Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accessibility of routes to employment for pupils who have been excluded from school.

There are duties in place to make sure that suitable, full time alternative provision (AP) is available for children of compulsory school age who have been excluded for a fixed period or permanently. Local authorities are responsible for making sure that provision meets the needs of young people in their area. This includes identifying 16 to 19 year olds who are not in education, employment or training, such as those excluded from school, and providing the help they need to participate and progress.

The department is raising the proportion of young people leaving AP to engage in education, employment and training. A high proportion of these students will have special educational needs and/or a disability and through the Children and Families Act 2014 we have put in place support to help these students to succeed alongside their peers. Young people also have access to a range of support and guidance, including the 16-19 Bursary Fund to assist with the costs associated with staying in post-16 further education and Access to Work funding to support apprentices who are disabled or have a physical or mental health condition.

In March 2018, the government published its vision for AP, including a plan for improving the support it offers to young people. We will continue to engage with AP and post-16 providers to identify and share new ways of helping young people make the transition into post-16 settings and adult life. We have commissioned primary research into the recent experiences of children, schools, AP and post-16 providers regarding this transition. We are also in the process of assessing bids from organisations who have applied to the AP Innovation Fund to design and test new approaches to improve outcomes for young people leaving AP at age 16.