The Alternative Provision research network (APRN) is a collective of academic researchers, AP practitioners, and others who have come together because of a common interest in research about Alternative Provision (AP). In 2022 we held our first international conference. This was a wide-ranging discussion that explored the issue of social justice in relation to APs.

At a time when AP is becoming increasingly prominent in policy, social justice requires us to ask how this increased visibility might both help and hinder children and young people (CYP) attending or enrolling in AP. In some ways increased visibility may be positive: it may reduce disadvantage for the marginalised and varied group of CYP that AP supports and mean that AP is more prominent in the minds of those with the power to shape an education system that can better respond to all CYP. However, a greater level of caution and critique is also needed in some responses to CYP in AP to avoid the reproduction of social inequalities.

This conference aims to fuse together both hopeful and critical knowledge from those involved intimately with and/or currently researching AP to better understand the way in which AP is being positioned in wider social and historical structures. Thus, keeping alive a debate about the barriers and possibilities for social justice.

We welcome papers, insights, and provocations from academics, practitioners, advocates, and researchers from across a range of educational, community-based, and public-sector settings. We also welcome those who want to get more informed on issues related to social justice and Alternative Provision.

Please submit 250 word (max) abstracts to c.johnston@uwe.ac.uk before Friday 30 June 2023.

You can sign up for the conference using the Eventbrite link – spaces are limited. The joining link will be sent three days prior to the event.

Programme

13:00Welcome

13:10Keynote: Professor Sally Tomlinson – The University of Oxford

14:00 International Discussion Panel with Professor Sally Power, Dr Valeria Cotza, Associate Professor Glenda McGregor and Associate Professor Jody Polleck

15:00Individual Papers and Provocations17:00Close

Conversations and Topics July 20th, 2022

Timetable

Note: This is an online conference Via. M teams – please participate and engage in a respectful manner.

Welcome and Introduction

Dr Craig Johnston, University of Winchester

 Policy (future pathways and challenges) 

Alasdaire Duerden, Department for Education Deputy Director | Alternative Provision and SAFE/AP Taskforces Division SEND and Alternative Provision Directorate | Families Group

 Discussion Panel

Professor Martin Mills, Queensland University of Technology

Robert Gasson, Chief Executive. Wave Trust

Sarah Johnson, National Organisation of PRUs and APs

Dr. Ian Thompson, Oxford University

Zahra Bei, No More Exclusions, PhD Researcher

Nic Brindle, Chief Vision Officer Youth Engagement Schools Trust

 This panel discussion will contribute to understandings of the current context of AP policy and practice in England (and across the United Kingdom) by bringing together a diverse delegation of academics, practitioners, and sector representatives. Together, we will seek to better understand the underlying issues affecting AP and to address any concerns regarding social justice from a cross-sector, interdisciplinary perspective.

 We will explore various themes (see below) that may affect issues related to AP and social justice as well as insights from practice and research.

 We ask:

 How can we ensure that young people are welcomed, valued, and supported to stay in, or return back to school, and more generally to succeed in and beyond Alternative Provision?

 How can Alternative Provision harness the potential of (disadvantaged) young people to help them grow and develop?

Chairs

Dr. Jodie Pennacchia, Nottingham Trent University and,

Dr. Andrew Malcolm, University of Bedfordshire

Online moderator: Craig Johnston and Cath Kitchen

Webinars: Full Abstracts on page below

Webinar 1: 15.35 – 15.50

 Voices being heard: Speech and Language Therapy in Alternative Provisions

 Speaker: Claire Westwood, Lecturer in Speech, and Language Therapy at Birmingham City University.

