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Topics related to alternative provision software, leadership & practice on the ground.
Beyond Compliance: Why the SCR is key to unlocking compliance in Alternative Provision.
In Alternative Provision, the wide range of staff types, from full-time teachers to specialised mentors and external contractors, makes maintaining a Single Central Record (SCR) a highly complex process. You have to know exactly which regulations and compliance…
Revolutionising Alternative Provision: How Learntrek is Digitising the ILP
In the Alternative Provision (AP) sector, being adaptable is in everything we do. A major shift is coming that requires more than just adaptability – it requires a digital transformation. Following the Voluntary National Standards published in August 2025, the…
MFA for Alternative Provision: Closing the School Cyber-Gap
The Nation Cyber Security Centre warned us that MFA-targeted attacks were coming. The 2025 data proves they are here. The Funding Gap in School Security All parts of the education sector investigated by NCSC were found to have a higher percentage of cyber attacks than…
‘The energy of violence’: Transformations in Adolescence
Find Original Blog Here In their 2023 crime survey the National College of Policing report that violence against women and girls (VAWG) accounts for 20% of recorded crime, and that reported VAWG has increased 37% since 2018 (though the actual figure may be much…
Co-producing solutions: Reflections on a LearnTrek journey
My journey towards LearnTrek began in 2017. I was Senior Executive Officer at a small education charity which had at its heart an independent special school for children with social, emotional and mental health needs. One of my responsibilities was as DSL for the…
Too much software or not enough? Digital strategy tips for small settings.
Digital strategy in small settings In a small setting like an alternative provision, youth work organisation or independent school it’s possible to feel a bit isolated and overwhelmed in terms of support for your digital needs. Maintained provisions like schools have…
What does the latest DfE attendance guidance mean for unregistered APs and Independent Special Schools
Last week the Department for Education issued its guidance for education settings who must follow new rules on supporting, monitoring, and recording attendance as of this September. The guidance sets out how the Working Together to Improve School Attendance (May 2022)…
YOU HQ Article: From the extreme end of behaviour management
Originally published for YOUHQ 22.11.23 I spent the last eight years as a senior leader in an Alternative Provision for pupils excluded from mainstream settings. Many of the pupils I had the privilege to work with were from backgrounds where parents face genuine…
To register or not to register? – the Ofsted question in Alternative Provision
Why register with Ofsted as an Alternative Provision? The SEND and AP Improvement Plan (March 2023) suggests that Ofsted will likely become more directly involved with monitoring “un-registered” provision in the future. The question of whether to register with the…
Being the Adult in Behaviour Management
Behaviour Management in Alternative Provision Children who struggle to cope in mainstream settings often present with behaviour which the adults find difficult to deal with. There are different schools of thought about how best schools should manage problematic…