The Department for Education is addressing the growing use of unregistered children's homes and alternative provision settings, which lack Ofsted inspection and formal safeguarding checks despite being illegal to operate. Numbers of children placed in unregistered accommodation have risen sharply from 147 in 2020–21 to 982 in 2023–24, creating significant child safety risks including vulnerability to exploitation and criminal activity. The policy seeks to strengthen protections, improve local authority accountability, and ensure all children in residential care receive adequate oversight and quality assurance.
The government's response to the Education Select Committee’s fifth report of session 2017 to 2019 on alternative provision.
Setting out the government’s vision for alternative provision (AP) and outlining reforms to raise standards and improve outcomes for all children in AP.
What the government is doing to create more effective and diverse alternative provision.