Exploring the role and value of PE and sport in Alternative Provision schools in England

The challenge

In 2022, there were around 35,600 children and young people attending alternative provision schools across England. One in two pupils attending alternative provision schools having social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) as their primary category of special educational need (SEN) (House of Commons, 2018), while there is also growing recognition that pupils’ mental health and wellbeing influence their educational attainment. As such, most alternative provision providers aim to facilitate re-engagement with learning, as well as promote social and emotional development, with the ultimate outcome of pupils re-integrating into mainstream education.

PE (and physical activity and sport) can play a crucial role here by engaging young people in positive youth development and enhancing mental wellbeing. Research has shown that PE can help build friendships between young people, and between young people and adults. Importantly, for young people in alternative provision schools, PE can even be used to support their transfer back to ‘mainstream’ schools and can promote positive behaviour. However, there is limited research that has explored the provision or impact of sport and physical activity through the PE curriculum within alternative provision schools. In addition, little is known about what PE and sport in alternative provision does and/or should involve, how it is experienced by pupils, how staff are trained to teach it, or how well the subject is resourced.

The approach

The novel research, funded by the Youth Sport Trust was conducted across three distinct phases:

• Phase 1 involved the creation and distribution of an online survey to every alternative provision school in England to explore how many offered PE as part of their school curriculum and what it involved.
• Phase 2 included speaking to 29 practitioners (i.e., those responsible for the delivery of PE) via individual and focus group interviews. These conversations explored some of the key messages identified from the survey in phase 1.
• Phase 3 included four case studies covering four unique alternative provision school contexts, engaging with 25 young people (aged 11-16) across those settings (e.g., 1 x London, 2 x North-East and 1 x North-West). The conversations with young people included a range of different activities including drawing, mapping, character creation and the use of graffiti boards – all designed to elicit their experiences of PE.

The Impact

Working alongside the Youth Sport Trust the research generated two distinct reports: one for adult stakeholders and one for young people attending alternative provision. These reports were launched at one online and one face-to-face dissemination event with key stakeholders in attendance. The research and its implications has therefore reached a broader audience with one case study acting as evidence of impact in a specific alternative provision context.

For instance, one Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) comprising 11 alternative provision schools has embarked on a longitudinal study to ‘trial and learn’. This process has included the creation of ‘PE in the Box’ in every Academy. Each ‘PE in a box’ contains equipment that could be used in any setting, where traditional PE spaces are not available. To supplement this, staff have been trained to use the equipment in different ways, depending on the needs of their pupils. Non-specialist teachers in both primary and secondary are now increasingly confident in delivering PE and are creating space in their curriculum for PE. In addition, a PE Trust Lead was appointed, as well as Primary Lead, to support teachers through subject networks which meet regularly as the MAT looks to further build curriculum provision.