Examining alternative provision (AP) in Wales: Rationale, resources, and results

As part of a larger ESRC-funded project on the political economies of school exclusions in the UK, this research examines alternative provision (AP). AP is where children and young people at risk of exclusion are removed from mainstream education. The AP sector does not provide a transitional pathway. Instead it is a complex disarray of different public, private and third-sector organisations delivering interventions, including vocational, academic, life skills and therapeutic programmes. Semi-structured interviews were completed with ten AP providers delivering diverse interventions across two LAs in Wales. The three themes emerging from interviews were rationale, resources and results. There were apparent differences in rationale with educational and vocational providers focusing on qualifications and progression and therapeutic, sports and arts-based providers concentrating on building trust, relationships and life skills. The way AP programmes are resourced raises questions about the sustainability of provision third-sector providers struggled to meet the core costs of programmes, private companies tended to be subsidised by more profitable parts of their organisations even public providers needed to secure some funding for activities. All the providers had challenges measuring the results of their interventions. Providers that worked in schools did not have young people’s contact details to track progression. Others could track progression in the short term but could not capture longitudinal outcomes. The main finding of this research is that AP providers do not get enough funding to cover costs and this could be exacerbated by a lack of evidence of effectiveness and a lack of clarity about rationales.