Online
Alternative Provision

Specialist, Live Digital Education

Delivered Online

Our Online Alternative Provision is a local-authority commissioned service for young people aged 14–25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who are unable to attend in-person provision but still require structured, professionally delivered education.

This provision is designed for learners whose needs, circumstances, or anxiety levels make physical attendance impractical or inappropriate, but for whom class directed online learning would be a solution..

Online does not mean unsupported.
It means accessible, structured, and accountable.

Live Teaching, Not Self-Directed Learning

All sessions are delivered live by SGE teaching staff, with learners taught in small, supported groups. Teaching assistants are present where required, and sessions follow clear timetables and routines.

Learners are actively taught, supported, and monitored in real time. They can ask questions, receive feedback, and build relationships with staff, crucial for young people who have disengaged from education or struggle with motivation and confidence.

This is not an online course library.

It is real education, delivered remotely.

A Structured and Predictable Online Environment

Consistency and predictability remain central to the online model.

Learners follow a clear weekly timetable, with sessions delivered by familiar staff using consistent platforms and routines. Expectations are explicit, transitions are supported, and learning is paced to meet individual needs identified within each learner’s EHCP.

For many learners, accessing education from a familiar home environment significantly reduces anxiety, enabling engagement that would otherwise not be possible.

A Curriculum That Scales with the Learner

As with our in-person provision, the online curriculum focuses on applied digital skills that scale with each young person’s confidence, ability, and EHCP outcomes.

We use CompTIA industry-recognised certifications as a structured learning framework, supporting progression from foundational digital literacy through to genuinely career-relevant technical skills. These certifications provide external validation, clear milestones, and meaningful preparation for adulthood.

Certification pathways are introduced when learners are ready, ensuring progress is appropriate, achievable, and motivating.

Applied Digital Learning Pathways

Core learning pathways include:

Game Development
Coding
Creative Digital Arts
IT & Computer Science Foundations
Data and AI
Cybersecurity

Learning is practical and hands-on. Using industry tools, our students build, test, refine, and problem-solve through real projects, helping abstract concepts become concrete and accessible.

Specialist Staff and Individualised Support

Teaching is delivered by experienced specialist staff who understand both digital subjects and the needs of learners with EHCPs. Small group sizes allow for responsive teaching, individual check-ins, and targeted support.

Provision is informed by each learner’s EHCP outcomes, with adjustments made to delivery, pacing, and support strategies to meet cognitive, communication, social, emotional, and sensory needs as appropriate.

Support is proactive, relational, and consistent—online does not dilute expectations or care.

SGE-Managed Device Lease

Secure, filtered, and fully supported learning devices

Where required, Simply Great Education can provide learners with an SGE-managed device as part of their provision. These devices are supplied on a lease basis and are fully configured to ensure safe, appropriate, and reliable access to learning.

All devices are:

Managed and locked using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)
Filtered and monitored in line with safeguarding and online-safety requirements
Restricted to approved software and learning resources
Maintained and supported by SGE, removing the technical burden from families

This ensures learners are accessing education through a secure, controlled digital environment that mirrors best practice in schools and alternative provision settings.

For many young people, particularly those with anxiety, attention difficulties, or safeguarding considerations, a managed device removes barriers to engagement while providing reassurance to parents, carers, and commissioning local authorities.

The SGE-managed device lease also ensures:

Consistent access to learning platforms and resources
Reduced risk associated with unmanaged personal devices
Clear separation between learning and personal online activity
Rapid support if technical issues arise

Device provision can be discussed as part of commissioning conversations or individual placement planning, ensuring the digital environment is appropriate to each learner’s needs.

EHCP Outcomes and Section F Alignment

Cognition and Learning

Learners are supported to re-engage with structured education, develop functional digital literacy and technical skills, and increase independence in learning through applied digital pathways and certification frameworks.

Communication & Interaction

Learners build confidence communicating in structured online settings, participating in group sessions, and asking for help when needed. Small groups, consistent staffing, and guided interaction support these outcomes.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health

Learners are supported to reduce anxiety associated with education, build emotional regulation, and develop resilience through predictable routines, clear expectations, and consistent relationships with staff.

Sensory and Physical Needs

Online delivery allows learning to be accessed in environments that meet individual sensory needs. Adjustments to session structure and delivery are made in line with EHCP requirements.

Preparation for Adulthood

Learners develop career-relevant digital skills, progress toward industry-recognised certification, and build confidence in their future pathways into education, training, or employment.

Tracking Progress and Attendance

We use Arbor MIS to track attendance, engagement, and progress. Parents and carers have access to a live parent portal that allows them to monitor attendance and learning progress in real time. This supports transparency and shared oversight between SGE, families, and commissioning local authorities.

Monitoring, Review, and Accountability

Progress against EHCP outcomes is monitored continuously through:

Attendance and engagement data
Participation in live sessions
Skill development and project outcomes
Achievement of agreed milestones and certification progress

Provision is reviewed collaboratively with families and commissioning local authorities, with adjustments made as required to ensure outcomes remain appropriate, achievable, and meaningful.

Commissioned, Flexible,
and Outcomes-Focused

Commissioned by local authorities
Designed specifically for learners with an EHCP
Suitable for Alternative Provision or EOTAS arrangements
Delivered live, with clear accountability and oversight

Online Alternative Provision sits alongside our in-person and supported home-learning services,allowing learners to move between pathways as their confidence and circumstances change.

Their Digital Journey Starts Here

Enquiries & Referral Process

If you are a parent or carer and feel that your child may benefit from a more supportive, specialist approach to education, we’re happy to talk things through.

Our services are commissioned by local authorities for young people with an EHCP. Parents and carers can request consideration of Simply Great Education as part of their child’s provision by speaking with their Local Authority SEND Casework Officer.

If you would like to understand what SGE can offer and whether our provision may be appropriate for your child, please get in touch. We’re always happy to talk over how we could help.

Online Alternative Provision