Alternative Education Provision (AP) Framework - Quality Assurance (QA) Protocol

• The Alternative Education Quality Assurance Protocol [pdf document] sets out schools and LA responsibilities relating to AP placements and monitoring.
• The Darlington alternative education framework (including individual placement process and the providers monitoring process) is overseen by the Education Strategy Group. 
• A summary of both the below individual placement process and the providers monitoring process can be found on the Darlington AP flowchart [pdf document]

Alternative Education Provision (AP) Framework – School Led Individual Placement Process

• In order to support schools and providers throughout placements, documentation is available for use.
  • AP referral form [pdf document] – this should be used for all AP referrals, and it is expected that schools do not need to use the providers own referral forms, this ensures consistency across all providers.
  • The pupil strength and development questionnaires below should be used at the start, throughout and at the end of all AP placements, as evidence of impact which should be reported via the VPP return.  
    • Primary questionnaire [pdf document] 
    • Secondary questionnaire [pdf document] 
• The LA have developed an exemplar AP Policy [pdf document] and checklist of important factors to consider when choosing an AP [pdf document].

Alternative Education Provision (AP) Framework – Quality Assurance, Alternative Education Provider Monitoring

• AP’s will receive up to two monitoring visits in an academic year.
• The visit is to monitor provision not the individual pupils.
• A provider quality visit monitoring form [pdf document] should be used to record key findings at the visit and should be returned to [email protected].
• Providers will be asked to identify a sample of pupils to complete the pupil voice teaching and learning questionnaire [pdf document], which should be made available at the visit, and returned along with the monitoring form.