ACE Admissions Policy

ACE@ the Hub is the co-location for both the Avenue Centre for Education (ACE) Secondary Pupil Referral Unit and the Alternative Learning and Progression Service (ALPS).  ACE provides a wide range of services to secondary age students for and on behalf of the local authority and all Luton’s’ secondary schools.  ACE operates across three main strands:

• Route Mainstream which provides short term, part time intervention via the PRU and supports / reintegrates students back into a full time school placement.
• Route 19 which provides a hybrid educational package, with a vocational focus between ACE and ALPS to support students, longer term, outside of mainstream schooling with their personalised onward transition into education, employment and training.
• Hub Services which provide high quality interventions, many delivered within schools to support students in maintaining current school places and to address specific issues or barriers to learning that may arise.

As a Pupil Referral unit, admission is via referral from the Local Authority or from Luton Secondary schools only.
Parents cannot apply directly or via admissions for an ACE place

ACE Admissions Process

• Luton high Schools for ACE based interventions, respite provision or dual registered longer term support
• From the Local authority Admissions or Pupil Placement Panels when it is felt that allocating a full time mainstream school placement is not appropriate
• For students that have been permanently excluded and now require an alternative education package

All referrals are discussed at the weekly HUB Allocation Meeting (HAM) to quality ensure supporting evidence, parental permision and fair use of HUB services accross all Luton schools. Outcome of decisions are emailed directly to the referrer.

Accepted referrals are initially dealt with through PACE, a part time induction and assessment Centre that helps us identify the most relevant pathway for each student.
Students then move on to spend the majority of their time at ACE with their remainder of time either back in school or at a vocationally targeted alternative provision.  Students work towards a range of appropriate and relevant qualification, including GCSE’s and focus on academic, life and work skills.
The aim for all students is to maximise their opportunities for engagement, progress and successful transition onto the next stage of their learning.  For Route Mainstream students this is usually a return to mainstream education and for Route 19 students, onward post year 11 transition to a local college, employer or training provider.

Parents cannot apply for a place at ACE either directly or via School Admissions.  Parents who feel that their child may benefit from some time at ACE, need to discuss this with their child’s school and ask the school to make a referral to ACE.