This page is about schools in England. It does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Who must arrange alternative provision?
The local authority must arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age who would otherwise go without it because of illness, exclusion or other reasons. This is the duty in section 19(1) of the Education Act 1996. It applies whether or not the child is on a school roll. Devolving funding or decisions to schools does not transfer the local authority's duty (DfE AP guide, ‘Main points’, pages 5–6, and ‘Placement planning’, page 9).
Education must be suitable for the child's age, ability, aptitude and special educational needs (section 19(6)). Section 19(3A) requires full-time education, with a health-related exception where the local authority considers that full-time education would not be in the child's best interests. In that case, it must arrange part-time education on the basis it considers in the child's best interests (section 19(3A) and (3AA)). The separate Year 11 exception to full-time provision after exclusion is explained below. Section 19(1A) excludes a child who will cease to be of compulsory school age within the next six weeks and has no relevant public examinations or other assessments to complete for which they have been entered.
Schools can also use AP for suspended pupils and direct pupils off-site for education intended to improve behaviour. AP is not elective home education or special educational provision otherwise than at school under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (DfE AP guide, ‘Summary’, page 4). AP should not substitute for special school provision simply because local SEN provision lacks capacity (‘Main points’, page 6). Read the SEND guide alongside decisions about a pupil's special educational provision.
When must education begin?
For non-medical reasons, DfE says local-authority-arranged AP should begin as soon as possible and at the latest by the sixth school day of absence (AP guide, ‘When to provide support’, page 12).
For maintained schools, academy schools (including free schools), alternative provision academies and pupil referral units in England, the current suspension and permanent exclusion guidance, effective from 26 July 2026, sets out the duties below. It does not apply to ordinary independent schools, colleges or 16–19 academies and free schools. In this guidance, “governing board” includes the academy trust.
- Suspension lasting more than five school days: the governing board must arrange suitable full-time education for a compulsory-school-age pupil, starting no later than the sixth school day. For a pupil suspended from a pupil referral unit (PRU), this is the local authority's responsibility. Consecutive suspensions count cumulatively for this duty (paragraph 108).
- Permanent exclusion: the local authority must arrange suitable full-time education from the sixth school day after the first day the permanent exclusion took place. This is the pupil's home authority when the school is in another area (paragraph 109 and footnote 55, including the health-related qualification on full-time education).
- Earlier provision: for a looked-after child or a child with a social worker, the school and local authority should work together to arrange AP from the first day following suspension or permanent exclusion (paragraph 113).
The Year 11 exception concerns the duty to provide full-time education after exclusion: it applies where the pupil has already taken, or missed, all the public examinations for which they were entered that year (regulation 5 of the Education (Provision of Full-Time Education for Excluded Pupils) (England) Regulations 2007). It does not by itself end the local authority's section 19(1) duty to arrange suitable education. That duty's end-of-school-age exception requires both conditions in section 19(1A): the child will cease to be of compulsory school age within six weeks and has no relevant examinations or assessments left to complete.
Children who cannot attend because of health needs
The health-needs statutory guidance, dated December 2023, covers physical and mental health. Where the home school can no longer provide suitable education, it should speak to the local authority. As soon as it is clear that the child will be away for 15 days or more, consecutively or across a school year, the local authority should arrange suitable AP. This is not an instruction to wait until 15 days have passed (‘When and how to provide support’, page 7).
That section states there is no absolute legal deadline for starting to arrange education for additional health needs. It also says the education should begin as soon as possible and at the latest by the sixth day of absence. For planned absences, such as hospital stays, the authority must make suitable, timely arrangements in advance, unless exceptional circumstances apply, so provision can begin from day one. The health guidance says “sixth day of absence”; the exclusion guidance specifies “sixth school day”.
Where specific medical evidence is not readily available, the school or local authority should consider other evidence and liaison with medical practitioners so provision can be arranged promptly. Authorities should not demand continuing medical evidence without good reason (‘Using medical evidence’, page 8).
Review part-time health provision regularly and increase hours towards full-time as soon as the child's health allows (health guidance, ‘Full-time and part-time education’, pages 9–10).
Commissioning: checks before a placement starts
The DfE AP guide, dated February 2025 and updated on GOV.UK on 5 February 2025, distinguishes legal duties (‘must’) from recommended practice (‘should’). Its commissioning guidance expects the school or local authority to do its own checks even when a provider appears on a local approved list (‘Identifying a suitable placement’, pages 13–14).
Before commissioning, establish:
- Suitability and quality: how the placement meets the child's individual needs, its curriculum and qualifications, staff training and experience, the quality of accommodation, and health and safety arrangements. Check registration where required. Consider the location and a manageable, safe journey (‘Identifying a suitable placement’, pages 13–14; ‘Adapting education to a child's needs’, pages 17–18; ‘Curriculum’, page 20).
- Safeguarding: obtain written confirmation of the checks on people working at the provider that schools would otherwise perform on their own staff. Obtain written confirmation that the provider will report changes that may put the child at risk, including staff changes (‘Safeguarding’, page 16).
- Information and assessment: share relevant information about SEN, disability, medical needs, literacy and safeguarding in accordance with data protection principles. Agree an induction and assessment of academic levels, attendance and engagement (‘Induction and assessment’, page 19).
- A written plan: agree the intervention, objectives, timescale, review dates, responsibilities and reintegration arrangements. The provider should set these out in a personalised plan, agreed with relevant people, including the child and parents where appropriate (‘Arranging a placement’, page 15).
For a child with an EHC plan, the authority maintaining the plan must be closely involved in a decision about AP, and arrangements should ensure the specified special educational provision continues (‘Criteria for placing children in alternative provision’, page 13).
