Alternative Provision (AP) is at an important turning point. With increasing emphasis on inclusion, early intervention, better outcomes and closer partnership working, the sector is facing both significant challenges and exciting opportunities.
On Wednesday 25 November 2026, education professionals, local authorities, school leaders and alternative provision providers will come together for the Westminster Insight Alternative Provision Conference in London at the Cavendish Conference Centre.
The conference will explore how the sector can respond to changes in education policy, strengthen inclusion, improve support for young people and ensure alternative provision delivers meaningful, lasting outcomes.
We’ll be there too!
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance will be exhibiting at the conference, and we’re looking forward to meeting professionals from across the sector, sharing ideas and demonstrating how our Alternative Provision software can help tackle some of the practical challenges facing the sector.
Turning the ambition for better AP into everyday practice
One of the central themes of this year’s conference is how alternative provision can move away from being viewed primarily as a destination following crisis or exclusion, towards becoming a valuable source of specialist expertise within a wider, inclusive education system.
It’s an important distinction.
Effective alternative provision relies on much more than finding a suitable placement. Schools, local authorities, PRUs and providers need to work together to ensure young people receive appropriate support, attend their provision, remain safe and make progress towards meaningful goals.
But coordinating all of this can be challenging.
Information can be spread across different organisations, communication can become time-consuming, and keeping track of multiple placements, timetables and attendance records can place considerable pressure on already stretched teams.
This is where the right technology can make a real difference.
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance has been developed to bring the administration, communication and monitoring of alternative provision together in one accessible, cloud-based system.
Rather than spending valuable time chasing updates and piecing together information, professionals can access the information they need in one place.
1. Better communication and stronger partnership working
The conference will explore the importance of strengthening local networks, developing multidisciplinary approaches and ensuring children and young people receive the right support at the right time.
Successful partnership working depends on good communication. Yet when schools, local authorities, providers and tutors are working across different systems and locations, keeping everyone informed can be difficult.
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance helps bring these organisations together through a shared platform.
With real-time attendance updates, providers can record attendance and relevant information, which can then be accessed by authorised schools and local authority users.
Changes to placements and timetables can also be managed within the system, helping ensure that the relevant people have access to up-to-date information.
The result is less time spent making phone calls and chasing emails, and more time available for the work that really matters: supporting young people.
2. Improving attendance, engagement and safeguarding
Attendance is an important indicator of how a young person is engaging with their education. In alternative provision, understanding attendance patterns and responding quickly to unexplained absences can be particularly important.
However, when pupils attend multiple settings, work with different providers or follow individual timetables, maintaining an accurate picture can become complicated.
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance provides real-time attendance recording through its cloud-based system and mobile app, allowing tutors and providers to record attendance while working on the go.
Schools and local authorities can then access this information without having to wait for separate attendance returns.
The platform also includes welfare and safeguarding functionality, helping organisations maintain oversight of placements and respond to concerns more effectively.
Having timely, accessible information makes it easier for professionals to identify issues that may require attention and coordinate an appropriate response.
Technology cannot replace professional judgement or safeguarding procedures, but it can help ensure important information is available when it is needed.
3. Measuring progress, not just recording attendance
Another important theme of the conference is how the sector defines success.
Attendance figures are useful, but they only tell part of the story. Young people accessing alternative provision may have individual academic, pastoral, social and emotional needs, and their progress cannot always be measured through attendance or qualifications alone.
Professionals need ways to set meaningful targets, monitor development and understand whether the support being provided is making a difference.
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance allows schools, local authorities and providers to create and monitor individual student targets and frameworks.
The platform also supports the sharing and monitoring of academic, pastoral and learning-objective progress, alongside key documentation.
This provides a more joined-up picture of each young person’s journey, helping professionals review progress and make more informed decisions about the support they need.
Reporting and analytics also allow organisations to examine attendance trends, identify patterns and gain a clearer understanding of their provision across different providers and schools.
Better information supports better conversations about what is working, where additional support may be needed and what the next steps should look like.
4. Greater oversight and quality assurance of provision
With the conference also examining quality assurance in non-school alternative provision, having reliable information about placements and providers is increasingly important.
Local authorities and schools need to understand where young people are placed, whether arrangements are working as intended and how provision is supporting their individual needs.
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance helps bring this information together.
Its referral and placement management functionality allows organisations to manage referrals, review placements and amend arrangements when circumstances change.
Local authorities can gain an overview of their provision, while schools can manage their pupils’ placements and monitor attendance and progress.
The system also supports cohort reporting, with information that can be filtered by provider or school, as well as the creation of virtual schools for groups such as SEND, EOTAS, PEX, CME and LAC cohorts.
For organisations managing multiple providers and placements, this provides a more structured approach to oversight and helps reduce reliance on disconnected spreadsheets and manual processes.
5. Making better use of resources and budgets
Alternative provision operates within a challenging financial environment. Organisations need to make sure resources are used effectively while ensuring young people receive suitable, high-quality support.
Understanding expenditure across different placements and providers is an important part of that process.
DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance includes costing and budget tools to help organisations monitor expenditure and maintain a clearer overview of their AP costs.
Combined with attendance reporting and placement information, this can help decision-makers understand how provision is being used and support more informed commissioning and resource planning.
It is about making administration more manageable and giving professionals better information to work with.
Supporting the people behind alternative provision
Ultimately, alternative provision is about people, not software.
The professionals working in schools, local authorities, PRUs and independent settings are the ones building relationships, identifying needs and helping young people find a positive route back into education and towards their future.
Technology should make their jobs easier, not add another layer of complexity.
That’s why DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance brings together the practical tools needed to manage alternative provision in one system, including:
- Cloud-based attendance: Record and access attendance information in real time.
- Flexible timetabling: Create and manage individual student timetables.
- Reporting and analytics: Identify attendance trends and monitor cohorts.
- Welfare and safeguarding: Support oversight and timely responses to concerns.
- Mobile app: Enable tutors and providers to record attendance while on the move.
- Targets and frameworks: Set and monitor individual student goals.
- Costing and budgets: Keep track of expenditure across alternative provision.
Whether you’re a local authority overseeing multiple providers, a school managing individual placements, a PRU coordinating attendance or a provider working with several schools, DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance is designed to help bring your alternative provision processes together.
Come and meet us in London!
The Westminster Insight Alternative Provision Conference promises to be an excellent opportunity to share experiences, discuss the future of the sector and explore practical ways to improve outcomes for children and young people.
With sessions covering inclusion strategies, early intervention, quality assurance, reintegration, attendance and measuring success, there will be plenty to take away and put into practice.
We’ll be exhibiting at the event, and we’d love you to come and say hello!
If you’re interested in finding out how DCPro could help your organisation simplify its alternative provision administration, improve communication and gain better oversight of placements and pupil progress, come and see us.
To find out more about the conference, its speakers and the full programme, visit:
Westminster Insight: Alternative Provision London Conference
We look forward to seeing you there!
Want to see what the DCPro Alternative Provision Attendance system is all about before the conference? Click here to book a demo!
