Under the Education Act 1996, local authorities in England and Wales have a statutory responsibility to provide a suitable education for pupils in alternative provision, relating to:
“education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons would not otherwise receive suitable education, education arranged by schools for pupils on a fixed period exclusion, and pupils being directed by schools to off-site provision to improve their behaviour.”
Alternative provision has become an increasingly important component of school place planning, with local authorities funding places for approximately 32,400 pupils in 2020-21, a 10% increase on 2019-20.
Combining its expertise in school place planning, demographic analysis and forecasting, Edge Analytics has extended its edge-ucate product suite to include its new edge-ucate Alternative Provision model, to support local authorities in planning for alternative provision.
The edge-ucate Alternative Provision model uses historical evidence on the changing profile of pupils in alternative provision to produce forecasts of the changing demand for alternative provision, taking account of demographic change linked to planned housing growth.
Alternative provision forecasts are delivered via an interactive Data Model, presenting actuals and forecasts by residential area, year group, and alternative provision type (All, EHCP, Other), enabling the identification of pupils with additional SEN requirements.
More information on the edge-ucate product suite, including the edge-ucate Alternative Provision model, can be found at: https://www.edgeanalytics.co.uk/schools-forecasting
References
Education Act (1996) Section 19
Department for Education (2013) Alternative Provision: Statutory guidance for local authorities
Department for Education (2021) Schools, pupils and their characteristics 2020-21