The Alternative Provision Network

The Alternative Provision Network is a national directory and community for alternative education providers, schools, local authorities and commissioners across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We bring together everyone involved in alternative provision to share knowledge, find providers and improve outcomes for young people.

Alternative Provision (AP) is education arranged by local authorities or schools for pupils who cannot attend mainstream school. This includes pupils who have been excluded, those with medical needs, and those at risk of exclusion. AP settings include Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), SEMH schools, vocational providers, therapeutic providers, online providers and independent AP settings.

Every young person deserves access to a good education regardless of their circumstances. AP plays a vital role in keeping vulnerable young people engaged in education, preventing long term disengagement and supporting positive outcomes. The AP sector works with some of the most challenging and vulnerable young people in the country and deserves proper recognition and support.

The network is open to AP providers, local authorities, schools, commissioners, tutors and anyone with a professional interest in alternative provision. We have membership options for every type of organisation.

We have a range of membership options: Tutor(s) — £95 per year, Alternative Provider (Unregistered) — £195 per year, Alternative Provider (Registered) — £245 per year, School — £295 per year, Local / National Government — £395 per year, Day Pass — £10, Week Pass — £20.

You can see basic information about providers including their sector type, local authority area and a brief description of their provision. Full contact details, pricing and provision information require a membership.

Visit our Join the Network page and select the membership type that best describes your organisation. You can pay securely by card via Stripe. Once payment is confirmed you will be directed to claim or create your listing.

Yes — all payments are processed securely by Stripe, one of the world's leading payment processors. We do not store any card details on our servers.

Yes — you can cancel your membership at any time via your membership account page. Your access will continue until the end of your current billing period.

As a member you get a full listing in the national directory including your provision description, age range, capacity, charges and Ofsted rating. You also get full access to the directory of other providers and local authorities, access to our forums, resource library and events, and the ability to manage contacts linked to your organisation.

Alternative Provider (Registered) is for Ofsted registered AP organisations. Alternative Provider (Unregistered) is for organisations not yet registered with Ofsted. Tutor(s) is for individual tutors and small tutor groups.

After joining you will be redirected to our claiming page. We will automatically search for your organisation by your email domain. If we find a match you can claim it with one click. If not you can search for your listing or create a new one.

If your organisation has been pre-loaded into the directory you can claim it after joining. Simply select your listing on the claiming page, confirm you are an authorised representative and your account will be linked automatically.

Yes — you can submit a basic listing including your name, address, sector and contact details for free via our Submit Your Listing page. Free listings are reviewed by our team before appearing in the directory.

A free listing shows your basic details — name, address, sector and local authority. A paid listing allows you to add your full provision description, age range, capacity, charges and Ofsted rating, and is marked as verified giving schools and commissioners greater confidence in your organisation.

Verified listings have been claimed and confirmed by the organisation itself. Unverified listings have been submitted or imported but not yet claimed by a paying member. We encourage all providers to claim and verify their listing.

Yes — as a Company Administrator you can add colleagues to your organisation for free via the Manage Users page. They will have read-only access to the directory and their access is linked to your subscription.

If your subscription expires your listing will remain in the directory but you will lose the ability to edit it. Any linked users will also lose their directory access automatically.

Log in and visit the Edit My Listing page. You can update your provision description, age range, capacity, charges and Ofsted rating at any time. Changes are live immediately.

Basic contact details such as your address, phone number and email are managed by the network administrator. Please contact us if any of these need updating.

No — your charges and pricing information are only visible to paying members. Non-members and free visitors cannot see your pricing.

As a Local Authority member you get a record in our LA directory, full access to the provider directory including contact details, provision descriptions and pricing, access to our forums, resource library and events, and the ability to manage your team's contacts.

Local authorities and national government bodies should select the Local / National Government membership at £395 per year. This covers your whole team — you can add as many staff members as you need for free.

After joining you will be redirected to our LA claiming page. We will search for your authority by email domain. If we find a match you can claim it directly. If not you can create a new record which will be reviewed by our team.

Yes — as an LA Administrator you can add colleagues for free via the Manage Users page. All linked users share your subscription and have read-only access to the full directory.

Yes — you can add as many staff members as you need to your LA record for free. This includes AP leads, commissioners, SEND teams and any other colleagues who need directory access.

Use our provider directory and filter by your local authority area. You can also search by sector type, keyword or postcode to find providers that match your specific requirements.

Yes — as a member you can see full contact details for all providers including phone, email and website. You can contact them directly outside of the platform.

Your LA record is visible in the directory but full contact details for individual staff members are only visible to paying members.

As a School member you get full access to the provider directory including contact details, provision descriptions and pricing, access to our resource library, forums and events, and the ability to search and filter providers by sector, local authority and keyword.

No — we offer a Day Pass (£10) for 24 hours access and a Week Pass (£20) for 7 days access. These are ideal if you need to find a provider quickly without committing to an annual membership.

Use our provider directory to search by local authority area, sector type or keyword. Each listing shows the provider's provision description, age range, capacity and Ofsted rating to help you find the best match.

Key things to consider include Ofsted rating, age range and capacity, the type of provision offered, location and transport, cost and whether the provider can meet your pupil's specific needs. Our directory makes it easy to compare providers side by side.

Schools retain responsibility for pupils placed in AP. You must ensure the provision is suitable, safe and meeting the pupil's needs. The provider must be approved by the local authority or registered with Ofsted. Our resource library contains guidance on your legal duties.

Schools can commission AP directly from providers for fixed term exclusions of up to 5 days. For longer placements and managed moves the local authority should be involved. Always follow your school's exclusion and AP commissioning policy.

Look for providers with a current Ofsted registration and rating, appropriate safeguarding policies and DBS checked staff. Our directory shows each provider's Ofsted rating and verified status. Always visit a provider before placing a pupil and check references.

Yes — providers update their own listings and our team regularly reviews and verifies records. We encourage all providers to keep their information current.