Alternative education provision in England

Alternative provision (AP) is a form of education provided for pupils who would not otherwise receive suitable education. This may be because they have special educational needs or a disability, because they have been excluded (for example, because of their behaviour), because they are unwell or for other reasons.

In the state sector, AP can be arranged in three main ways:

• Placement in a specific AP school – this includes pupil referral units (run by the local authority), and AP academies and AP free schools (independent of the local authority but still state funded). Examples by constituency can be found on the Department for Education (DfE) website.
• An alternative form of education arranged by their school – this could be as a step before permanently excluding a pupil, or for a medical reason.
• Placement in a non-state-funded AP setting, paid for by the local authority – this could be because medical issues or behavioural issues prevent a pupil from attending schools available, and can include charities as well as private sector settings.

If a pupil is not placed in a specific AP school, they are usually placed in other registered educational settings, with some unregistered organisations and a small number of work-based placements. Breakdowns are available for school-arranged AP and for non-state-funded AP settings. Unregistered providers were the subject of a report from the Children’s Commissioner in 2025.

The chart below shows how the overall number of pupils in these different forms of AP has changed. In recent years the numbers of pupils in all forms of AP have increased, with the number in non-state-funded AP increasing the most, by 156% from 2017/18 to 2024/25.

Note: Data on school-arranged AP is not available before 2022/23, and on local authority funded in non-state-funded settings before 2017/18. A single pupil can be in multiple forms of provision, meaning numbers should not be added together. Source: DfE, State-funded AP schools, school-arranged AP, Local authority funded in non-state-funded setting.

There is considerable variation between local authorities in these figures. For example, in Stoke-on-Trent, 1 pupil was recorded as attending a state-funded AP school in 2024/25, 95 in school-arranged AP, and 802 in a non-state-funded setting. As a proportion of school pupils in the area, these were 0.0024%, 0.23%, and 1.9% respectively.

This compares with Nottinghamshire, with 434 pupils in AP schools, 568 in school-arranged AP, and 157 in a non-state-funded setting. The relevant proportions are 0.83%, 1.09% and 0.30% respectively. For a full breakdown by local authority see the attached spreadsheet.

Most local-authority-funded placements outside of the state sector (78% in 2024/25) relate to pupils with that specific setting named in their education, health and care (EHC) plan (a form of support for pupils with special educational needs). These increased by 164% from 2017/18 to 2024/25. Between 2022/23 and 2024/25, placements due to permanent exclusion have increased by 158%, and placements for other reasons have increased by 96% (the ‘other reasons’ category includes pregnancy and childcare, but there were fewer pregnancies in under 16s in 2024 than in 2017, suggesting this is not the source of the increase).

Note: The two charts have different scales. Unlabelled lines relate to the following in order from highest to lowest in 2024/25: New arrival without a school place, Mental health need, Physical health need, Pupil in young offender institutes / secure training centres.

Source: DfE, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, custom table.

Pupils in state-funded AP schools and school-arranged AP are more likely than average to be aged between 13 and 15, to have some form of special educational need (SEN), to be eligible for free school meals (FSM), and to be male.

Pupils in a non-state-funded setting paid for by their local authority are more likely to be male, to have SEN, and to be aged between 13 and 15 than average, but less likely to be eligible for free school meals. See the chart below for specific figures.

Sources: DfE, links to custom tables; Ages, all state schools, state AP schools, school-arranged AP, non-state-funded providers; SEN, all state schools, state AP schools, school-arranged AP, non-state-funded providers; FSM, all state schools, state AP schools, school-arranged AP, non-state-funded providers; Male, all state schools, state AP schools, school-arranged AP, non-state-funded providers

* All SEN datapoints relate to students receiving any form of SEN support, apart from the non-state-funded setting figure which relates only to pupils where the AP provider was named in their EHC plan. This means this figure is likely an underestimate of the total number of SEN pupils in this setting.

Outcomes for pupils who end key stage 4 in APs are far lower than average. Around 1 in 27 such pupils achieved grades 4 and above in English and Maths, compared with almost 2 in 3 pupils in general. More than 2 in 3 AP pupils were not known to be in sustained education, apprenticeships, or employment five years after finishing school, compared to around 1 in 5 pupils in general. These figures are further detailed in the chart below.

Sources: DfE, links to custom tables; Key Stage 4 results, national longer term destinations

Note: GCSE results from 2024/25 academic year. Data for one and three years after finishing school is based on those who finished school in the 2019/20 academic year. Data for five years after finishing school is based on those who finished school in 2017/18.

Spending on AP increased by around 50% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms from 2015/16 to 2024/25. Figures on local authority funding are available in the spreadsheet attached. These figures cannot be broken down by what kind of placement they related to, meaning that we cannot assess how per-pupil or per-placement expenditure has changed over time.

Source: DfE, LA expenditure on schools, other education and community - unrounded data; HM treasury, GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP March 2026. Note: Data as stated by local authorities in section 251 data collection.