Education for excluded pupils must be better monitored, says Ofsted

In a report into education for pupils who have been excluded or are at risk of exclusion, the watchdog warned that too much alternative provision goes unmonitored.

The inspectorate found that in many cases school staff do little to check on children’s progress once they start to attend alternative education, either part-time or full-time.

Pupils in alternative education often spend some of their week away from school attending off-site provision. But there are currently "very limited safeguards" to ensure such provision is of good quality.

Meanwhile, there is no requirement for the majority of alternative education providers to register with any official body and no consistent arrangements in place to evaluate their quality.

The report found that where alternative provision is selected carefully by schools and pupil referral units, it supports and re-engages students in learning.

But some of the schools and units visited by inspectors saw alternative provision as "a last resort" for a challenging student, and separate to mainstream school.

The watchdog said these schools and units were less effective at helping students to catch up with their work.

Don Smith, head teacher at Paget High School in Burton on Trent, which was surveyed for the report, said inclusivity is vital to the success of alternative education.

"Alternative provision always works most effectively when regular contact is maintained with the pupil and they still feel part of the school rather than becoming detached," he explained.

Christine Gilbert, Ofsted’s chief Inspector, added: "Alternative forms of education can bring huge benefits for many young people who are struggling in school or not attending regularly. It can encourage and even inspire them to learn. However, it is essential that this kind of provision is held properly accountable and is of good quality."

A Department for Education spokesman said it was vital that alternative provision addressed students’ problems.

He added: "As set out in our White Paper, we want to increase the autonomy, accountability and diversity of alternative provision to help drive up standards. We will study Ofsted’s recommendations in detail over the coming weeks and make our formal response by early autumn."

Ofsted is considering how best to evaluate the appropriateness of alternative education placements for pupils as part of school inspections.

The watchdog is also recommending that local authorities produce databases of alternative provision, to allow schools in their area to commission suitable places for children and young people.