Regional Alternative Provision (AP) Academies

Alternative Provision Academies (APA) provide education for mainstream pupils who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion on an intervention basis or who are medically unfit to attend school full time. The intervention cohort will be experiencing significant difficulties with accessing a mainstream education and would normally have been subject to a number of unsuccessful intervention strategies. All pupils will normally have experienced difficulties around attendance or behaviour.

APAs are a mainstream provision. They are most effective when they are used as an early intervention strategy to re-engage pupils with their learning. They are inspected as a mainstream provision and as such have to meet OFSTED criteria with regard to attendance, behaviour, attainment and pupil progress. They are not a specialist provision and should not be used for the long term education of pupils. As a mainstream provision APAs are not suitable for pupils whose needs are best met in a specialist provision.

Nine Maidens Academy has an inclusive ethos and works to ensure all pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. All pupils are set appropriate learning challenges. Our staff are skilled and experienced in ensuring we overcome any barriers to learning. We are proactive in ensuring support for our pupils and their wider family and have a strong Family Support Team who are able to help and advise both in school and at home. We understand the challenges many pupils and families have experienced on the journey to an APA and we ensure a ‘fresh start’ for all who join us. Our staff are highly skilled in supporting pupils behaviour. We firmly believe that behaviour is a communication and our aim is to meet these underlying needs.

Many pupils arrive with low levels of attainment following disrupted learning; some may have an Education, Health and Care Plan or SEN which require a request for an EHCP. During this time pupils are educated in the APA for an assessment period, pending decisions as to the appropriate education for these pupils. All our pupils are on our Record of Need (RON) due to requiring additional and different support to that offered in their previous school.

The APAs function alongside traditional school lines with regard to expectation of behaviour, attendance, uniform and the delivery of the core and the wider curriculum, while working specifically on pupils skills in order to ensure effective placement outcomes for all pupils. Pupils access the APA either through permanent exclusion or as a result of being referred to the pupil placement partnership or medical pupil referral panel.

Further information can be found at  www.wavemat.org