For AP providers
Manage the daily work around a placement: referrals, timetables, participation, progress evidence, reviews and billing. Explore the provider workspace below.
Explore the AP provider workspace Use cases
Alternative Provision Management Software
Coordinate daily work. Evidence each placement. Keep the next review visible.
Keep referrals, timetables, daily notes, progress, safety and review evidence in one clear place. Schools and commissioners can follow each placement, while parents and carers receive the updates that matter.
Follow the referral-to-review example5 connected product areas, shown below.
Find the AP workflow for your setting
For schools managing placements
Keep placement oversight, funding, attendance and review evidence together. Explore the school-side workflow and discuss which records and access your setting needs.
Explore school placement managementA guided product example
Follow Amelia from referral to a signed placement review
Follow Amelia Bennett through a referral, placement, session records and a signed internal review at Northside Learning Centre. Her 1–7 September review keeps a missing session mark visible alongside the recorded work.
The notes explain what each screen shows and what to check in your own walkthrough.
Step 1
Accept the referral and create the placement
Amelia’s referral has reached Placed, with 12 requested hours per week. Oakfield Academy and the referring SENCO remain connected to her placement and its session records.
Explore the provider workspaceA saved referral and its placement. Step 2
Check each planned session and its record
Ten sessions were planned across five school days. Eight have present marks, one has an authorised absence and one has no mark. Check the missing record alongside the session evidence before completing follow-up.
Explore participation and progressA missing record is shown separately from recorded absence. These are provider session records; the home school maintains its statutory attendance record. Step 3
Sign the review with its evidence gaps visible
Priya Shah’s signed review retains the reporting period, staff summary and next steps alongside ten check-ins, sixteen progress records and four compliance evidence links. The missing session mark still needs follow-up.
Explore the commissioning-school workflowThe signed internal review. Signing records that the stated gaps were reviewed; sharing it with the school, commissioner or family is a separate step.
Reading Amelia’s review record
- Ten planned sessions, nine recorded marks: eight present, one authorised absence and one mark still needed. Recording coverage is 90%.
- Participation is 8 of 9 recorded sessions (88.9%). The review’s attendance headline uses all ten planned sessions: 8 of 10 (80%). The denominators differ, and the missing mark still needs checking.
- The signed review brings together ten check-ins, sixteen progress records and four compliance evidence links for staff to consider.
The example follows an internal workflow from referral to signed review. It shows the records, not pupil progress or placement effectiveness. Staff retain the judgement and follow-up; signing a report does not complete missing evidence.
Ask to see the complete workflow
- Show a corrected session record and how a fresh review retains the revised evidence.
- Confirm the required export format and inspect the resulting file in your walkthrough.
- Demonstrate provider, school, commissioner and parent access separately, including publication, correction and withdrawal of shared information.
The role journey
From daily pressure to a clearer next step.
- 01
Know what needs attention today
Read this section - 02
Keep schools and commissioners in the picture
Read this section - 03
Show progress with the evidence behind it
Read this section
Know what needs attention today
Open Student Radar and see who is expected, which placements are live, what staff are delivering and which reviews are coming up. Recent notes and today's check-ins sit alongside the weekly rota, so the team can start without piecing together several spreadsheets. Everyone works from the same current record, with a clear next step when something needs attention.
Keep schools and commissioners in the picture
Schools can send a referral, share the information the provider needs and follow the placement once it begins. Provider teams can assess the referral, agree the placement and keep the timetable, review dates and day-to-day record together. Schools and commissioners can see the participation, progress and signed review information shared with them. Missing session records stay visible instead of being counted as absence, so everyone can tell the difference between what happened and what still needs recording.
Show progress with the evidence behind it
Staff can record a quick check-in after a session, add a note, photo, voice clip or observation, and connect it to the right pupil and plan. Progress starts from each pupil's own baseline, making change easier to explain at the next review. The evidence supports professional judgement rather than replacing it. Teams can show what they observed, what changed and what they want to try next without pretending that one score tells the whole story.
Keep parents and carers informed
Parents and carers can use the Student Radar parent app to see the timetable, attendance and participation updates, progress summaries and review information published for their child. They can reply and share what they are seeing at home, keeping family voice connected to the placement rather than sitting in a separate inbox.
Be ready for reviews, inspection and billing
Risk assessments, staff checks, compliance tasks and supporting documents are kept together, with owners and review dates clearly shown. Leaders can see what is complete, what needs attention and what still needs a decision. Commissioner review packs bring participation, progress, check-ins and evidence into one signed record. Placement rates and invoices stay connected too, with exports for the finance team.
