Alternative-provision settings will receive up to £750 per pupil to support students into jobs and post-16 education, the Department for Education has announced.
The DfE has set aside £8 million in funding for the 2021-22 AP Transition Fund, an increase of £1 million from 2020-21, when £7 million was provided to schools as part of the same programme.
Young people in alternative provision are seen as being at risk of unemployment or dropping out of education at age 16 - and the funding will fund mentoring, pastoral support and careers guidance, in the hope it will encourage them to stay in education or go into the workplace.
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Children and families minister Vicky Ford said: “Being excluded from school should never be at the cost of a young person’s education or place a barrier in the way of their future. All young people deserve an excellent education that sets them up for life, and we know that the last year has been really challenging for students in alternative provision.
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“This fund helps these students, who are often extremely vulnerable, to get back on track with their education and paves the way for their future careers. That’s why we are putting even more investment into it this year, so more Year 11 pupils can benefit from this bespoke support and build their self-confidence to make the transition into the next phase of their lives easier, whether that is in further education or employment.”
Data from the Department for Education shows that just over half (54 per cent) of young people who finish key stage 4 in alternative provision go on to a sustained post-16 destination, compared with 94 per cent of those attending mainstream schools, and 23 per cent of the cohort are classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET).
This week, the new Skills and Post-16 Education Bill entered Parliament, with education secretary Gavin Williamson saying that this “marked a significant milestone in our journey to transform the skills, training and post-16 education landscape and level up opportunities across the country”.
Cath Sezen, senior skills policy manager at the Association of College said the funding shouldn’t stop once students reach college.
She said: “We welcome the announcement for support for students who will be most vulnerable to becoming NEET. Many students progressing from AP will embark upon courses at Further Education colleges and go onto achieve valuable skills to enable them to move into work or further study. However, it needs to be remembered that pastoral and engagement challenges for more vulnerable students don’t stop once they start college and neither should the funding.”
