For one reason or another, mainstream education does not suit every young person. Many young people are educated in alternative provision, which is defined by the Department for Education as educational provision 'for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education'. As of 2023, over 25,000 young people are enrolled in alternative provision, and those numbers continue to rise. It is essential, then, that the curriculum on offer in alternative provision is exemplary, as these young people - already facing extraordinary challenges - need the very best if they are going to progress successfully into adulthood. Huh is the Egyptian god of endlessness, creativity, fertility and regeneration. He is the deity Mary Myatt and John Tomsett have adopted as their god of the curriculum. Their Huh series of books focuses on how practitioners design the curriculum for the young people in their schools. The Huh project is founded on conversations with colleagues doing great work across the education sector. In AP Huh, Mary Myatt and John Tomsett discuss curriculum provision for pupils attending alternative provision with some of the leading experts in the field. Mary and John interviewed pupils, parents, teachers, headteachers, CEOs, educational consultants and lecturers. They then edited the transcriptions of those interviews to provide an ambitious, thoughtful, nuanced and challenging vision of what the best possible provision looks like for children who find that mainstream schooling is not for them. The challenging conversations that comprise AP Huh paint a positive picture that is hugely hopeful for the future of the curriculum in our alternative provision settings.
Mary Myatt is an education adviser, writer and speaker. She trained as an RE teacher and is a former local authority adviser and inspector. She engages with pupils, teachers and leaders about learning, leadership and the curriculum.
Mary has written extensively about leadership, school improvement and the curriculum. Her books include: High Challenge, Low Threat; Hopeful Schools; The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence; Back on Track; Huh: curriculum conversations between subject and senior leaders; and Primary Huh: curriculum conversations with subject leaders in primary schools with John Tomsett. She has established Myatt & Co, an online platform with films for ongoing professional development, and the Huh Academy with John Tomsett.
Mary has been a governor in three schools and a trustee for a multi-academy trust. She maintains that there are no quick fixes and that great outcomes for pupils are not achieved through tick boxes.
www.marymyatt.com
Twitter: @MaryMyatt
John Tomsett taught for 33 years in state schools and was a teaching secondary headteacher for 18 years. He writes a blog called This Much I Know and has written extensively about school leadership.
He has published nine books: Love Over Fear: creating a culture for truly great teaching; Mind Over Matter: improving mental health in our schools; Putting Staff First: a blueprint for revitalising our schools (with Jonny Uttley); An Angler's Journal; Cognitive Apprenticeship in Action (editor); Huh: curriculum conversations between subject and senior leaders; Primary Huh: curriculum conversations with subject leaders in primary schools; Primary Huh 2: primary curriculum leadership conversations; and SEND Huh: curriculum conversations with SEND leaders (all with Mary Myatt).
John is currently working on his next book with Mary, called Alternative Provision Huh: curriculum conversations with AP leaders. He maintains that the best thing for our students is that our teachers are happy, healthy, well-qualified, highly motivated, hard-working, well-trained experts. Consequently, he believes we should put staff first. He is now engaged in supporting the next generation of school leaders and teachers.
