If someone's just mentioned "alternative provision" to you — maybe a SENCO, a social worker, or another parent in an online group — you probably have questions. The system is full of acronyms and nobody seems to explain them in plain English.
Let's fix that.
What Is Alternative Provision?
Alternative provision (AP) is education that happens outside of mainstream school. It's for young people who, for whatever reason, aren't thriving in a traditional classroom. That might be because of:
- Anxiety or school refusal
- Permanent or fixed-term exclusion
- Special educational needs that a mainstream school can't adequately support
- Social, emotional, or mental health (SEMH) difficulties
- Medical conditions that make full-time attendance impossible
AP isn't a punishment and it isn't giving up. For many young people, it's the thing that finally works.
AP vs EOTAS vs EHCP — What's the Difference?
Alternative Provision (AP) is the broad term for any education outside mainstream school. It includes special schools, pupil referral units (PRUs), and specialist providers like us.
EOTAS (Education Otherwise Than At School) is a specific legal arrangement where the local authority agrees that a child should be educated outside school entirely. It's often written into an EHCP.
EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) is a legal document that describes a child's special educational needs and the support they should receive. Having an EHCP can unlock funding for AP, but you don't always need one — some AP is commissioned directly by schools or local authorities without an EHCP in place.
How Is Alternative Provision Funded?
This is where it gets practical. AP can be funded in several ways:
- Local authority commissioned: The LA identifies your child needs AP and arranges it directly. This is common when a child has an EHCP.
- School commissioned: The school uses its own budget (often from high-needs funding) to buy AP places for specific pupils.
- Personal budgets: Some EHCPs include a personal budget that families can direct towards approved provision.
- Self-funded: Some families choose to fund AP privately, particularly while waiting for an EHCP assessment or tribunal.
We work with over 40 local authorities across England, and we're listed as an approved provider on most of their directories. That means if your LA agrees your child needs AP, they can commission us without a lengthy procurement process.
What Should You Look For in an AP Provider?
Not all alternative provision is created equal. Here's what to ask:
- Are they registered? Check for Ofsted registration. We're a registered provider and you can view our Ofsted reports.
- What's the ratio? A room of 15 with one teacher isn't really "alternative." Look for 1:1 or very small groups.
- Do they specialise? Some providers are brilliant for medical needs but wrong for SEMH. Find one that understands your child's specific profile.
- How do they engage the young person? If it looks like school-in-a-different-building, it probably won't work any better than school did.
- Can they evidence progress? Not just academic — social, emotional, and behavioural progress matters too.
How Player Ready Does AP Differently
Our alternative provision uses gaming and technology as mentoring tools. That means sessions built around Minecraft, Roblox, Unity, and other platforms that young people actually want to engage with.
We offer 1:1 mentoring (in-venue or online) and small group sessions at our five venues in Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Truro, and Portsmouth. Online provision means we can support families anywhere in England — we've worked with young people from Cumbria to Kent.
Every programme is built around the individual. There's no set curriculum, no rigid timetable, and no assumption about what "progress" should look like. For some young people, progress is attending consistently after months of school refusal. For others, it's completing a Roblox game and discovering they want to learn to code properly.
Where to Start
If your child is struggling and you think AP might help, start by talking to your school's SENCO or your local authority's SEN team. If your child has an EHCP (or you're applying for one), ask about EOTAS and specialist providers.
You're also welcome to contact us directly. We can talk you through how it works, whether we'd be a good fit, and what the next steps might look like with your local authority. We do this every day, and we're happy to help you navigate the process — even if you don't end up working with us.