AT1185 Alternative Education Providers

Luton Council is looking to add to its pool of approved alternative education providers to meet the needs of learners who require educational provision to complement, extend or replace their existing curriculum. Alternative provision may also be put in place for students who are at the point of permanent exclusion, have been permanently excluded from school or signed off from school on medical grounds. Alternative providers are required to:

Offer good academic opportunities, with appropriate accreditation and qualifications to allow students to access their chosen post 16 pathway.

Ensure that specific personal, social and academic needs of students are properly identified and met in order to help them overcome any barriers to attainment.

Improve student motivation, self-confidence, attendance and engagement in education.

Set clearly defined objectives including transition following the placement such as reintegration into mainstream education, further education, training or employment.

Ensure robust safeguarding procedures are strictly followed.

The council would like to invite tenders from providers of education. The council would like to invite tenders from the following specialist areas: Construction skills, Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, Motor Mechanics and Motor Vehicle Engineering, Horse/Equine Therapy and other therapeutic interventions, Art/Design/Textiles, Sports, ICT courses, Computer Science courses and specialised work with young people involved with gangs and violence. The council would also like to invite tenders from providers to support students with medical needs, including students with mental health and anxiety conditions, who can provide a wide coverage of GCSE/functional skills subjects including the core subjects.

The statutory guidance for the use of alternative provision is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision

The council will use alternative provision to meet its responsibilities to arrange education for students who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive a suitable education.

Alternative provision may also be commissioned directly by schools for students directed off-site to improve their behaviour or to access external support. Where schools commission places directly, they are required to undertake regular quality assurance reviews of the placement to ensure that the off-site provision is achieving its identified objectives and is impactful for their students.

All documents are available on the ProContract e-tendering portal, https://procontract.due-north.com.