AP for a range of reasons. These include behavioural difficulties, social or emotional challenges, medical conditions, refusal to attend school, exclusion, or other personal circumstances that make mainstream school unsuitable at that time.
The Government’s official definition states that AP is education arranged by local authorities for children of compulsory school age who would not otherwise receive suitable education due to exclusion, illness, or other reasons. Schools can also arrange AP for pupils on suspension or direct them to offsite education designed to improve their behaviour.
What are the main types of alternative provision?
Alternative provision comes in different forms. Common examples include Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), online or blended learning platforms that allow children to study from home, and specialist providers focused on needs such as mental health support, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or vocational skills training.
1. Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)
PRUs are local authority-maintained centres that provide education for children who cannot attend mainstream school. They typically offer a structured, classroom-based environment and can be a good fit for children who benefit from face-to-face teaching and peer interaction, but who need a smaller, more supportive setting than a traditional school can provide.
2. Online and blended learning
Online or blended learning platforms allow children to study from home, or to combine remote learning with some in-person support. This can be well suited to children who experience anxiety around school environments, those with physical health conditions, or families who need greater flexibility around location or routine.
TLC LIVE Online School, for example, delivers live, timetabled lessons in a virtual classroom, giving children real-time access to qualified teachers without the pressures of a physical school setting.
3. Specialist providers
Some children require provision that goes beyond academic support. Specialist providers may focus on mental health and emotional wellbeing, SEND, or vocational and practical skills training. These settings are often the right choice when a child’s barriers to learning are complex and require a more tailored, therapeutic, or skills-based approach.
How to choose the right type of alternative provision
There is no single answer that fits every child. Factors to consider include how your child responds to social environments, whether they have any diagnosed or emerging needs, the level of flexibility required around their health or home life, and what your local authority can fund or support.
Many families find it helpful to trial a particular type of AP before committing, and to keep communication open between the provider, the child and any professionals involved in their care.
Below, we’ve set out when AP might be appropriate, what options are available, and what to expect from the process.
Who is alternative provision for?
Alternative provision is not designed for just one type of young person. It supports children and teenagers who, for various reasons, need education delivered in a different way or setting. Here are the main groups who might benefit:
1. Pupils with behavioural or emotional needs
Some young people experience difficulties with behaviour or emotional regulation in a school environment. This may lead to repeated exclusions, low engagement with lessons, or difficulty forming positive relationships with staff and other pupils.
Alternative provision settings often provide more individualised support and smaller class sizes or even specific therapeutic schools. This can help pupils re-engage with learning in a supportive setting with closer teacher attention.
2. Pupils with SEND
While mainstream schools must make reasonable adjustments for pupils with SEND, some learners need a more specialist approach. Alternative provision can offer targeted support for needs such as autism, ADHD, speech and language difficulties, or learning difficulties, especially where these needs are linked with social, emotional, or behavioural challenges.
3. Pupils at risk of exclusion
For some children, AP can act as a preventative measure. Rather than waiting until a young person is permanently excluded, a school might refer them to an alternative provider on a part-time basis. This can help them manage their behaviour, build resilience, and stay engaged in education while maintaining links with their mainstream school.
4. Pupils who are school refusers or missing from education
Some pupils experience persistent difficulties attending school, often due to anxiety, bullying, trauma, or complex home circumstances. Alternative provision can be a crucial stepping stone to help them re-engage with education in a way that feels safe and manageable, gradually rebuilding their confidence and attendance.
At TLC LIVE Online School, for example, we work with pupils who’ve found mainstream attendance difficult, offering live, small-group online lessons that let them re-engage with learning from a place where they feel safe.
How to get alternative provision for your child
Accessing AP typically involves collaboration between schools, parents or carers, and the local authority. The process can vary depending on your child’s circumstances, but there are several main routes:
1. School-led referrals
A school may decide to place a pupil in off-site provision to support behaviour, mental health, or learning engagement. This arrangement can be short-term or long-term, and either part-time, where your child continues attending mainstream school for some lessons, or full-time.
The school should discuss this option with you before making any arrangements and explain why it believes AP would benefit your child.
2. Local authority placements
If your child has been permanently excluded from school or is not currently on a school roll, the local authority becomes responsible for arranging suitable education. This is often provided through a PRU or another AP setting.
