Provider Access Legislation (PAL)
Schools must comply with the provider access legislation and ensure that every pupil, whatever their ambitions, has at least six opportunities to meet providers of technical education or apprenticeships during years 8 to 13. This gives pupils the opportunity to consider how studying or training in different ways, and in different environments, might suit their skills, interests and aptitudes. In schools, the governing body must make sure that learners in years 8 to 13 receive at least six encounters with a provider of technical education or apprenticeships.
As a minimum, schools must offer:
- Two encounters that are mandatory for all pupils to attend that take place any time during year 8 or between 1 September and 28 February during year 9.
- Two encounters that are mandatory for all pupils to attend that take place any time during year 10 or between 1 September and 28 February during year 11.
- Two encounters that are mandatory for the school to put on, but optional for pupils to attend, to take place any time during year 12 or between 1 September and 28 February during year 13.
These six meetings are timed to inform consideration of post-14, post-16 and post-18 options and progression to the next stage of education or training. Schools should encourage all pupils to attend the encounters. However, optional attendance for older pupils recognises that, while many 16 to 18 year olds will benefit from finding out more about post-18 technical options, some will already have made a firm decision to pursue their chosen pathway. All six encounters must happen for a reasonable period of time during the standard school day. Provider encounters that take place outside of school hours, for example parents evenings, do not count towards fulfilment of the legal requirement for six provider encounters, but schools are still encouraged to provide these complementary experiences for pupils and their parents. Schools must prepare and publish a policy statement setting out the circumstances in which education and training providers will be given access to pupils. We have created a template you can use for your Provider Access Policy.
Provider Access Policy TemplateBack to Benchmark 7...
