Off-site direction and managed moves guidance

Guidance to help schools, carers, social workers and other professionals understand the processes, considerations and responsibilities involved when a child looked after is being considered for a direction off-site placement or a managed move.

Lancashire Virtual School follows the Department for Education statutory guidance, Suspension and permanent exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England (GOV.UK), including pupil movement, updated in July 2026 and effective from 26 July 2026. This guidance now gives strengthened expectations on pupil movement, including off-site direction, managed moves, safeguarding-related separation of pupils, prevention of off-rolling and the involvement of the Virtual School Headteacher where a child is looked after.

This local guidance should be read alongside the School Admissions Code, statutory guidance on promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children, the SEND Code of Practice, Working Together to Improve School Attendance, Keeping Children Safe in Education and relevant local safeguarding procedures. For children looked after, any proposed pupil movement must be considered through the lens of corporate parenting, placement stability, educational continuity, SEND duties, safeguarding and the child’s lived experience.

Key 2026 updates for schools and settings: off-site direction is now set out within a clearer statutory framework; pupil referral units are brought within the off-site direction provisions; managed moves must be genuinely voluntary and cannot be used as informal or trial exclusions; schools must not use part-time timetables, informal exclusions, safeguarding separation or managed moves to avoid formal exclusion processes; and where a child is looked after, schools must involve the Virtual School at the earliest stage.

Direction off-site

Off-site direction is a formal power to require a pupil to attend education provision away from the school site for the purpose of improving behaviour. It may be full-time or part-time and may include alternative provision or another mainstream setting. It must not be used as a punitive measure, as an informal exclusion, as a way of managing attendance, or as a substitute for a permanent exclusion where the legal threshold for exclusion has not been met.

Before making an off-site direction, the school should evidence that reasonable in school support has been considered and that the proposed direction is necessary, proportionate, time-limited, in the child’s best interests and linked to clear objectives. The child’s views should be sought and considered, taking account of age, understanding, communication needs and any SEND or trauma-related needs.

As corporate parents and those responsible for the education of children who are looked after, we expect to play a part in any request to direct a child off-site and to be involved in reviews that are carried out during the child's time at another setting. The focus of their time off-site should remain on ensuring that a pupil receives a broad and balanced curriculum whilst any inappropriate behaviours which require intervention are being addressed.

Targets during a direction off-site must be individual to the child and must be incremental. They should give the child room to improve in the other setting and enable them to feel the positivity of success. They should reflect on the challenges that the student has faced and the support that can be offered to overcome these challenging behaviours.

As part of the review process, Education Consultants from the Virtual School will expect to see that support has been offered to the student to reform and reframe their more challenging behaviours. Consideration should also be given to how the student is to be successfully reintegrated back into their home-school.

In order for direction off-site to be most impactful for CLA, we would expect that a substantive member of staff from the home-school visits the child at least weekly. A trauma-informed approach to direction off-site is needed so the learner very much needs to feel that this direction is a supportive measure and not a punitive measure. They often feel the fracturing of relationships more than non-vulnerable learners and schools will need to bear this in mind when making such directions.

Schools should expect the Virtual School to advise against direction off-site if schools are unable to evidence previous intervention work, engagement with the Behaviour Support Team and supportive behaviour plans for our learners or if we feel that the direction is not in the best interests of our learner. It is the expectation that the learner will return to the home-school at the end of the off-site direction and that they will be sustained in that school. This sustainability of placement will best be achieved by ensuring that the time they are away is used to increase staff confidence and skills in managing the child’s needs and having a clear understanding of support arrangements for the child.

A direction off-site should not allow any drift in other areas of the student's education to occur. We would not expect this to happen during an evidence-gathering period for an EHCP for example and in the case of students with EHCPs, we would only expect this to occur if approved by an Interim Annual Review or with the support of SEND colleagues. The Governing Body must ensure that the LA is informed in writing of the decision to direct off-site (at least 2 school days before the direction begins). Parents (or corporate parents) can ask for a review of the decision. See Arranging Alternative Provision - guide for LAs and schools (GOV.UK).

