🎨 Using Therapeutic Curriculum Approaches in APs

How Therapeutic Curriculum Approaches Support SEMH Pupils in Alternative Provision Settings

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I post weekly strategies and insights for professionals supporting children with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

I’m Kieran, a former teacher and current Youth Justice Education Officer. Each week, I share evidence-informed tools, practical advice, and real-world reflections to help you create safer, more inclusive learning environments.

📌 In this post: How therapeutic curriculum approaches can transform Alternative Provision (when done right).

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“We don’t just teach subjects here. We teach children how to be okay first, then how to learn.”

A teacher once told me this during a visit to an outstanding AP. The difference was palpable. Pupils were regulated, engaged, and making genuine progress, not just academically, but emotionally and socially too.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: not all Alternative Provision looks like this.

Some APs are transformational. Others? They’re doing their absolute best with chronic underfunding, inadequate training, and impossible caseloads. And children caught in the middle are experiencing a postcode lottery that shouldn’t exist.

Today, I want to explore what a therapeutic curriculum actually is, why it works so well in AP settings when implemented properly, and the stark reality of inconsistency across the country.

Because understanding what’s possible helps us advocate for what should be standard.

🤷 What Actually Is a Therapeutic Curriculum?

Let’s start with clarity, because “therapeutic” gets thrown around a lot in education without always being properly defined.

A therapeutic curriculum integrates academic learning with emotional, social, and psychological support. It’s not academic learning OR wellbeing support. It’s both, woven together intentionally.

This approach:

✅ Addresses the whole child: recognising that a pupil who feels unsafe, dysregulated, or unseen cannot engage meaningfully with learning

✅ Prioritises trauma-informed practice: understanding that behaviour is communication and that many pupils in AP have experienced significant adversity

✅ Builds resilience and emotional regulation: teaching pupils the skills they need to manage their internal world, not just external expectations

✅ Embeds therapeutic interventions: from nurture groups and art therapy to restorative practice and counselling, all working alongside (not instead of) academic teaching

✅ Invests in staff training and consistency: because a therapeutic curriculum only works when every adult in the building understands attachment, trauma, and co-regulation

It’s what education looks like when we stop asking “How do we get this child to behave?” and start asking “What does this child need to feel safe enough to learn?”

And in theory? Alternative Provision should be the perfect place for this approach.

🍎 Why APs Are Uniquely Positioned for Therapeutic Approaches

Think about the structure of a typical Alternative Provision compared to a mainstream school:

🔹 Smaller class sizes: often 6-10 pupils per class, sometimes even smaller

🔹 Higher staff-to-pupil ratios: meaning more opportunities for individualised support and genuine relationship-building

🔹 Specialist staff training: many APs prioritise trauma-informed practice, de-escalation, and therapeutic approaches in their CPD

🔹 Flexible timetabling: the freedom to adapt the day based on pupils’ needs rather than rigid bell-to-bell structures

🔹 Access to therapeutic resources: such as counselling, mentoring, art therapy, or outdoor learning programmes

When I’ve visited high-quality APs, this is what I see in action:

A morning check-in where every pupil is greeted by name and asked how they’re feeling before any academic work begins. Lessons paused without drama when a child needs to regulate. Staff who know every pupil’s triggers, strengths, and stories. Restorative conversations are happening naturally in corridors. Celebration assemblies where progress isn’t just about grades, it’s about a pupil who managed their anger differently this week or asked for help for the first time.

This is a therapeutic curriculum done right.

And the outcomes speak for themselves. Research consistently shows that when APs adopt trauma-informed, relationship-based approaches, pupils make significant progress in emotional regulation, attendance, behaviour, and, crucially, academic attainment (Trauma Informed Schools UK; DfE Alternative Provision Guidance).

One head of an AP I spoke with told me: “We had a Year 10 pupil who hadn’t been in school for 18 months. Within six weeks here, he was attending four days a week. Not because we bribed him or threatened him, but because he felt safe.”

That’s the power of a therapeutic approach.

🏘️ The Uncomfortable Reality: AP Is a Postcode Lottery

Now here’s where it gets harder to write.

Because while some APs are absolutely transformational, others are struggling, not because of lack of care or effort, but because of systemic failure.

The quality of Alternative Provision in England is wildly inconsistent.

In some areas, pupils are placed in small, well-resourced settings with highly trained staff, therapeutic interventions, and a culture of compassion. In others, they’re placed in overcrowded APs with minimal funding, under-qualified staff, and no therapeutic provision at all.

And here’s what happens when AP doesn’t work:

❌ Pupils are returned to mainstream (or excluded again) with their needs still unmet

❌ Behaviour escalates because the environment mirrors the same pressures and expectations that caused the breakdown in the first place

❌ Pupils disengage entirely, leading to persistent absence or being lost from the system

❌ Families lose trust in education altogether

I’ve seen this firsthand. I’ve worked with young people in Youth Justice who’ve had multiple AP placements, each one failing to provide the stability and support they needed. They leave worse off than when they arrived, more dysregulated, more distrustful, and further behind academically.

This isn’t a criticism of AP staff. The vast majority are doing incredible, often invisible work with impossible resources. But we have to be honest: without adequate funding, training, and strategic oversight, even the most dedicated staff can’t deliver a truly therapeutic curriculum.

What Goes Wrong in Under-Resourced APs?

