Evaluation of the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (APST)

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What is the issue?

Compared to those in mainstream schools, children in alternative provision (AP) schools are at higher risk of being involved in violence, are less likely to attend school regularly, attain highly or achieve good outcomes after school.

In 2021, the Department for Education launched the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (APST) pilot. This pilot embedded teams of specialists, such as mental health workers, youth workers, speech and language therapists, family support workers, youth justice workers and post-16 transition workers, in 22 AP schools that are in serious violence hotspots. The pilot aimed to improve pupil outcomes, improve relationships between AP schools and local agencies and upskill AP staff, in order to reduce serious youth violence.

Funded by the HM Treasury Shared Outcomes Fund, the pilot involved cross-governmental support from the Department for Education; the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; the Department for Health and Social Care; the Home Office; the Ministry of Justice; the Department for Work and Pensions; and the Youth Justice Board.

Initially planned to run for two years, the pilot was extended for a third year of delivery and continues to operate across many schools in England.

How did we help?

RAND Europe, in consortium with FFT Datalab and University of Westminster, has been commissioned by the Youth Endowment Fund to conduct an evaluation of the APST pilot in years 1 & 2 and in Year 3.

Drawing on data from the National Pupil Database, Individual Learner Record, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires, we conducted a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference impact evaluation in order to identify whether being enrolled at a school with APST had an impact on pupil outcomes: including post-16 study, reintegration into mainstream school, attendance, attainment and socio-emotional wellbeing.

We also conducted a theory-based implementation and process evaluation to explore the perceptions of those involved, facilitators and barriers to delivery, unintended consequences and cost.

A detailed overview of the methods used by the evaluation can be found in the evaluation protocol. The final report for years 1 & 2 was published in July 2025. The final report for year 3 is expected in summer 2026.

What did we find?

Findings are available for the evaluation of APST in years 1 & 2:

Reintegration

APST had no impact on year 7-10 children being reintegrated into mainstream school and had little to no low impact on year 11 children progressing to post-16 study.
It is challenging to interpret the lack of impact on year 7-10 children being reintegrated because reintegration is a complex outcome – for some children, continued support in the AP setting may be the best outcome.
APST had a low (but highly uncertain) impact on KS4 English and KS4 maths, had no impact on sustained post-16 study or year 7-9 reintegration into mainstream school, and led to a small reduction in year 10 reintegration.

Attendance

APST had a moderate impact on year 7-10 children’s attendance, with children in APST schools attending school for seven additional days the following academic year compared to their expected attendance if APST had not been available.
Given the high rates of absence in AP, association between high absence and vulnerability to involvement in violence, and limited existing evidence about what works to improve attendance, this is a promising finding.

Implementation

APST was successfully implemented in all 22 AP schools. The delivery model was highly tailored, with the nature, focus, format, timing and location of specialist support varying.
APST leaders and professionals reported very positive perceptions of APST, reporting that children were able to receive rapid, integrated and comprehensive support.

Perception

Stakeholders perceived that APST was improving children’s social and emotional well-being, parental and pupil engagement, and attendance; the knowledge and skills of AP school staff; and information sharing between AP schools and local agencies.

Findings around APST in year 3 (which will explore impact for the third cohort and after three years) will be available in summer 2026.