The school must provide written information about the off-site direction, including the reasons for the direction, the intended objectives, the start date, duration, review arrangements, expected attendance pattern, transport arrangements where relevant, named contacts, safeguarding arrangements, curriculum offer, reintegration planning and how the success of the placement will be monitored. For a child looked after, this information must be shared with the social worker, Independent Reviewing Officer where appropriate and the Virtual School Education Consultant so that the Personal Education Plan can be updated.

Reviews should be scheduled from the outset and should consider attendance, safeguarding, curriculum access, progress against behaviour and wellbeing targets, the child’s voice, parental and carer views, social care input, SEND considerations and the steps needed for reintegration. Lancashire Virtual School expects reintegration planning to begin at the point the direction is made, not at the end of the placement.

Managed moves

A managed move is a permanent transfer to another school where this is agreed by all parties and is in the child’s best interests. It must not be confused with off-site direction and must not be used as a trial placement, informal exclusion, or a means of avoiding the statutory exclusion process. The 2026 guidance is clear that managed moves must be voluntary, transparent, properly recorded and compliant with the School Admissions Code.

Managed moves require the informed agreement of parents and, for children looked after, those with parental responsibility including the local authority as corporate parent. The receiving school or admission authority must also agree. If the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, the statutory consultation and amendment processes must be followed and no managed move should be used to bypass SEND duties. Because of curriculum pathways, examination specifications and the risk of instability, Lancashire Virtual School strongly advises against managed moves during Key Stage 4 unless there is exceptional evidence that the move is necessary and in the child’s best interests.

During the initial period of the managed move, we would expect to see targets which must be individual to the child and must be incremental. They should give the child room to improve in the other setting and enable them to feel the positivity of success. They should reflect on the challenges that student has faced and the support that can be offered to overcome these challenging behaviours in order that the managed move is a success.

When schools are considering a managed move, we ask you to let your Education Consultant know at the earliest stages so that they can work with you and Children's Social Care to consider whether this is the most appropriate course of action for this learner. Continuing against the advice of the Virtual School could be considered to be off-rolling.

For children looked after, the Personal Education Plan must record the rationale for the proposed managed move, the alternatives considered, the child’s views, the views of carers and social care, transition arrangements, safeguarding information, SEND needs, use of Pupil Premium Plus where appropriate, and clear success criteria for the move. The Virtual School should be involved before any agreement is reached so that the move can be properly tested against education stability, safeguarding and corporate parenting responsibilities.

Safeguarding separation of pupils

The 2026 guidance recognises that, in rare safeguarding circumstances, a pupil may need to be temporarily separated from another pupil or from the school site following an allegation or serious safeguarding concern. This is not a disciplinary exclusion and must not be used to manage behaviour. It should only be used where separation is essential, proportionate, time-limited and cannot practicably be achieved while allowing the pupil to remain safely on the school premises.

Where safeguarding separation affects a child looked after, the school must notify parents or carers, the designated safeguarding lead, the governing board or trust without delay, the social worker and Lancashire Virtual School. Education must continue, safeguarding risks must be actively reviewed, and a clear plan must be in place for the pupil’s safe return or for any alternative arrangements required through statutory processes.

In-year transfers and FAP

Children in the care of the Local Authority are not eligible for the FAP process. The School Admissions Code (GOV.UK) states that CLA should be given the highest priority for admission to school and can be admitted as ‘excepted pupils’. It is the responsibility of the LA to ensure that there is no drift and delay where our children have no school placement. This includes using the powers of direction in a timely way rather than delay issuing a direction as a result of protracted negotiations.

For children looked after, delay in securing a suitable full-time school place is incompatible with the local authority’s corporate parenting duties. Schools and admission authorities should work constructively with Lancashire Virtual School and admissions colleagues so that children are admitted promptly, with appropriate transition planning, safeguarding information-sharing and support through the PEP process. Fair Access Protocols should not be used to delay admission for looked-after children.