 Webinar 2: 15.50 – 16.05

Support and Social Justice in Alternative Provision: The View from East Sussex

Speakers: Jane Dicker and Dr Åsa Jansson is a teacher and humanities scholar

Webinar 3: 16.05 – 16.20

 Theorising inclusion / exclusion and the role of AP' at the forthcoming AP event

 Speakers: Helen Knowler is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Wolverhampton

 Dr Elizabeth J. Done is a Lecturer in Inclusion at the Institute of Education (University of Plymouth)

 Webinar 4:16.20 – 16.35

 Developing Meaningful Practice: Alternative Provision and Higher Education Outreach

 Speakers: Dr Alex Blower, Access and Participation Manager, Arts University Bournemouth and Irene Smith, Information Advice and Guidance Lead, Iford Academy

Webinar 5: 16.35 – 16.50

 Provocation on data

 Speakers: Jen Persson, Digital me

16.50

Q and A - Next Steps

Panel Discussion Questions:

         i.            How would you define social justice in relation to alternative provision?

        ii.            Given its inextricable relationship to marginalisation and exclusion, can alternative provision be socially just?

      iii.            Class, race, and gender; which of these is most neglected in the discussion of alternative provision?

      iv.            Which theories and / or frameworks of ideas would you suggest as most relevant and helpful to practitioners working in alternative provision who want to respond to issues of social justice?

        v.            How would you define social justice in relation to alternative provision?

      vi.            Given its inextricable relationship to marginalisation and exclusion, can alternative provision be socially just?

     vii.            Class, race, disability. and gender; which of these is most neglected in the discussion of alternative provision? Are there any other groups/issues that have been neglected in discussions about AP?

   viii.            Which theories and / or frameworks of ideas would you suggest as most relevant and helpful to practitioners working in alternative provision who want to respond to issues of social justice? (responses to this would be particularly helpful for our current work!)

      ix.            What do you see as the key barriers to/enablers of socially just practice in alternative provision?

        x.            What implications has the pandemic had for socially just practice in alternative provision?

      xi.            What can alternative provision practitioners and researchers in England/UK learn from alternative provision in other national contexts, with a specific focus on social justice?

Webinar 1: Voices being heard: Speech and Language Therapy in Alternative Provisions

Abstract: 77.1% of children in Alternative Provisions (APs) have an identified Special Education Need or disability (Department for Education, 2018). Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) form a significant portion of this with two-thirds of children with Social Emotional Mental Health needs and those at risk of permanent exclusion having difficulty with communication (Clegg et al, 2009). This can manifest as difficulties understanding what is being said, expressing themselves or managing social interactions. However, SLCN in APs is often under-identified and unsupported, even commonly misidentified as behavioural issues. The impact of this can mean further disengagement with education, reduced efficacy of interventions that are verbally mediated and a higher risk of involvement in the criminal justice system. This paper covers the SLCN profiles observed within APs and outlines case examples of successful Speech and Language Therapy input and the difference this can make to young people’s lives.

Speaker: Claire Westwood is a Lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy at Birmingham City University. Before entering academia, Claire created and ran award-winning Speech and Language Therapy services within Alternative Provisions, a Youth Offending Team, Pupil Referral Unit, SEMH schools and a Violence Reduction Unit. This work has been presented at conferences both within the UK and internationally.

Webinar 2: Support and Social Justice in Alternative Provision: The View from East Sussex

Abstract: The Workplace is an alternative provision secondary free-school, which opened its doors in September 2020. The school is part of the Sabden Multi-academy Trust and situated in a part of East Sussex which has the highest child poverty rate in the south-east of England. Strikingly absent from the government’s recent green paper on SEND and AP is any reference to the relationship between special educational needs and poverty, despite the Department for Education’s own data showing that pupils who are eligible for free school meals are almost twice as likely as their peers to be identified as having SEND. The relationship between socio-economic deprivation and barriers to learning is evident in The Workplace as well as in our partner schools across the trust. Sabden offers a range of AP provision across the county, with an approach centred on relationship building and comprehensive, robust, and individually tailored support. An investigation into the success of this model concluded that strong support structures are crucial in enabling pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to make ‘sustainable academic, social, behavioural and emotional improvement’ (Lucas, 2017), and move into successful post-16 work or education. At a time when child poverty is rising across the UK, and the dominant political narrative is one of individual resilience, the Sabden model shows the importance of strong support structures in enabling disadvantaged pupils to gain the skills and qualifications needed to thrive in a society where the odds are stacked against them. Drawing on our own experience as AP practitioners as well as on recent research on poverty and educational attainment, we argue that our school’s model highlights the urgent need for a social justice perspective on alternative provision education.

