{"id":74023,"date":"2026-04-15T14:21:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/?page_id=74023"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:14:19","slug":"aep","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/send-local-offer\/education-and-learning\/inclusion-in-schools\/aep\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative education provision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About alternative education provision (AEP)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For most children and young people, going to school or college with their peers is the best way to learn, build independence and prepare for adult life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, a small number of children and young people have complex needs and may find it difficult to attend a mainstream or special school or college. This might be because of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a long\u2011term illness or disability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>specific educational needs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>mental health difficulties<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In most cases, an AEP package will be a short-term solution which will aim to support a child or young person to move towards accessing an educational setting.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of alternative education provision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are <strong>three types<\/strong> of alternative education provision:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Non-school alternative education provision<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alternative academy provision<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Non-school alternative education provision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These settings and services:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>are usually delivered by independent providers, which may include registered companies, charities, community interest companies or sole traders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>provide up to 18 hours of support per week for a child or young person.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>are not registered as schools and are not currently inspected by Ofsted<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>offer a wide range of support, for example:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>tutoring<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>mentoring or coaching<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>outdoor or sports\u2011based activities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accessing non-school AEP<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Support from non\u2011school AEP providers is usually arranged by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>the child or young person\u2019s school<\/strong>, which commissions and organises services directly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>parents or carers<\/strong>, who can use their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/send-local-offer\/money\/personal-budgets\/personal-education-budgets\/\">Personal Education Budgets<\/a> from Devon County Council<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Devon County Council<\/strong>, through services such as SEND Operations, Inclusion and Learning Services, or the Virtual School<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where Devon County Council arranges the support, providers will be sourced from the <strong>approved Open Framework<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-dcc-secondary-button\"><a onclick=\"dataLayer.push({&apos;buttonEvent&apos;: &apos;Information page&apos;});\" class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/send-local-offer\/education-and-learning\/inclusion-in-schools\/aep\/non-school-providers\/\">Non-school alternative education providers list<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alternative academy provision.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These settings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>are run by <strong>academy trusts<\/strong> registered with the Department for Education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>are inspected by Ofsted<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>work in partnership with local authorities to support children and young people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Devon, WAVE Multi\u2011Academy Trust works with Devon County Council to provide places at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavemat.org\/our-academies\/river-dart-academy-dartington\" rel=\"noopener\">River Dart Academy (Dartington)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavemat.org\/our-academies\/stansfield-academy-exeter\" rel=\"noopener\">Stansfield Academy (Exeter)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavemat.org\/our-academies\/shoreline-academy\" rel=\"noopener\">The Shoreline Academy (Barnstaple)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavemat.org\/our-academies\/torlands-academy-exeter\" rel=\"noopener\">Torlands Academy (Exeter)<\/a>, is a specialist medical academy, providing education specifically for children and young people with complex medical and\/ or mental health needs preventing them from attending school.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accessing alternative academy provision<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Devon County Council leads on arranging these placements. We work closely with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WAVE Multi\u2011Academy Trust<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>families<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the child or young person\u2019s school<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pupil Referral Units<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Devon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devonhospitalschool.org.uk\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Short Stay Hospital School<\/a> supports children and young people who are unable to attend school for medical reasons. It is registered as a Pupil Referral Unit with the Department for Education, and is inspected by Ofsted<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Devon County Council works with the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and North Devon District Hospital to deliver this support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accessing the Devon Short Stay Hospital School<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Devon County Council will arrange support for eligible children and young people, working with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>families<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the child or young person\u2019s school<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the Devon Short Stay Hospital School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>hospital partners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government continues to review how alternative education provision is used across England and how it can best support children and young people now and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More information is available on the GOV.UK website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/alternative-provision\" rel=\"noopener\">Alternative provision<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/consultations\/strengthening-protections-in-unregistered-alternative-provision\" rel=\"noopener\">Strengthening protections in unregistered alternative provision<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan\" rel=\"noopener\">SEND and alternative provision improvement plan<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/non-school-alternative-provision-voluntary-national-standards\" rel=\"noopener\">Non-school alternative provision: voluntary national standards<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About alternative education provision (AEP) For most children and young people, going to school or college with their peers is the best way to learn, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":981,"featured_media":0,"parent":152,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-74023","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-10 19:19:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/981"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74023"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74183,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74023\/revisions\/74183"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}