Traditional education is not for everyone

Send all the naughty kids to the chokey! 🤬 Yeah right! We’re not Mrs Trunchball!

But education really does fail so many students, time and time again. We know it’s not the teachers’ faults (nor the students mind you!) but as we’ve figured out, traditional education just isn’t for everyone.

And that’s where alternative provision comes in.

Understanding Alternative Provision

We met with a school staff member just the other day who thought that alternative provision was just for naughty kids and it bothered us. Why?

Because alternative provision has such a stigma, when really what it is, is tailored education suited to individual needs in an environment where you are closely connected to and monitored by staff who are professional trained in providing additional support and understanding unique situations.

There’s only so much a traditional academic setting can do for a child who is battling with their mental health, is overwhelmed easily, has fallen behind academically, or has low self-esteem. Limited resources including both staff and educational tools, means schools can only take support so far.

Therefore, alternative provision allows students to reengage with who they are without competing with 800 other students.

Who accesses Alternative Provision

At KRS, we have students who battle mental health and need time away from the mainstream, to have someone who listens to them and makes them feel safe.

Students who are persistently absent from school who attend alternative provision and do very well, those who have been bullied extensively and need space to re-group and be surrounded by people who boost their confidence.

But we also have gifted and talented students, who are getting bored in lessons, who when they’ve been shown how to do it once, need testing academically.

So instead of forcing students to sit at desks, read textbooks and be unable to form close yet safe relationships with their teachers, alternative provision provides opportunity to learn whilst having fun, figuring out what way each child learns best and feeling respected, appreciated, and recognised by staff and their peers.

Find out more about our Alternative Provision here.