Speakers:

Jane Dicker is a Lead teacher of English with a background in Anthropology. She has more than twenty years’ teaching experience from a variety of settings in England and Uganda. Her interest in Socratic dialogue has been a central tenant in her teaching and research interests. She currently teaches in an alternative provision secondary school.

Dr Åsa Jansson is a teacher and humanities scholar with a background in the medical humanities and mental health research. She has previously held posts at Durham University and Queen Mary, University of London, and her research has been widely published in leading international journals. In 2020 she made the move from academia to alternative provision education, where she currently teaches English to KS3 & KS4 pupils.

Webinar 3: Theorising inclusion / exclusion and the role of AP' at the forthcoming AP event

Abstract: Concerns around AP will be situated within the broader context of exclusionary practices that our research to date suggests are endemic in the English education system. We shall briefly explore the context of these practices with reference to critical analyses of neoliberal processes, including commodification, marketisation and academisation. The argument here is that initiatives designed to improve the AP system should not obscure broader or more far-reaching questions about the purpose of education and role of AP in sustaining an education system that has been shown to discriminate against specific social groups, as evidenced in data relating to disproportionality and intersectionality. One way of approaching such questions is to highlight what mainstream and ‘regular’ schooling systems and cultures might learn from AP providers. Neoliberalised education systems (and the performance-based accountability procedures that are integral to them) have created an exclusionary logic that relies on a system of AP. The latter is currently framed as a parallel universe that reproduces the priorities of mainstream education (normative behavioural standards and academic attainment) rather than as a radical educational alternative for children and young people.  

Speakers:

Helen Knowler is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Wolverhampton and Honorary Lecturer at the University of Exeter. She teaches and researches in the field of Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and her current focus relates to permanent exclusion of pupils from school and specifically ‘hidden’ or illegal exclusion. Helen specialises in research that is collaborative and participatory and has an interest in the development and use of visual research methods in Education Research. 

Dr Elizabeth J. Done is a Lecturer in Inclusion at the Institute of Education (University of Plymouth) and Visiting Research Fellow at Exeter University’s Graduate School of Education, specialising in inclusion, critical perspectives and teacher CPD. Liz supervises PhD students and leads PG modules related to inclusive education. A key interest is senior leaders’ and educational professionals’ negotiation of conflicting governmental imperatives

Webinar 4: Developing Meaningful Practice: Alternative Provision and Higher Education Outreach

Abstract:  Currently in England all Higher Education Providers charging the maximum of £9,250 a year in tuition fees must ‘have in force an access and participation plan approved by the OfS in accordance with the Higher Education and Research Act 2017’ (OfS,2022), committing significant physical and financial resource to increasing the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds who attend their institutions. However, whilst a significant volume of activity by universities is taking place across the country in accordance with these aims, very little of it is targeted toward settings which fall outside of mainstream secondary education (OfS,2019). Using funding from the institutional Access and Participation Plan, in October 2021 Arts University Bournemouth began a project to engage with young people in Alternative Provision, aiming to develop a means by which Alternative Educational Providers could make use of the resources held by the University as a mechanism by which to support their learners. Delivered jointly by staff at the University and a careers professional working at a local Alternative Education Provider, this workshop charts the journey so far, providing a space to reflect on how universities can foster meaningful engagement with young people in alternative educational spaces, and perhaps more importantly, why they should.

Speakers: Dr Alex Blower, Access and Participation Manager, Arts University Bournemouth and Irene Smith, Information Advice and Guidance Lead, Iford Academy

Webinar 5: Provocation on data

Abstract: In 2018 we ran a campaign #LabelsLastALifetime concerned about the new reasons for exclusion to be added to Children’s national records when moving from mainstream to AP schooling but no one told the families - https://defenddigitalme.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AP_2018_Summary_1801.pdf.

Since then, little has changed. We managed to secure an ICO audit of the DfE in 2020 but little was published after the initial damning summary. and we are slightly in limbo now. Now the government proposes in new legislation in the Schools Bill to add children in AP into new national registers at Local Authority level but with national powers of access. While framed as about children not in school the plans are far broader — are they resurrecting the truants register of the Cameron era? We need safe data, safe services, and children to be safe in and out of school — but that doesn’t have to mean more surveillance powers for government into children’s private and family lives.

Speakers: Jen Persson, Digital me