The local authority has a legal duty to ensure your child receives an appropriate education, and it should arrange this provision promptly.
3. SEND-related placements
Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may be placed in AP where it is named as part of their official provision. This happens when the assessment process identifies that mainstream school, even with support, cannot fully meet your child’s needs. Parents should be involved in any decision to place a child in AP. In most cases, you must give consent for the move, particularly if it involves a change to your child’s main place of education.
You have the right to ask questions about why AP is being suggested, what it will involve, and how it will support your child’s education and wellbeing.
What are the outcomes for pupils in AP?
There is growing recognition of the positive impact that AP can have in a young person’s life. While outcomes have historically been mixed, high-quality AP settings are now achieving strong outcomes, not just academically, but in helping pupils rebuild their confidence and reconnect with learning.
Successful placements can support young people to gain qualifications such as GCSEs or vocational awards, opening doors to further opportunities:
- Return to mainstream school with improved confidence and better strategies for managing challenges
- Move on to further education, apprenticeships, or employment with the skills and qualifications they need
- Build stronger relationships and coping strategies that support them both in and out of education
- Feel seen and supported in a way that may not have been possible in a mainstream setting
Success in AP doesn’t look the same for every child, and that’s the point. For some, it might mean returning to mainstream school. For others, it might mean finding a vocational pathway that suits them. What matters most is that your child is safe, engaged, and making progress in a way that works for them.
Finding the right path for your child
Alternative provision exists because there is no single version of education that suits every child. Whether your child is struggling with their mental health, has additional learning needs, has been excluded, or learns better in a different environment, AP can offer a meaningful route forward.
If you are a parent trying to understand your options, it can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to navigate this alone. Understanding that AP exists, what it looks like, and how it is accessed is a great first step in finding the right support for your child.
If you’d like to talk through whether our approach might suit your child, get in touch with our team today.
Written by Ryan Lockett, Headteacher at TLC LIVE Online School
FAQs about alternative provision
1. Is alternative provision the same as being excluded?
Not always. While exclusion is one reason a child might be placed in alternative provision, it is far from the only one. Children can access AP due to medical conditions, mental health needs, school refusal, SEND, or other circumstances that make mainstream school unsuitable at that time. AP is about finding the right educational setting for your child, not a punishment.
2. Does my child still have to follow the national curriculum in alternative provision?
Alternative provision settings are expected to provide a suitable education, but they are not always required to follow the full national curriculum in the same way a mainstream school would. That said, many AP providers, including online schools, do align their teaching to the national curriculum and offer recognised qualifications such as GCSEs, IGCSEs, and Functional Skills.
3. Can my child return to mainstream school after alternative provision?
Yes, and for many children that is the goal. AP can help young people rebuild their confidence, develop coping strategies, and re-engage with learning so that a return to mainstream school becomes possible. However, for some children, AP may be a longer-term arrangement, and that is equally valid if it is the right fit for their needs.
4. How long does alternative provision last?
This varies depending on your child’s circumstances. Some placements are short-term, designed to provide support while a child is on suspension or going through a difficult period. Others are longer-term arrangements for children whose needs cannot be met in a mainstream setting. The duration should be kept under regular review, with input from you as the parent or carer.
5. Who pays for alternative provision?
The cost of AP depends on how it is arranged. If your child’s school refers them to AP, the school typically funds the placement. If the local authority arranges provision following a permanent exclusion, they are responsible for the cost. For children with an EHCP, the provision named in the plan should be funded accordingly. It is worth asking your school or local authority directly about funding arrangements in your child’s specific situation.
6. Do I have a say in which alternative provision my child uses?
Yes. Parents should be consulted before any AP placement is made, particularly where it involves a change to your child’s main place of education. You have the right to ask questions, understand the reasons for the placement, and be involved in the decision. If your child has an EHCP, your rights are even more clearly defined within the SEND framework.
7. Is online school a recognised form of alternative provision?
Yes. Online education can be a legitimate and effective form of alternative provision, particularly for children with anxiety, medical conditions, or other needs that make attending a physical school difficult. Providers such as TLC LIVE Online School offer live, timetabled lessons delivered by qualified teachers, and can be accessed as part of a formally arranged AP placement or privately by families seeking a different approach.