Neoliberal logics of practice and alternative provision

This chapter considers the alternative provision sector in England. Many young people who have been legally excluded from mainstream education are placed in such settings and schools also purchase remedial short-term packages for students considered at high risk of exclusion. It explores how practices within alternative provision settings are being shaped by the wider processes associated with the neoliberalisation of education, with particular attention to assessment, to the detriment of staff and students. A tension between recent policy directives and adopted assessment practices in this sector is highlighted, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of these wider trends. Concepts drawn from Foucauldian theorising are mobilised to posit the ascendency of neoliberal performative pressures and consequent invisibilisation of the historical core mission of alternative provision.