From the old Unregistered Alternative Provision to the new 'Non School' Alternative Provision: new standards strengthening alternative provision

For those in alternative provision, including non-school settings, commissioners should ensure that placements address the individual needs of the child, as well as provide education in line with that of their home school, to better enable reintegration.

Unregistered Alternative Provision: new clarity in the strengthening of non-school alternative provision

The use of unregistered AP has been a rising concern in recent years - since 2019 the number of pupil placements in unregistered AP is estimated to have doubled. The Children's Commissioner's report Youth Voices: Unregistered Alternative Provision found that:

in 2025 there were 29,244 children in unregistered AP - more than in registered AP
vulnerable children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds were disproportionately more likely to be placed in unregistered AP
approximately 1 in 35 children with an EHCP were also found to be in unregistered setting

Use of AP

There are several different pathways into AP, in some cases the placement will be commissioned by a local authority (e.g. when a child has been permanently excluded), and there are health referrals or temporary referrals when a child is awaiting a placement in a school. Schools can also commission a placement for a child in AP (e.g. as an off-site direction) with the aim to improve their behaviour, as a referral for healthcare needs, or provision for children following a suspension.

The AP could be at a PRU, hospital school, alternative provision academy or free school or with a variety of independent, registered, unregistered and future education providers. Good AP can be a lifeline for some children, providing them with support to enable them to re-engage in education.

Unregistered AP settings can offer good quality bespoke education, for instance training and vocational education and therapeutic provision for children who are struggling to engage in a mainstream environment. However, unregistered APs have a low level of regulatory oversight or legal duties given they are not subject to a national registration scheme or inspection framework.

Successive governments have sought the views of local authorities, schools and AP providers to try and strengthen protections for children placed in unregistered AP. The previous government consulted on a range of measures to improve oversight of the sector which included:

limiting the time that children could be placed in unregistered alternative provision, with children remaining on school admissions registers throughout the placements and returning to mainstream education at the end of that period
prohibiting local authorities from meeting their section 19 education duties by placing children who are not on a school admissions register in unregistered alternative provision
making local authorities responsible for the quality assurance of all unregistered alternative provision settings offering time-limited placements in their areas
requiring unregistered alternative providers delivering special educational provision under EOTAS arrangements for children to register with DfE
requiring all unregistered alternative providers to comply with new national standards
enabling local authorities to arrange for all a child’s special educational provision under section 61 EOTAS8 to be delivered in a single unregistered alternative provision setting

In August 2025, the current government published 'Strengthening protections in non-school alternative provision: government consultation response' and 'non-statutory Non-school alternative provision voluntary national standards' (adopting the name non-school rather than unregistered setting).

While the government announced its intention to introduce new mandatory national standards for non-school alternative provision when parliamentary time allows, it decided to publish non- statutory voluntary national standards to help local authorities, schools and non-school AP to ensure placements meet individual children's needs, re-engage them with education and supports regular attendance. The standards are also designed to help schools ensure they continue to meet their safeguarding responsibilities towards any pupils placed in non-school AP and be satisfied that the placement meets the pupils needs as set out in the statutory guidance KCSIE 2025 and Alternative Provision guidance.

What do the non-school alternative provision voluntary national standards cover?

The standards are divided into 4 parts:

Safeguarding and the welfare of children
Health and safety
Admissions, support, and guidance
Quality of education

Part 1: Safeguarding and the welfare of children

The safeguarding standards broadly reflect the requirements placed on schools as sent out in KCSIE 2025 and cover safer recruitment checks, required policies (child protection, behaviour and staff behaviour policies) and procedures on how to respond when concerns arise. They also provide guidance on requirements for staff training, the need for a named safeguarding lead (e.g. a DSL) who has received appropriate and documented training. Providers are also expected to control site access at settings where provision takes place - this is particularly important where provision takes place in a setting open to the public e.g. a library or council office.

Part 2: Health and safety

The health and safety standards require providers to comply with all relevant health and safety legal obligations, including having health and safety and first aid policies. There are requirements to have first aid equipment and facilities and qualified first aider, systems for recording and reporting incidents, appropriate fire safety policies and the need to ensure staff hold appropriate qualifications and be suitably trained in the use of specialised equipment.

Part 3: Admissions, support and guidance

While the safeguarding and welfare and health and safety standards are crucial to assessing whether AP is safe for a learner, many placements break down because standards of education and support available do not match a child's needs. The standards relating to admissions, support and guidance include the need for clear admissions policies and referral processes to be clearly documented and well-supported, maintaining records for all children placed in a setting, having induction processes to help children and parents understand the intended outcomes of the placement and most crucially ensure processes are in place for checking on the health and welfare of absent children and agreeing strategies to improve attendance. All providers should also have a strategy to support good behaviour and learning.

Part 4: Quality of education

Non-school AP should constantly monitor and review children's learning progress. The standards relating to quality of education require providers to ensure teaching staff and instructors have appropriate skills, knowledge and qualifications to deliver programmes. Curriculum documentation should identify the knowledge, skills and understanding that all children attending will aim to achieve, clear processes for monitoring learning progress and supporting re-integration and transition (where appropriate) and taking action if progress is not on track. Processes should also be in place for APs to self-evaluate whether they are effective in delivering the commissioned services.

Education Otherwise Than in School (EOTIS)

The Government confirmed that it does not currently consider any EOTIS special educational provision to be within the scope of the new voluntary national standards; however, local authorities can use these to measure the quality of their EOTIS special educational provision.

How this affects schools?

The new standards are non-statutory and voluntary. However, if met by the AP, they will provide schools with the assurance that placements can meet a child's needs and the statutory requirements placed on them as set out in KCSIE 2025 and Alternative Provision guidance.

Ofsted will continue to evaluate the extent to which schools ensure that placements they make in off-site registered and non-school AP are safe and effective in in promoting pupils' progress.

It is hoped that in areas where there are not already well-established quality assurance frameworks in place for non-school AP, the standards will also help local authorities to develop and quality assess local provision and give school commissioners more visibility as to suitable placements available in their areas.

The Government is encouraging all local authorities, schools and providers to work together to implement and test the standards before they become mandatory.

What to expect in the future

Schools should be aware that at present the government decided not to include a limit to the amount of time children can spend in non-school settings. However, it intends to introduce legislation so that all placements in non-school alternative provision will be time-limited, with commissioners and providers joint-working throughout so that children are fully equipped to return to school when placements end. It also intends to legislate to ensure that children in non-school settings will continue be registered with schools so that no child falls through the net and safeguarding oversight is retained for the most vulnerable cohort of pupils.

How can we help?

We have a suite of policies including Attendance, Safeguarding, Health & Safety and First Aid policies to help non-school alternative providers to stay compliant. In addition our lawyers can advise school commissioners on their duties under the new guidance to ensure that the alternative provision commissioned by them meets the new minimum standards.

If you are interested in any of these products, please contact mbenitez@vwv.co.uk.