Youth Endowment Fund
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24203 on Youth Endowment Fund, whether it remains her Department's policy to (a) fund and (b) promote the alternative provision specialist taskforce programmes.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The alternative provision specialist taskforces (APST) programme has placed multi-professional teams, including youth workers, family workers and speech and language therapists, within alternative provision (AP) in 22 areas in England. The objective of the APST is to holistically respond to the needs of children requiring AP, which includes some of the country’s most disadvantaged children, to address the multiple barriers preventing them engaging in education, achieving and thriving and being safe.
The department is sharing learning on APST to benefit areas outside of the pilot which may wish to adopt the approach, to strengthen provision for children within AP or on the cusp of permanent exclusion. This information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision-specialist-taskforces-apst.
The APST pilot is jointly funded by the department and the government Shared Outcomes Fund until March 2025. Departmental officials will continue to support pilot areas, including Birmingham, on planning for March 2025 onward.
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