An alternative provision placement-review pack should show what the placement was meant to achieve, what education and support were delivered, what the pupil experienced, what evidence is missing and what the people responsible will do next. Every conclusion needs a traceable source and a clear limit.
This annotated example is for AP providers and school or local-authority placement leads in England. It concerns a placement already under way. Provider staff assemble and explain their records; the commissioner retains oversight and makes decisions within the relevant statutory arrangements. A report cannot transfer that responsibility.
Open with the decision the review needs to make
Start the cover sheet with the review period, placement purpose, agreed objectives, timetable, provider contact, commissioning lead and date of the discussion. Add the pupil's and family's views, including any disagreement or contribution still to obtain. Explain how they can correct the record.
The Department for Education's Arranging Alternative Provision guidance recommends agreeing objectives and review dates with the provider, with reviews at least half-termly. The frequency should also respond to the child's circumstances. Follow any additional requirements for the placement route. This pack is an editorial model; the required records and procedures depend on the placement.
Sample cover note: an early placement check asks whether the agreed learning and access arrangements are operating, which records need checking and whether an earlier review is needed. It does not yet ask whether the placement has produced sustained progress.
Everything in the worked record below is made up for this guide. It describes four equal-length planned sessions in a short observation window. It is not a customer case study, an account of an actual pupil or evidence of a successful placement.
Read the session rows before the headline
Place the agreed timetable beside the provider's session records. Confirm the date, duration, source, entry time and any later correction. A planned session tells you what was expected. It does not establish that teaching happened or that the pupil attended.
| Planned session | Record available | Review annotation |
|---|---|---|
| First | Present | Check the linked teaching note and support delivered. |
| Second | Present | Keep any arrival or session-duration detail visible. |
| Third | Illness recorded | Retain the source and the follow-up already undertaken. |
| Fourth | No record available | Unresolved. Confirm what happened and preserve any correction. |
Three of four expected records are available: recording coverage is 75%. Two of those three records say present: that is 66.7% of recorded sessions. Two of four planned sessions are confirmed present: that is 50% of planned sessions. Each answers a different question.
None turns the fourth session into a recorded absence. None is a school's statutory attendance percentage. For sessions of different lengths, also show the relevant minutes or hours and explain the calculation. Avoid comparing unlike observation periods or excluding missing entries without saying so.
The school's register must follow the statutory attendance guidance. The correct recording depends on the arrangement and evidence for that session. Provider participation summaries do not choose the register code. A missing record or unexplained absence needs prompt follow-up through the agreed attendance and safeguarding procedures; it cannot wait for the next scheduled review meeting.
Put the learning evidence beside the support delivered
The sample pack contains two pieces of work and a note that a quieter start was offered. One task was completed with adult prompting. The other has no record of the help given. Those details affect what a reviewer can infer from the work.
The immediate question is whether the agreed access arrangement happened, how the pupil experienced it and what the work shows about the specific learning objective. Ask the teaching lead to add the task, conditions, support used and date. Compare with a relevant starting point only when one exists. Label an absent baseline as missing evidence.
Add the pupil's account in a communication format they can use. In this example, the family's view has not yet been obtained. Record that gap and who will follow it up; silence does not establish agreement. A family account can explain a question that a session total leaves unanswered, without automatically establishing its cause.
DfE's voluntary standards for non-school AP connect learning targets, feedback and review of progress. They are non-statutory. Check the applicable commissioning agreement and wider duties for the setting; using the standards does not establish approval or fulfil those duties by itself.
Keep the planned support, evidence of its delivery and evidence of learning distinct. The existing provision review guide explains that distinction in more detail. Attendance, a completed task and a calmer session can prompt enquiry; together they still cannot prove that AP caused an improvement.
Write a conclusion that another professional can challenge
Use separate sentences for observation, interpretation and decision. In the sample, the observation is two confirmed attended sessions, one illness entry and one missing record. The interpretation is limited: the evidence is too short and incomplete to judge sustained learning or the suitability of a longer placement.
Sample next steps: the provider attendance lead checks the fourth session immediately under the existing follow-up arrangements. The teaching lead adds the missing task conditions. The commissioning lead obtains pupil and family contributions and sets the next review date with the provider. Record a person, deadline and completion evidence against each action.
These actions do not automatically authorise continuing, extending or ending a placement. The responsible people must consider safety, education, support, the child's views and the applicable placement process. Where an EHC plan is involved, bring the local authority and SENCo into the appropriate process; an ordinary AP review does not amend that plan.
Ofsted's 2024 thematic review found variable placement oversight and family involvement in the areas visited. Its findings raise useful questions for review. They don't describe every provider, and current decisions need to take account of later guidance.
Close the pack with its version and next review
Record the author, reviewer, date, evidence window and version being agreed. Preserve disagreements and unresolved questions. If a source changes afterwards, make the correction traceable and check whether the conclusion or recipients need an update. A signature records approval of that version; it does not remove its limitations.
Agree the recipient, purpose and authorised information-sharing route before sending. Keep sensitive safeguarding detail within the appropriate restricted process. Recording a concern must be followed by appropriate action. Follow the safeguarding policy and speak to the designated safeguarding lead or deputy. Their unavailability must not delay appropriate action. For schools and colleges, Keeping children safe in education 2026 sets out the immediate response and referral expectations. Use the relevant local or emergency route when required.
Student Radar's AP worked example shows saved session records and a signed internal review with evidence gaps retained. It illustrates record preparation, not proven placement impact, a native PDF export or confirmed delivery to a school or parent. The school-side placement workflow serves a different role from provider reporting.
Before the meeting closes, check that the record answers the opening decision question, that each unresolved item has an owner and that everyone knows what would trigger an earlier review. For a family-facing discussion, the attendance support meeting guide can help structure the conversation. Explore the AP example if you want to see how records and an internal review can be brought together.
Sources and further reading
Sources checked on 3 October 2026. The statutory material below applies to England.
- Department for Education, Arranging Alternative Provision, February 2025: objectives, review, oversight and EHC-plan responsibilities.
- Department for Education, Working together to improve school attendance, July 2026: school registers and off-site attendance arrangements.
- Department for Education, Non-school alternative provision: voluntary national standards, August 2025: session records, learning targets and review. Non-statutory.
- Department for Education, Keeping children safe in education 2026, September 2026, Part one: acting on concerns without delay.
- Ofsted, Alternative provision in local areas in England: a thematic review, February 2024: findings about oversight and family involvement.