The commissioning and delivery of online provision for children and young people across Key Stages 2 to 5 in Lincolnshire

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the commissioning and delivery of online provision for children and young people across Key Stages 2 to 5 in Lincolnshire.

Requested Information

For each of the following academic years:

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

2025/26 (to date, where available)

Please provide the following information relating to online provision:

1. Providers

Names of organisations commissioned to deliver online provision

Where recorded, please indicate:

Whether providers are accredited under the DfE Online Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS)

Whether provision is delivered fully online or as part of a blended model

2. Placement / Referral Volumes

Total number of learners placed into online provision, broken down by:

KS2

KS3

KS4

KS5

Where available, a breakdown by:

reason for placement and/or identified need (for example: permanently excluded, at risk of exclusion, medical needs, SEND, or other categories used by the Council)

3. Spend

Total annual spend (£) on online provision

If readily available:

spend by provider

average cost per placement or learner

4. Commissioning Approach

A summary of how online alternative provision is commissioned, for example:

framework or approved provider arrangements

individual placement agreements (spot purchasing)

5. Demand and Capacity (if available)

Any data held on:

demand for online provision

capacity constraints or unmet demand

use of providers outside the local authority area

typical duration of placements

This request relates to online provision only, rather than site-based alternative provision. Where exact data is not held, I would appreciate any closely related or comparable information that may be available. If possible, I would prefer the information in a tabular or spreadsheet format.

NB: Information is recorded by Financial Year not Academic Year. All information below is provided in relation to Financial Years and not Academic Years. Providing the information in Academic Years would take more than the requisite 18 hours allowed under the FOI Act to pull together given the significant number of placements denoted.

1. lease see the attached spreadsheet. Online provision may be commissioned as a stand-alone service or as part of a blended model depending on the individual nature of the pupil. Those services marked as PEX (Permanent Exclusion) on the spreadsheet are stand-alone services and are likely to encompass all of the pupil's education provision until a building based service can be made available and/or a place can be found in a mainstream or special (where appropriate) school. Those not marked PEX are usually part of a blended model as part of the delivery of Interim Home Tuition to pupils with SEND and/or pupils receiving Education Other Than at School or College.

2. Recording of Key Stage on the database relevant to Alternative Provision only commenced in 2025/26. Numbers engaging in online provision for that year are as follows:

KS2 -33

KS3 - 159

KS4 - 140

KS5 – 14

Of the above figures, 102 of the KS3 places and 104 of the KS4 places were linked to Permanent Exclusion (NB: all PEX provision to date has been commissioned for KS3/4). The rest are linked with SEND, including those within the Interim Home Tuition service and those accessing Education Other Than at School/ College.

3. Please see the attached spreadsheet. Average costs are not possible to provide as pupils can be in and out of provision during the year, whilst others may continue for several years. Dividing the financial year spend by the number of pupils may not be conducive to determining an average cost as length of stay within the provision may have been shorter in a given financial year.

4. Please see https://professionals.lincolnshire.gov.uk/children%E2%80%99s-commissioning

 and the guide to the Open Select List.

5. Please see https://professionals.lincolnshire.gov.uk/children%E2%80%99s-commissioning

and the Market Position Statements.

Should you require the attachment mentioned above please contact customerinformationservice@lincolnshire.gov.uk with the below reference number and this can be provided.