Transition from Alternative Provision to post-16 settings: Navigating the challenges

There is increased demand to know why pupils in Alternative Provision (AP) are less likely
than their peers in mainstream school to transition to post-16 education and training
(Timpson, 2019). AP is education arranged for pupils who are unable to attend school
because of permanent exclusion, mental and physical ill-health or behaviour problems (DfE,
2013). The numbers of pupils in AP are rising - they currently stand at 1 in 200 each year
(Gill, 2017). However, over 1 in 3 of these pupils fail to progress from Year 11 (age 16) to
Education, Employment and Training (EET) (DfE, 2018b). This research investigates how they
navigate this transition and contributes to a current national priority; how to increase the
proportion who progress from AP to sustained EET (DfE, 2018). The focus in the study on
what supports - and mitigates against - progression to EET, and therefore where
opportunities exist to reduce the number who fail to progress, makes the potential findings
highly relevant to policy and practice.