What does quality assurance look like in a DfE-accredited online provision?
Children are our future, and schools play a vital role in shaping that future. The long-term impact of what happens in classrooms extends well beyond individual lives, influencing the health, stability, and success of society as a whole.
In Alternative Provision (AP), this responsibility can become even more acute. The stakes are high, and the margin for error is smaller. Providers like Academy21 support some of the most vulnerable young people in education—those who have experienced exclusion, trauma, or unmet needs elsewhere. While academic outcomes matter, for many of these learners, grades are just one part of a more complex, larger picture. What they need above all else is safety, stability, and a renewed belief in their potential.
That’s why quality assurance in Alternative Provision must be intentional, robust, and rooted in lived realities. Every element, from safeguarding and teaching quality to pastoral support, should be subject to constructive scrutiny.
As an online AP provider supporting thousands of students across England and Wales, nothing is more important to us at Academy21 than the quality of our provision. We invite others to review our service – including OFSTED and Local Authorities who review our service before adding us onto their local approved provider lists. That’s why we hold ourselves to high standards through several key approaches that we’ll explore throughout this blog.
A mindset of continuous learning
At Academy21, we invest in our teachers first through continuing professional development (CPD). We prioritise distributed leadership by recognising the skills and expertise already within our teaching team, empowering our educators to lead initiatives, share best practices, and support their colleagues. This helps us build leadership capacity and foster a culture where a range of leaders know what excellence looks like and feel empowered to build towards it.
We also create a strong sense of shared ownership, key to maintaining quality, through regular, cross-curricular collaboration. Our staff engage in shared reflection, discussions, and workshops, especially during dedicated training events, where we explore innovative teaching methods, digital technology , and strategies to boost student engagement in the online classroom. This collaborative approach enables us to learn from each other, identify what best practise looks like and agree how these ideas will be implemented directly in every virtual classrooms.
Our CPD programme is designed to be contextually relevant, addressing the unique challenges of online education across different subjects. We focus on practical issues such as engaging students, safeguarding learners remotely, and assessing progress using digital tools. We also emphasise practical, evidence-based innovation, carefully selecting and integrating technology to improve accessibility and teaching quality. The aim here in terms of quality is to ensure everyone can visualise what brilliant digital pedagogy looks like and spend time charting how to implement it.
Due to this focused approach to professional development, over 90% of our learners report feeling more confident in their learning. Our recent Ofsted inspection also praised the strong subject knowledge and effective online teaching that our staff demonstrate every day.
While student voice surveys and external recognition demonstrate the quality of our education and pastoral support, we must self-reflect and ensure that we are continuously meeting – if not exceeding – our high standards. These are some of the ways we ensure the quality of our work:
Our quality assurance practices
Subject leader drop-ins and observations
We have scheduled drop-ins with all subject leaders, so our teachers can receive targeted feedback on their teaching. These drop-ins are tied to each teacher’s 1-2-1 meeting with their line manager, and they provide an opportunity to review the gradebook, identify the most significant successes, and identify any areas that could be developed or enhanced even further. Subject leaders can give specific, exemplified recognitions of each teacher’s achievements, as well as suggest actions.
Our teachers are also reencouraged to share any feedback they may have, be it concerns with students, bottlenecks that are impacting their work, or suggestions for improvement. This prompts them to reflect and allows us to solve any potential limitations early on.
2. Peer observations
Similarly to our subject leader drop-ins, we also conduct peer observations to assess and learn from one another. These take place regularly and consist of thematic, developmental engagements between teachers.
Being cross-departmental, these observations help us gather more transparent and unbiased feedback about our work, which will then inform not only our continuing professional development plans but also our approach to teaching, communication, and pedagogical innovation.
3. Other termly examinations
Every term, our leadership team, along with subject leaders and teachers, carefully examine the internal and external feedback gathered throughout the term to understand whether common points are being raised and identify necessary actions. Importantly, they review whether each student is receiving the same, agreed-upon standard of education, as well as the same access to class resources and academic support.
4. Quality assurance with LA frameworks and directories
We are proud to partner with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), supporting hundreds of schools across more than 130 Local Authority areas.
Our partnership with local authorities is anchored in regular Quality Assurance (QA) processes, which are crucial for upholding the highest standards in education, safeguarding, and student wellbeing. This process goes beyond compliance; it embodies our shared dedication to providing education that empowers every student to excel. It promotes transparency, encourages ongoing improvement, and strengthens trust among schools, local authorities, families, and communities.
In each Local Authority’s framework, providers must typically pass a two-stage QA process. First, we complete a detailed application with supporting documents, including registration, curriculum offer, safeguarding policies, DBS checks, insurance, and health & safety records. Next, during stage two, the LA conducts a quality assurance visit to verify compliance, reviewing policy implementation, provider records, risk assessments, and interviewing staff to confirm alignment with standards.
We are currently approved on more than 78 frameworks and directories across England and Wales. Being part of these LA frameworks means schools can commission our services with confidence. Local Authorities review and re-audit listed providers annually to ensure ongoing compliance with safeguarding, outcomes monitoring, and quality of teaching delivery.
By working together through these rigorous and supportive QA frameworks, we help ensure that Alternative Provision is a positive, enriching experience on par with mainstream education, opening doors to success for all young people.
5. Clear policies, all publicly available
At Academy21, we believe that transparency is a key pillar of quality assurance, especially in online AP. That’s why we maintain a full suite of policies, all of which are publicly available on our website. These include our safeguarding policy, behaviour policy, complaints procedure, online safety protocols, data protection guidance, and more.
Each policy is carefully aligned with statutory guidance and is regularly reviewed to reflect updates in law, best practice, and the evolving needs of our students. Public access to these documents supports Local Authority commissioners, partner schools, parents, and carers in making informed decisions. It also reflects our commitment to openness, accountability, and compliance with sector expectations, including guidance from the DfE and frameworks used by local authorities to assess AP quality.
Our commitment to high-quality provision
At Academy21, quality assurance is an active, ongoing commitment to every student we serve. From the way we train our teachers to the frameworks we’re part of and the transparent policies we uphold, our aim is always the same: to provide inclusive, high-quality education that changes lives.
If you’re a school, trust, or local authority seeking an online AP partner you can trust, we would be delighted to discuss. Get in touch to find out how we can work together to support your pupils with flexible, expertly delivered education built on care, quality, and accountability.
