Why flexibility still matters, even as accountability tightens

As accountability expectations continue to tighten across the education system, flexibility in alternative provision is sometimes framed as a risk. In a landscape shaped by attendance scrutiny, outcomes data, and inspection readiness, flexible models can be misunderstood as inconsistent or insufficiently rigorous.

However, current policy and inspection frameworks do not require rigidity. They require appropriateness. For students accessing alternative provision, particularly those with SEND, anxiety, or disrupted educational histories, flexibility is often what enables consistent engagement, sustained attendance, and meaningful progress.

Accountability does not mean uniformity

Statutory guidance across SEND, alternative provision, and attendance is clear that provision must be suitable to individual need. Ofsted’s focus on quality of education and safeguarding does not prescribe identical delivery for all learners. Instead, it expects providers to demonstrate that their approach is intentional, well-structured, and responsive, with clear oversight and review.

In this context, flexibility is not a deviation from accountability. It is often a requirement of it.

The risk of rigid models for complex cohorts 

Schools and local authorities are under understandable pressure to demonstrate control, consistency, and impact. This can lead to reliance on fixed timetables, standardised inputs, and early expectations of full attendance.

For some students, this works. For others, particularly those entering alternative provision following prolonged disengagement, rigid models can unintentionally recreate the barriers that led to placement breakdown in the first place.

Where provision cannot adapt quickly enough to changing need, disengagement often follows. This is not a failure of accountability, but a misalignment between model and learner.

How flexibility is built into the Tute model

At Tute, flexibility is not an add-on or a concession. It is built into the model end-to-end, from how programmes are designed to how partners are billed.

From a delivery perspective, this means:

personalised timetables shaped around individual need

small, consistent groups with stable teaching teams

the ability to adjust group size, lesson frequency, or programme length as needs change

SEND-informed teaching and integrated pastoral support

regular review with schools and local authorities to align provision with next steps

From a commercial perspective, flexibility is equally intentional:

no contracts

no upfront payments

no fixed commitments

provision can be increased, reduced, or withdrawn as required

This structure enables partners to respond quickly to changing circumstances, whether that is a student stabilising sooner than expected, requiring more intensive support, or moving towards reintegration. 

Importantly, flexibility here does not remove accountability. It allows accountability to remain accurate. Partners pay for what is delivered, provision reflects current need, and decisions are made in real time rather than being constrained by fixed terms.

Why this matters for outcomes and reintegration

Well-designed flexibility supports accountability by reducing churn, improving sustained engagement, and enabling clearer reintegration planning. 

At Tute, this approach means that the majority of students who complete their programme do not remain indefinitely in alternative provision. Around 80% of students withdrawn from provision go on to reintegrate into an educational setting, including schools, colleges, or other planned pathways. 

This outcome is not achieved through pressure or rigid compliance. It reflects provision that can adapt as students progress, while maintaining clear expectations and oversight.

As scrutiny continues to increase, the challenge is not whether flexibility or accountability matters more. It is ensuring that provision is structured, responsive, and designed to serve the realities of complex need, rather than forcing learners and partners into models that cannot flex when it matters most.

written by Gareth Lucas-Howells

Commercial Director