Best Practice

School-resourced alternative provision: Four examples

Accessing external SEND support continues to be a challenge for schools. In the face of increasing demand for additional provision, schools are finding their own solutions. Suzanne O’Connell visits four such schools
Urgent need: There has been a significant rise in the proportion of pupils receiving support for autism, language and communication, and social, emotional and mental health needs in schools - Adobe Stock

That schools are struggling to find adequate provision for pupils with SEND, is widely understood. Since the introduction of the SEND Code of Practice we have seen increasing numbers of pupils enter early years with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) – and numbers are rising year-on-year (Thomson, 2024).

In particular, there has been a significant rise in the proportion of pupils receiving support for autism, language and communication, and social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH).

As we know, requests for support from CAMHS, from speech and language therapists, and for pupils who are on the autistic spectrum have increased, but schools are frustrated by the lack of a timely response and high thresholds to access overwhelmed external services.

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