When a learner divides their week between school and alternative provision, the timetable needs to work as one education programme. Each setting may have a clear plan for its own sessions while important questions remain unanswered about travel, handovers, missed attendance or the curriculum as a whole.
A shared timetable should make these responsibilities visible. It is especially important to distinguish a full-time education delivered across settings from a timetable that actually reduces the total education provided. They are not the same arrangement.
This guide concerns school and alternative provision arrangements in England.
Map the whole week, including the gaps
Begin with every planned session: where it happens, who provides it and what its educational purpose is. Identify travel time, changes of location and any periods when the learner is not receiving the intended provision.
Do not assume that a blank space in the timetable is someone else's responsibility. If an arrangement is still being negotiated, mark it as unresolved and name the person addressing it. Families need an understandable version of the plan, not separate timetables that appear to contradict one another.
Our guide to planning a positive transition explains why named responsibilities and an understandable plan matter when education arrangements change.
Agree how arrival and absence are confirmed
For each setting, identify the person who confirms arrival, the system used to share attendance and the action taken if the learner does not arrive. The plan should distinguish a known absence from an unexplained one.
A practical agreement can cover:
- The expected session and arrival time.
- Who receives attendance information and when.
- Who contacts the family if attendance is not confirmed.
- What happens if the first contact cannot be reached.
- Which concerns require immediate safeguarding escalation.
The correct school attendance code depends on the actual arrangement. Schools should use the current DfE school attendance guidance rather than assume that all alternative provision is coded in the same way. A planned session and a confirmed attended session also need to be distinguished.
Plan the movement between settings
Travel can be the least visible part of a split timetable. Clarify who arranges it, who is responsible at the handover and what happens if transport is late or cancelled. Consider the learner's communication and accessibility needs, as well as the route itself.
An illustrative problem is a morning school session followed by afternoon tuition elsewhere. If the second session is cancelled, the learner and family need to know who makes the alternative arrangement. The tuition provider, school and transport service should not each assume another person has informed them.
Changes should reach everyone who needs them through the agreed route. Avoid relying on a child to carry an important operational message between organisations.
Connect the teaching across the week
Ask whether the learner is accessing a suitable range of education and whether subjects or skills are being repeated unintentionally. A consistent approach to important targets can help, but every provider does not need to teach the same worksheet.
Share the curriculum information needed to plan coherently. For qualifications, confirm the specification and responsibilities for entries or assessments separately. Where an EHCP is in place, the overall arrangement must be considered alongside the provision specified in it.
Review the programme, not just each provider
At review, look at the learner's experience of the whole week. Are repeated transitions using up energy? Is there a gap in subject access? Do professionals hold different versions of the timetable? Does the learner know whom to ask for help?
A short responsibility record can list each issue, the named lead, the agreed action and the review point. Keep the current version clearly identified so that changes do not produce confusion.
Reconnect Learning's attendance support for schools can be discussed as part of a wider pathway. When planning commissioned support, agree reporting, travel and handover arrangements alongside teaching hours. These practical details are part of making the education work.