Making the case for local strategic coordination? an investigation of fair access protocols and their role in the reintegration of pupils from alternative provision to mainstream school

Fair access protocols (FAPs) are intended to ensure all schools in a local authority (LA) area take collective responsibility for ensuring pupils struggling to access an in-year school place are quickly admitted to a school. Every LA must have a FAP which, once agreed, can be used to direct schools to admit pupils. This is somewhat against the fragmentation of local education systems seen in the academies agenda. This paper considers the role of FAPs in facilitating inclusive local education systems by exploring the reintegration of students from alternative provision (AP) to mainstream school. The data on which this paper draws were collected as part of an England-wide research project which drew on nationally published datasets, administrative data from freedom of information (FOI) requests, and survey data from 64 professionals working in AP. The extent of FAP use varies widely as do rates of reintegration. Likewise, there is both evidence suggesting that FAPs can play a significant role in facilitating strategic coordination, and that they have limited power/influence to ensure reintegration. These findings suggest that achieving inclusive local practice requires a shift towards an underlying logic of cooperation in the education system.