Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Solutions for AP and Mainstream Education

I’ve recently blogged about the importance of creating ‘irresistible’ curriculum in order to help children in AP self-identify positively as learners. In the AP I used to run, we were earnestly committed to co-creating the best possible opportunities for our students to grow and achieve. When I reflect on my time in AP, however, I realise that we may have missed chances to improve outcomes for our students and to address the stigma surrounding AP which undoubtedly impacted negatively on them. I remember feeling that we needed to create a success-orientated environment for our students where occasions to achieve were maximised in every way, from the physical arrangement of buildings to the non-restraint, relationship-based approach to behaviour.

Looking back I think this focus on refining our own practice may have led to an insular perspective, when collaboration with the wider world of education may have been beneficial. It was important for us to risk-assess any interaction with members of the community outside our setting, and to ensure our students’ anxieties could be managed effectively if triggered. Since our students’ school experiences had been universally traumatic, any work with mainstream would have required careful thought. Contemplating the work with a critical eye I can see that we did not explore the possibilities of partnership  with enough seriousness.

Whilst I am sceptical about the viability of the government’s plan for 12 week AP placements, I’ve come to believe that more collaborative work between AP and mainstream help would some children who don’t thrive in conventional settings, to access the best opportunities to achieve, progress and contribute.

I’m not suggesting that children are made to reconnect with the mainstream system.  If we are to pursue opportunities for co-production with mainstream, AP providers, LAs and schools will need  ingenuity and patience in working together. Knowing the creativity and commitment among AP providers to develop effective practice, I don’t doubt the capacity of the sector to  build solutions with colleagues in mainstream, providing there is a shared determination among everyone involved.    

I would start with the referral process; if this is to be fully effective the process needs to consist of open and meaningful dialogue between all parties. In my experience protocols for referral  can be far more perfunctory than is helpful to a positive transition and lasting placement. In the worst examples I have known schools wilfully fail to provide all relevant information about needs and risks presented by a particular child, so urgent is the need to secure an out of school placement. More common is an exchange of paperwork with the onus on the AP to follow up with home visits and any further discussion it judges necessary to get a full picture of the child. By the time a child is referred to external AP the relationship with school has often broken down; if a child can be supported by school, though, to visit the new setting prior to joining, the placement has an improved chance of success. Even better, if school can remain in touch throughout the placement, attend events and include the child in some school-based activities (not always possible or the right thing to do)  the child will feel less disconnected from the world inhabited by their peers in mainstream and their self-identification may be more positively encoded. 

I would encourage regular reciprocal visits for school and AP staff where they can see the child in her/his school/AP day; this indicates to the child  a shared interest in them among the adults delivering their education, it also helps staff on both sides to understand and appreciate the work done by the other team. It can be very helpful for colleagues from school and AP to speak, periodically, each at the other’s team meetings – to brief on their respective work with the children. There should always be a link worker at each setting who are in regular contact. In the AP I worked in we would often lead on joint team work days with schools and LA staff – this was made easier by the fact that we were an outdoor provision with capacity to deliver exciting and fun activities such as high and low ropes and kayaking. It’s not beyond possibility to organise similar initiatives even without access to adventurous activities.  These days were a worthwhile investment on both sides in terms of  establishing and maintaining warm relationships to benefit children in the long run. 

I have delivered a lot of training for colleagues in mainstream, to help them understand the ways we work in AP, particularly in the field of behaviour management. One local authority commissioned us to deliver a significant project across all schools in the county; I would like to see this type of initiative rolled out routinely. Conversely  I would like to see schools supporting APs with training where possible, where the content would be relevant and helpful to creating good outcomes for the children they share.  I think it’s so important for the children that the adults involved appreciate each other’s points of view.

Of course, the key common link between school and AP are parents/carers, who interact with both settings. I think a lot more work could be done to include parents; when I ran an AP we worked hard to build our relationships with parents, many of whom had only very negative experiences with the education system in the past. What we were less good at was ensuring that opportunities were grasped for developing communication between and among parents/school and AP.  We could have included school in more of the positive information sharing we did with parents, such as when a child had a great day or achieved something good. I think it would have been powerfully positive for parents to know that school were seeing what their children were able to accomplish. 

What I reflect on when looking back at this aspect of my career in AP leadership, it is with frustration at missed opportunities. So convinced were we that our intervention was what was needed, that we didn’t see how much value could have been added to our work by working collaboratively with mainstream colleagues. It’s not impossible, it just needs some careful thinking and a belief in the willingness and capacity of all involved to co-create brilliant solutions!