Let’s be specific about the barriers:

🔸 Inadequate funding: many APs are commissioned at rates far below what’s needed to deliver quality provision, leading to larger class sizes and fewer therapeutic resources

🔸 Staff burnout: high-needs pupils require consistent, regulated adults. But without proper support structures, staff experience secondary trauma and leave, creating instability

🔸 Lack of specialist training: not all APs have access to ongoing CPD in trauma-informed practice, attachment theory, or therapeutic approaches

🔸 No clinical oversight: some APs have no access to Educational Psychologists, therapists, or mental health practitioners

🔸 Pressure to re-integrate quickly: sometimes local authorities push for rapid returns to mainstream to free up AP places, even when pupils aren’t ready

🔸 Inconsistent commissioning: quality standards vary wildly between local authorities, and there’s limited accountability for poor provision

The DfE’s own paper on Alternative Provision improvement plan (2023) acknowledges these gaps, stating that “the quality of alternative provision remains too variable” and that commissioners must ensure settings are “well-resourced, appropriately staffed, and delivering a curriculum that meets academic and pastoral needs.”

But guidance without funding is just words.

Recently, I connected with Annabelle Waterhouse, who creates resources focused on helping people to build calmer, more intentional lives- something that feels particularly relevant for those working in education. She runs a monthly Mail Club where members receive a themed wellbeing letter delivered to their door, including reflective journaling prompts, mindset tools, an inspirational art print and a guided meditation. It's designed to feel like a monthly ritual to reset and offer a moment of calm reflection in a busy routine. She also designs wellbeing and productivity planners aimed at reducing overwhelm and helping people organise their time while protecting their energy. If you’re looking for something supportive to help you slow down and reset, you can find out more about her Mail Club here

📖 Annabelle’s Journals

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🧑‍🏫 What Good Looks Like: Real Examples from the Field

So what does a genuinely therapeutic AP actually do?

Here are some examples I’ve witnessed from high-quality settings:

🌱 Nurture-Based Morning Routines

Every day starts with breakfast, a check-in, and time to regulate before any academic work. Pupils aren’t punished for arriving late, they’re welcomed, fed, and helped to settle. This mirrors the structure of nurture groups, which research shows significantly improve emotional wellbeing and readiness to learn (Boxall & Lucas, 2010).

🎨 Embedded Creative Therapies

Art therapy, music therapy, and drama aren’t “extras” they’re part of the weekly timetable. Pupils who struggle to verbalise their feelings can express themselves through creative mediums, processing trauma in a safe, non-verbal way.

🤝 Restorative Practice as Standard

When conflict happens (and it will), staff don’t default to sanctions. Instead, they use restorative conversations to repair relationships, build empathy, and develop problem-solving skills. This shifts the culture from punitive to relational.

📚 Flexible, Interest-Led Learning

One AP I visited let a pupil who loved football complete their English coursework by writing match reports and interviewing local players. Another built a whole unit around a pupil’s passion for mechanics. When learning connects to identity, engagement soars.

🧠 Trauma-Informed Staff Training

Every member of staff, from teachers to lunchtime supervisors, receives ongoing training in trauma, attachment, and co-regulation. This creates consistency: every adult responds to dysregulation in the same calm, non-shaming way.

👥 Key Worker System

Each pupil has a designated key adult who checks in daily, advocates for them, and builds a trusting relationship over time. This mirrors attachment-based practice and gives pupils someone who truly knows them.

When these elements come together, something shifts. Pupils stop seeing school as a threat and start seeing it as a place they belong.

One young person told me: “In my old school, I was just the kid who got kicked out. Here, they actually understand me.”

That’s not a small thing. That’s everything.

What Needs to Change?

If we’re serious about therapeutic curriculum in AP, here’s what has to happen:

✅ Consistent, adequate funding: APs must be commissioned at rates that allow for small class sizes, therapeutic staffing, and quality resources.

✅ Mandatory quality standards: Ofsted and local authorities need to genuinely hold AP settings accountable for trauma-informed practice, not just academic outcomes.

✅ Protected staff development time: therapeutic approaches only work when staff are trained, supported, and given time to reflect and debrief.

✅ Access to therapeutic professionals: every AP should have regular input from Educational Psychologists, therapists, or mental health practitioners.

✅ Longer placement timescales: children need time to settle, trust, and heal. Rapid reintegration plans often undermine therapeutic progress.

✅ Better transition support: whether pupils return to mainstream or move to further education, transitions must be planned, gradual, and relationally focused.

And most importantly, we need to stop seeing AP as a last resort and start seeing it as a specialist provision that can genuinely transform lives.

Because when it’s done right? It does.

💭 Final Thought: Every Child Deserves This

Here’s what keeps me up at night:

A therapeutic curriculum shouldn’t be a luxury. It shouldn’t depend on postcode, funding luck, or which LA you happen to live in.

Every pupil in Alternative Provision has experienced educational trauma, breakdown, or exclusion. They’ve been told, explicitly or implicitly, that they don’t fit. That they’re too much. That school isn’t for them.

A therapeutic curriculum is the antidote to that message.

It says: You belong. You’re safe here. We’ll meet you where you are.

And when we get it right, when APs are properly funded, expertly staffed, and trauma-informed, children don’t just survive. They thrive.

So whether you’re a senior leader commissioning AP places, a teacher working in one, or a parent navigating the system: keep asking the hard questions.

What therapeutic support is in place? How are staff trained? What does success look like for the whole child, not just exam results?

Because our most vulnerable pupils deserve more than a postcode lottery.

They deserve a system that works.

💬 I’d love to hear from you: Have you worked in or with Alternative Provision? What therapeutic approaches have you seen work well? Or where have you seen gaps? Drop a comment below, let’s keep this conversation going.

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