No.
DfE’s alternative provision guidance says an off-site direction can be full-time or a mix — part-time in alternative provision, the rest of the week still in your classroom. It is also meant to be time limited, with a maximum period agreed at the planning stage. A pupil who needs two days a week elsewhere does not have to be sent away for all five.
updated 5 Feb 2025last checked 15 Aug 2026
What the source actually says
The choice is stated as a choice:
“Off-site direction into alternative provision can be full-time or a combination of part-time support in alternative provision and continued mainstream education.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Commissioning alternative provision using off-site direction DfE
And placements are described as time limited, arrived at after other things have been tried:
“Where interventions or targeted support have not been successful in improving a child’s behaviour at their home school, off-site direction can be used to arrange time limited placements at an alternative provision or another mainstream school.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Commissioning alternative provision using off-site direction DfE
The end date is something to agree up front, not discover later:
“The commissioner and alternative provider should discuss and agree a proposed maximum period of time as part of the planning phase for an off-site direction.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Oversight of placements DfE
There is no fixed ceiling in the guidance — the length follows the child, and the governing body reviews it:
“The length of time a child spends in another mainstream school or alternative provision will depend on what best supports the child’s needs and potential improvement in behaviour. However, the governing body should hold regular reviews of the placements and invite parents to each review.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Commissioning alternative provision using off-site direction DfE
Whatever the split, the provision itself has to fit the child:
“Alternative provision must be suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any SEN they have.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Main points DfE
Your school may still require it
Your school can decide it will only commission full-time placements, or set its own maximum length and review cycle, and can direct you to run the mainstream half of a split timetable in a particular way. That is a local commissioning policy — the guidance leaves the shape of the placement open, so nobody outside the school is insisting on all or nothing.
See also Can a pupil be sent to alternative provision as a punishment?, How many hours a week counts as 'full-time' alternative provision? and How should we register a pupil we have directed off-site?.