Case study: Alternative programme

Consultancy to assess the extent to which action planned in response to a recent internal audit was being implemented and its likely impact.

Client Issue

Alternative Programmes had grown over a 4 year period in a relatively unplanned way from its original cohort of 6 pupils to approximately 370 in May 2005.

The “voluntary” nature of the offer was such that few, if any, of the students receive full-time (25 hours) provision. In addition, it was not clear that students from mainstream schools, for whom the AP brokers provision to augment their core curriculum offer, received their full entitlement.

The cost of the AP was high and impacted on the budgets of the authority, in meeting the cost of placements for permanently excluded students, and schools, in meeting the cost of augmented provision.

A recent internal audit identified weaknesses in:

    Financial management;

    Systems and procedures for referring students to alternative provision;

    Contractual arrangements with providers;

Quality assurance.

Greater clarity was required regarding the relationship between the AP and alternative provision commissioned through the 14-19 Strategy and BIP.

Project details

Key actions within the project were to:

Clarify the context within which the AP is delivered, e.g. EOTAS strategy, 14-19, BIP;

Consult with representative headteachers and existing providers regarding existing arrangements and options for improvement;

Evaluate the capacity of the existing management structure to deliver improvements and consider possible alternatives;

Make detailed proposals for the future organisation and management of the AP;

Support the development of a clear structure and related protocols by which to manage the Alternative Programme;

Assess the readiness of the BESD SILC to provide full-time education provision appropriate to the needs of the pupils concerned.

Outcomes

2 reports were produced. The first made detailed and comprehensive recommendations relating to:

The focus, scope, organization and structure of the Alternative Programmes;

Processes and procedures;

Relationships with providers;

The future relationship between AP and the BESD special school to which it had been assigned;

Provision for children and young people educated other than at school;

Provision brokered on behalf of mainstream schools;

Links with other pathways;

Issues of best value.

The second report built upon these recommendations to:

Summarise the local and national context for the development and management of augmented and alternative provision at Key Stage 4;

Make outline proposals for a functional organisational model to take a strategic and operational oversight of the authority’s strategy to commission, monitor and quality assure augmented and alternative provision.

These proposals have formed the basis for the strategy adopted by the authority.