Why mainstream schools need to learn from alternative provision

But in all the noise, we’re missing something important: some of the best solutions already exist in the Alternative Provision (AP) sector. And now is the time for mainstream schools to adapt.

At Esteem, we’ve worked for years with the young people who are most at risk: those who are persistently absent, excluded, or deeply disengaged. These are often learners with undiagnosed SEND, complex home lives, or mental health needs. They're not just struggling with school—they’ve stopped seeing the value in it entirely.

And yet, despite all this, many APs are seeing real success in re-engaging these young people. Not because we’ve found a silver bullet, but because we do the everyday things exceptionally well: building trust, working with families, adapting timetables, reshaping the curriculum, and being flexible in how we define success. The progress may not always show in headline attendance percentages, but when a child moves from 0% attendance to 60%, that’s transformational—for them, for their families, and for their futures.

Mainstream schools are under pressure from all angles—staffing, accountability, funding. It can be incredibly difficult to carve out the time or capacity to respond to individual needs in a highly structured environment. But as attendance challenges grow, many schools are beginning to explore how they can adapt—because the traditional approaches aren’t working for every learner.

There is space here for shared learning. At Esteem, we’ve seen first-hand how targeted support, flexible learning models, and early help can shift outcomes for young people who are otherwise at risk of disappearing from the system.

More and more, we’re supporting schools that are starting to recognise: "If we don’t adapt, we’ll fall behind." Referrals to APs and SEND schools are already at capacity. The solution can’t always be to send a child elsewhere. Instead, we need to ask: Can we do things differently here?

This doesn’t mean every mainstream school needs to build an internal AP. But it may mean rethinking how we define success, or how flexible we can be with curriculum, support systems, and access to early intervention. With formal SEND and AP placements at capacity in many areas, this kind of internal flexibility is becoming more necessary—not just preferable.

Young people are changing too. Many are more socially isolated than previous generations, shaped by digital lives and reduced face-to-face interaction. Their expressive language is different, their resilience often lower. And yet we ask them to operate in school environments designed for a different time. To meet them where they are, our offer has to evolve.

Schools don’t have to do this alone. Collaboration across sectors—mainstream, AP, SEND—offers one of the best chances we have to create systems that truly support every learner. Those of us in AP have learned a great deal, often by necessity. We’re now seeing how that knowledge can be of value more widely—not as a blueprint, but as a source of reflection and shared problem-solving.

At Esteem, we’re committed to that collaborative approach. Whether it’s through informal conversations, strategic input, or longer-term partnerships, we’re here to support that journey—not as outside experts, but as part of a wider education community navigating the same challenges.

As schools continue to face increasing complexity, now is the time to look sideways as well as forwards. There is no single fix for attendance—but there are ideas, experience, and innovation already happening that can help.

And together, we can build something stronger that works better for more of our young people.