Foster Support Services – Full Care For Children With Different Needs, Durham

Delivering the supportive, therapeutic side of alternative provision (AP) for children in the UK is fundamentally about recognising that many young people arrive not only with gaps in learning, but with experiences of trauma, exclusion, unmet needs, and fractured relationships with education. For these pupils, progress begins with feeling safe, understood, and valued. Therapeutic practice in AP therefore places emotional wellbeing on an equal footing with academic development, creating environments where children can begin to regulate, reflect, and rebuild trust.

A therapeutic approach in alternative provision is typically rooted in trauma-informed and attachment-aware practice. Staff are trained to understand behaviour as communication, looking beyond surface-level actions to the underlying needs or experiences driving them. This perspective shifts responses away from punishment and towards curiosity, empathy, and support. Consistent routines, clear boundaries, and predictable responses help children feel secure, while nurturing relationships with trusted adults provide the foundation for meaningful change. Many settings integrate counselling, play therapy, art therapy, or therapeutic mentoring, allowing children to express themselves in ways that feel accessible and non-threatening.

Effective therapeutic support is also holistic. Children’s emotional wellbeing is closely linked to their family context, mental health, physical health, and social experiences. Strong alternative provision works collaboratively with families, schools, local authorities, and external services such as CAMHS, social care, and educational psychology. This joined-up approach ensures that support is coordinated and responsive, rather than fragmented. Individual support plans, regularly reviewed with the child’s voice at the centre, help ensure interventions remain relevant and purposeful.

Importantly, therapeutic support in AP is not separate from learning; it is embedded within it. Academic activities are often carefully structured to rebuild confidence, encourage positive risk-taking, and celebrate small successes. When children feel emotionally supported, they are more able to engage, concentrate, and persevere. Over time, this integrated model helps pupils develop emotional regulation, self-awareness, resilience, and a more positive sense of identity as learners.

In the UK context, delivering high-quality therapeutic alternative provision is both a moral and practical imperative. For many children, AP represents a crucial second chance at education. By prioritising emotional wellbeing alongside academic progress, therapeutic alternative provision offers young people not just an opportunity to re-engage with learning, but the tools to understand themselves, manage their feelings, and move forward with hope and confidence.