In Manchester, we have developed a steering group Manchester Inclusive Alternative Provision Strategy
(MIAPS) for both alternative provision and schools. Our rationale is founded on principles of inclusion:
• Ensuring all settings are compliant with all relevant legislation and statutory standards.
• Ensuring that all young people in all settings are safe and visible.
• Ensuring that all young people have access to high-quality provision and education.
• Enabling Alternative Provision (AP) settings to sit as a community asset to support collaborative,
continuous improvement.
• Secure lasting relationships with all stakeholders and support self-improvement through robust
quality processes.
We approached oversight of AP settings by creating a Manchester City Council framework of Approved Alternative Provision Providers. We produced a Manchester guide for schools using alternative provision and developed a quality assurance framework and protocol, which has informed national
guidance. Commissioning of an AP Quality Assurance professional ensured completion quality assurance visits and generation of reports. Alongside this, funding of the IRIS Adapt system enabled schools and provider to support oversight of young people in AP settings.