Lecturer awarded grant for research study aimed at improving Alternative Provision

A UWE Bristol criminology lecturer has received a research grant to help improve education for children and young people who cannot attend a mainstream school due to exclusion, illness or special educational needs.

Dr Craig Johnston has been awarded £5,000 to identify the most effective approaches to Alternative Provision within five schools run by the Esteem Multi-Academy Trust.

It is hoped that the findings from the research Dr Johnston carries out at the trust can be used to help strengthen Alternative Provision across the wider education sector in England.

He said: “I am delighted to receive this funding. There remains a surprising lack of systematic knowledge across the sector about how Alternative Provision is used in practice – both operationally and strategically.

“This project allows us to bring clarity to an area that is under-examined. The impact will be practical, helping trusts develop more coherent and inclusive approaches, but it also has wider policy relevance at a time when inclusion, accountability and pupil movement are under increasing scrutiny.”

The one-year project, called Reimagining Alternative Provision in the Context of a Multi-Academy Trust: An Exploration of Policy, Practice and Inclusion, will explore the structures, practices and policies underpinning Alternative Provision within the trust’s schools. This will be aimed at identifying approaches that most effectively promote inclusive, equitable and high-quality education for pupils often positioned at the margins of mainstream schooling.

The study will interrogate how Alternative Provision settings within the trust navigate issues of exclusion, engagement and accountability, and what constitutes ‘best practice’ in this complex and evolving context. The findings will contribute to the development of a best practice framework designed to enhance coherence, innovation and responsiveness.

Around one per cent of the school population in the UK are in state-funded Alternative Provision at any one time – approximately 50,000 pupils. Approaches currently vary significantly between schools and trusts. Some use Alternative Provision strategically – as a short-term, supported intervention with clear reintegration plans and strong oversight. Others use it more reactively, often linked to behaviour pressures, accountability demands, or capacity constraints.

The research comes at a time when the Government is seeking to strengthen inclusion across the education system. Recent policy proposals highlight the need for clearer expectations on how schools support pupils with additional needs and how Alternative Provision is used as part of an inclusive system rather than as a route out of mainstream education.

Dr Johnston, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Sciences, said: “The still limited research in this area tentatively suggests that where Alternative Provision is embedded within a wider inclusion strategy, outcomes may be stronger. Where it functions as a removal mechanism, it can reinforce separation rather than effective support. However, the sheer diversity of local providers makes national comparisons difficult.

“If poorly handled, Alternative Provision can become a pathway to educational exclusion, social isolation and long-term marginalisation. Young people who experience exclusion are disproportionately represented in youth justice and safeguarding systems. Without strong reintegration, high-quality provision and sustained support, there is a continued and evident risk that educational disengagement becomes entrenched – increasing vulnerability to exploitation and criminal involvement.”

Esteem Multi-Academy Trust runs 14 schools in total - eight special schools, five Alternative Provision settings and one mainstream infant school with a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs. The five Alternative Provision settings will be the focus of the study.

Jolene Carter, Director of Research and Development at Esteem Multi-Academy Trust, said: “The Esteem Multi-Academy Trust is delighted to be working with UWE Bristol on this important research. By opening our Alternative Provision academies to collaborative enquiry, we hope to contribute to a stronger understanding of effective practice and support the development of guidance that will benefit the wider education sector.”