Policies and Strategic Guidelines
Education has the power to transform lives, and everyone should have the opportunity to access it. For some young people and their families, that opportunity also depends on receiving the right support at the right time.
Most young people who access Canopy Forest School are referred through their school and are usually funded through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or Pupil Premium. Canopy Forest School is a non-school alternative provision: an educational programme that provides part-time or time-limited education for children of compulsory school age. We offer a specialist Forest School outreach model designed to support pupils with SEND. We fit within tier 1 of the alternative provision 3 tier model which is an outreach programme by specialist teachers that go into mainstream schools to offer preventative support.
We can support your school's Inclusive strategy, Enrichment benchmarks and Sustainability Action Plan.
Our Nurture Forest School sessions are delivered on school premises, enabling pupils to access targeted support while remaining connected to their school community.
Policy Alignment and Quality Assurance
Canopy Forest School draws on the Department for Education’s non-school provision standards and the Alternative Provision Toolkit to strengthen the quality, validity and accountability of our work. We have a clear place within education because we extend the range of options available to schools and provide an additional model for inclusion. Our approach also aligns with the DfE’s longer-term plans to support pupils with SEND through a planned, quality-assured and outcomes-focused continuum of provision.
Partnership with Local Authorities
Canopy Forest School is committed to working in partnership with Local Authorities. We recognise that recent DfE guidance and consultation responses set out a clearer role for non-school alternative provision within Local Authority inclusion strategies, where it is supported by clear standards, robust commissioning and purposeful planning.
National Policy Context
The DfE’s 2025 Government Consultation Response on non-school alternative provision states that :
“when commissioned and used effectively, good-quality non-school AP can provide flexible and bespoke education and support for vulnerable children.”
The 2026 SEND reform paper also recognises that high-quality non-school alternative provision can play a valuable role in re-engaging children in education and improving attendance when it forms part of a planned approach.Taken together, these policy developments provide a clear direction: national policy remains focused on inclusion, while defining a safer, clearer and more purposeful role for non-school alternative provision.
The Role of Alternative Provision
The white paper describes three key roles for alternative provision:
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Outreach that supports schools directly.
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Temporary interventions aimed at reintegration.
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Long-term specialist places for young people with greater levels of need.
The Alternative Provision Toolkit
The Alternative Provision Quality Toolkit has been developed through extensive collaboration with the Alternative Provision sector, stakeholders and represents the most viable and comprehensive approach ever developed to evaluate and improve Alternative Provision quality.
Quality Areas
What are the characteristics of good quality Alternative Provision? The toolkit identifies 13 quality areas, including Workforce development and well being (1), Pupil induction (5) and Appropriate transition (12). The 13 quality areas, which are separated into the three categories – community, curriculum and currency are important aspects of Alternative Provision that impact upon pupils’ experience, education and outcomes.
Canopy Forest School follows this toolkit alongside the Non-School Alternative Provision Voluntary national standards. We believe in delivering good quality alternative provision and using a consistently used, universally applicable, comprehensive and systematic approach to evaluating and improving the quality of our work