Ofsted investigates rise in primary-age children in alternative provision

Exclusive: chief inspector says some children excluded from school are placed in unregistered, unsafe settings

‘Written off at five’: inspectors’ fears for children in AP
Amanda Spielman: A loophole leaves the most vulnerable pupils at risk

The schools inspectorate Ofsted has launched an urgent inquiry into a sharp rise in the number of primary-age children – some as young as five – being excluded from school and placed in institutions that can be unregulated, “unkempt and unsafe”.

The chief inspector of schools in England, Amanda Spielman, told the Guardian that some children were being removed from mainstream schools because their needs and behaviour were seen as “too challenging”, and were being placed in alternative provision (AP) “with little thought of their futures”.

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