Exploring Current Trends in Alternative Provision for SEND Learners

What’s Changing in Alternative Provision — And Why It Matters for Our Young People

Across the UK, the alternative provision (AP) sector  is undergoing a significant transformation. As pressures on mainstream education grow, local authorities, schools, and parents are increasingly seeking flexible, specialist options that support children and young people with diverse and often complex needs.

At KCL, we sit at the intersection of this changing landscape, delivering innovative, therapeutic, and skills-focused provision for learners who need more than the mainstream can offer.

Working every day with learners who’ve taken a different path—young people with incredible potential who just need the right environment to grow. Over the past year, we’ve seen some big shifts in alternative provision (AP), and we want to share what’s happening—and how we’re responding.

Whether you’re a SENCO, a local authority, or a parent trying to find the right fit, it’s clear that alternative provision is no longer just a safety net. It’s becoming something more dynamic, more intentional—and more essential.

💡 What’s Changing in the AP Landscape?
1. More Young People with SEND Are Accessing AP
Across the country, we’re seeing more referrals into AP for learners with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). These young people often don’t thrive in large mainstream settings, and they need something calmer, more personalised, and more therapeutic. That’s exactly where specialist AP like KCL fits in—offering small group or 1:1 sessions, focused attention, and a flexible structure that helps learners rebuild confidence.

2. PRUs Aren’t Always the Right Fit Anymore
Traditional Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) have played a key role for years—but now, more local authorities and schools are looking for alternatives that can adapt around the learner. At KCL, our programmes are designed to be nurturing, creative, and skills-focused—supporting not just education, but wellbeing and real-world readiness.

3. Digital Learning Is Here to Stay
While the pandemic challenged us all, it also showed that digital access can open new doors. We’ve developed our Tiered Digital Seat Access Model to give learners structure and support online—whether that’s for therapeutic learning, Functional Skills, or independent work. For learners who can’t always manage face-to-face provision, this model helps them stay engaged and make progress from wherever they are.

4. There’s a Bigger Focus on Life Outcomes, Not Just Attendance
We’re seeing a real shift from ‘just keeping them in education’ to: How do we help this young person move forward in life? Whether that’s qualifications, wellbeing, or steps into work or training, AP is being asked to show impact. And rightly so. At KCL, everything we do is built around long-term outcomes—confidence, independence, employability, and the tools to thrive beyond education.

5. Independent Providers Like Us Are Leading the Way
More and more, local authorities are commissioning smaller, specialist providers who can tailor their offer to individual needs. But that comes with a responsibility—to be accountable, to safeguard well, and to deliver real value. At KCL, we’re proud to work in partnership with SEN teams, Virtual Schools, and families to create provision that feels purposeful, supportive, and human.

🌟 What We’re Offering Right Now
We’ve shaped our current offer around everything we’ve learned over the years:

Therapeutic and Therapeutic Plus Seats – small-group or 1:1 online sessions designed for stability, reflection and re-engagement
Step Forward / Step Up Programmes – creative and vocational routes including Performing Arts, Hair & Beauty, Barbering, Digital Skills, and Functional Skills
Enrichment Bundles – flexible blocks of activity-based provision that build confidence, routine and transferable skills
Independent Living Skills – helping young people gain the practical skills they’ll need as they move into adulthood

🤝 Let’s Work Together
Every young person deserves the chance to feel seen, heard, and supported. If you’re working with a learner who needs something different—something quieter, more therapeutic, or just more them—we’d love to talk.

Let’s create something that works. Not just to tick boxes, but to genuinely move a young person forward.

Contact us today to find out more about referrals, placements, or partnership opportunities.