Connected product work
Related workflows
Open the specialist workflows that support this role view. Each area keeps its own permissions, records and professional decisions.
Inside the workspace
See the complete Alternative Provision workspace
Follow a placement from the first referral through delivery, progress, review and billing.
01 · Start clearly
Today
See the pupils expected today, recent notes and the reviews that need attention.
- Daily operational overview
- Recent pupil notes
- Placement review reminders
02 · Keep pupils visible
Pupil roster
Keep each pupil, home school, placement type and next review together.
- Pupil profiles
- Home-school context
- Placement status and review dates
03 · Start the placement
Referrals
Receive a school referral, make a decision and turn an accepted referral into a placement.
- School referral form
- Clear status and decisions
- No re-keying after acceptance
04 · Keep everyone aligned
Placements and home schools
Keep each placement connected to its home school, commissioner and next review.
- Placement records
- Commissioning organisation
- Start, end and review dates
05 · Understand participation
Placement participation
Compare planned sessions with recorded delivery and participation without turning missing records into absence.
- Planned versus recorded sessions
- Coverage and participation by pupil
- Missing records and session evidence
06 · Record each session
Daily check-ins
Quickly record engagement, work completed and anything the wider team should know.
- Configurable session measures
- Fourteen-day trends
- Pupil notes and evidence links
07 · Show progress
Progress drivers
Review observed change against each pupil’s own baseline across eight progress areas.
- Pupil baselines
- Eight progress drivers
- Reviewable observations and evidence
08 · Keep evidence together
Session evidence
Keep a saved observation alongside its check-in, pupil and session so the next review can return to the original context.
- Session observations
- Source and revision history
- Evidence attached to the pupil check-in
09 · Plan the week
Weekly rota
Lay out sessions, staffing, rooms and pupil groups across the working week.
- Reusable weekly templates
- Staff and pupil allocations
- Coverage and lone-working warnings
10 · Manage safety
Risk assessments
Keep live, signed-off pupil risk profiles and their review dates visible.
- Hazards and controls
- Leader sign-off
- Overdue review visibility
11 · Stay review-ready
Compliance
Work through provider duties with evidence, ownership and explicit review points.
- Registration threshold
- Evidence and review ownership
- Continuous compliance work
12 · Check the team
Single Central Record
Track pre-appointment checks, expiry dates and gaps for staff and volunteers.
- Core recruitment checks
- Expiry prompts
- Staff and volunteer records
13 · Prepare for review
Commissioner review packs
Bring participation, progress and evidence into one review-ready record for sign-off.
- Evidence snapshots
- Recorded gaps
- Leader review and sign-off
14 · Keep finance connected
Billing
Manage placement rates and invoices by commissioning school or authority.
- Rates per placement
- Invoice generation and status
- QuickBooks and Xero exports
In their words
A practitioner view of the platform
“Built from the point of view of school leaders and teachers, not IT departments. It takes what would normally be an hour of spreadsheet work and makes it available in seconds. It reduces workload rather than adding to it.”
Jon Gibson
Director, Backdrop Education Services
The practical questions
FAQs
What is included in the Alternative Provision workspace?
You get referrals, placements, pupil records, weekly rota planning, participation, daily check-ins, progress tracking, evidence capture, risk assessments, commissioner review packs, compliance, the Single Central Record and placement billing in one workspace.
What can schools and commissioners see?
Schools can send referrals, share relevant plans and follow the timetable, participation, progress and review information for their pupils. Commissioners can oversee the placements they are responsible for and receive signed review packs. Access is limited to the pupils and records shared with each organisation.
How do parents and carers access information?
Parents and carers use the Student Radar parent app. They can see information published for their child, including timetables, attendance and participation updates, progress summaries and review information, and can reply from the same place.
Does it help us prepare for commissioner reviews?
Yes. A commissioner review pack brings together the placement period, participation, progress, check-ins and linked evidence. Gaps remain visible, and an authorised leader reviews and signs the pack before it is shared.
Can we see the workspace before a walkthrough?
Yes. The workspace tour on this page follows one placement through referral, timetable, participation, progress, review and billing. A walkthrough can then focus on the parts that matter most to your provision.
Next step
See how one placement works from referral to review.
Walk through the provider, school and family experience, from referral to signed review.