Registration and unregistered provision
Non-school AP can be used; an independent school that requires registration cannot operate unregistered. The AP guide's ‘Unregistered alternative provision’ section, page 24, says commissioners remain responsible for safety, quality and suitability.
An independent school must register if it provides full-time education for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one or more such pupils with an EHC plan or who are looked after by a local authority. This definition excludes local-authority-maintained schools and non-maintained special schools. Further education colleges do not need to register as schools to offer AP to 14–16-year-olds. Commissioners should not place a child with an unregistered provider if the placement would mean it needs school registration (AP guide, pages 23–24; voluntary standards, ‘Background’, page 4). The standards explain that registration must be completed before the school begins operating and that operating an unregistered independent school is an offence.
The AP guide does not define a fixed number of hours for full-time education. It explains that intensive one-to-one tuition may involve fewer hours than mainstream schooling (‘Full-time and part-time education’, page 18).
For a child directed off-site to an AP school, the child should be dual registered from the beginning of the first day of the direction: dual main at the home school and dual subsidiary at the AP school for census purposes (‘Oversight of placements’, page 16). This is different from attendance at a non-school provider.
Attendance codes B, K and dual registration
Use the July 2026 edition of Working together to improve school attendance, updated on GOV.UK on 9 July 2026. The attendance hub covers the wider register requirements.
- Code K: attendance at education arranged by the local authority under section 19(1) of the Education Act 1996, or section 42(2) or 61(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014, somewhere other than the school or another school where the pupil is registered. Record the nature of the provision. School-arranged provision does not qualify for K (paragraphs 301–304).
- Code B: attendance at another approved educational activity, including school-arranged unregistered AP, that is neither sport nor work experience. It must take place during the recorded session, be educational, be approved by the school and be physically supervised by someone with the appropriate skills, training, experience and knowledge. It cannot be at the school, another school where the pupil is registered, or the local-authority-arranged provision covered by K. Record the nature of the activity (paragraphs 317–321).
- Code D: for a session when the pupil is scheduled to attend another school where they are registered, the school where they are not due uses D. The school where the pupil is due records actual attendance or the appropriate absence code (paragraphs 350–352).
A booked placement is not evidence of attendance. For B and K, arrange for the provider to notify the school of absences; the school must use the relevant absence code when the pupil does not attend (paragraphs 303 and 320). For dual registration, arrange prompt follow-up of unexpected or unexplained absence (paragraph 351).
Monitoring education and safeguarding
Oversight stays with the school or local authority that commissioned the placement. Schools should tell the local authority when they commission AP. Agree reporting arrangements and maintain records of placements, progress, achievements, destinations and the child's own assessment (AP guide, ‘Oversight of placements’, pages 15–16).
The commissioner retains safeguarding duties and should know where the child is during school hours, including the actual addresses of subcontracted provision and satellite sites. Arrange prompt follow-up of absence and notification of absences from colleges and non-school settings (‘Safeguarding’, pages 16–17).
Review placements at least half-termly to check objectives, attendance, safety and continuing suitability. Review a placement immediately if safeguarding concerns arise, and terminate it if necessary unless or until concerns have been satisfactorily addressed (‘Safeguarding’, page 17). Use the safeguarding guide alongside this work.
Reintegration and the next stage of education
For suspension placements and off-site direction, agree a reintegration plan at the start, including how to judge readiness to return and the support from both settings. Keep regular contact or visits, adapt the timetable, obtain progress reports and a final report before return. Agree any additional support with the child, family and relevant agencies. Where the placement ends without a return to school, plan the next education, training or employment destination (AP guide, ‘Reintegration’, pages 21–22).
For health needs, the local authority and school should agree an individually tailored reintegration plan and support for gaps in learning. A lengthy illness may mean shaping the plan nearer the likely return, without putting unsuitable pressure on the child (health guidance, ‘Reintegration into school’, pages 14–15).
Current guidance and published reforms
Current duties and guidance: section 19, the February 2025 AP guide, the December 2023 health guidance and the current exclusion and attendance guidance underpin the responsibilities above.
Published voluntary standards: DfE published Non-school alternative provision: voluntary national standards on 31 August 2025. They cover safeguarding, health and safety, admissions and support, and education quality. They are non-statutory; DfE encourages voluntary adoption while mandatory standards await legislation (‘Summary’ and ‘Background’, pages 3–4; Parts 1–4). They do not remove the commissioner's responsibility to check a placement.
Planned changes: the government consultation response, published 31 August 2025, sets out plans for mandatory national standards, local-authority quality assurance, and school registration and return-to-school plans for children using non-school AP (‘The government’s response’, pages 11–12). These are plans, not a new registration scheme already in force.
The SEND reform consultation, published 23 February 2026 and updated 27 April 2026, describes a proposed three-tier AP model: outreach, short placements for assessment and reintegration, and longer placements where needed. It also proposes a more stable funding model and stronger oversight of non-school AP (‘Alternative Provision (AP)’ section). These consultation proposals are separate from the current duties above.
DfE also published SEND reform: education otherwise than at school on 10 July 2026, updated 14 July 2026. Its ‘Consultation description’ includes AP for health reasons and provision through accredited online providers, seeking views on responsibilities, quality assurance, progression and reintegration. This is consultation material, not a replacement for the current health-needs duty.
Roles supporting an AP placement
Use the headteacher, pastoral leader, SENCO and designated safeguarding lead role pages alongside the placement plan. Keep the child's education, attendance, special educational provision and safety connected throughout the placement.
