Fishing as alternative provision: a guide for schools, SENCos and families

For some young people, the classroom stops working long before anyone means it to. Anxiety, unmet needs, a run of hard days — and suddenly school feels like a battleground rather than a place to learn. Detentions don't land. Attendance slips. The gap widens, and a young person who's full of potential starts to disappear from education altogether.

Fishing-based alternative provision offers something completely different: a calm, outdoor setting where a young person can rebuild confidence and routine at their own pace — and, slowly, find their way back to learning. This guide explains what alternative provision is, why angling works so well, who it helps, how our placements run, and exactly how schools and families can refer.

What is alternative provision?

Alternative provision (AP) is education arranged away from a young person's main school — by the school itself or by the local authority — for pupils who can't access mainstream education in the usual way. That might be because of exclusion or suspension, social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or anxiety-based school avoidance.

The Department for Education updated its statutory guidance on arranging alternative provision in 2025, reflecting how central good AP has become to keeping vulnerable young people in education. Crucially, AP doesn't have to be all-or-nothing: it's often used part-time, alongside a young person's school, to re-engage them and complement what the school provides — which is exactly how our placements work.

Why fishing works as alternative provision

Angling isn't a gimmick or a reward for bad behaviour. It's a remarkably effective platform for the very skills these young people are often missing the chance to build. Fishing-for-schools programmes have run across the UK since 2007 — initially to help students with learning difficulties back into formal education, and later in mainstream schools too — precisely because the bank quietly cultivates real, transferable life skills:

• Communication and teamwork — rigging tackle, helping newer members, working alongside a trusted mentor.
• Patience and self-regulation — fishing simply can't be rushed, and that calm rhythm is grounding for an anxious or dysregulated young person.
• Responsibility — caring for the catch and the kit gives the "rules" a purpose, so they finally start to make sense.
• Resilience and problem-solving — a quiet day teaches you to adapt, try again, and keep going.
• Confidence and self-worth — a young person who wouldn't speak in week one is often teaching the new starters by week six.

There's a wellbeing dimension too. The outdoors — and water in particular — has well-documented benefits for mental health, from lower stress to a greater sense of calm. For a young person who finds the classroom overwhelming, the bank is a low-stimulation, judgement-free space where they can simply breathe. We explore that in more detail in our piece on fishing and mental health.

Who is it for?

We work alongside schools, families and care settings to support young people who need something different, including those with:

• Mental-health needs such as anxiety, low mood and low confidence.
• SEND — with sessions shaped around individual needs, sensory comfort and pace.
• Anxiety-based school avoidance (sometimes called EBSA), where a gentle, predictable routine helps rebuild trust in education.
• A risk of exclusion, or a recent suspension.
• Caring responsibilities at home, who need time and space that's just for them.

What our alternative provision looks like

Our provision is approved, outcome-focused and built entirely around the young person. A typical placement follows four stages:

• Referral & plan. We talk with the school or family to understand the young person's needs, goals and any risks before day one.
• On the bank. Regular one-to-one or small-group sessions — angling, our outdoor classroom, and genuine mentoring from consistent adults.
• Build & reflect. Skills, routine and confidence grow week on week, with reflection woven naturally through each visit rather than bolted on.
• Report back. Clear written feedback to schools on engagement and progress, so the whole team can see the journey.

Because we run as a part-time, complementary placement — usually a session or two a week alongside a young person's existing school — we slot into a wider support plan rather than replacing it.

Safeguarding, safety and quality

Safeguarding sits at the heart of everything we do. Our staff are DBS-checked and trained in safeguarding and first aid, our sites are risk-assessed, group sizes are kept small, and we maintain a full suite of policies — safeguarding, SEND, behaviour, health & safety and more. Partner schools and settings can request our complete policy pack, along with DBS and insurance details, at any time.

The outcomes schools see

When it works — and it often does — schools tell us they see attendance climb, behaviour incidents fall, and the skills a young person builds on the bank start showing up back in the classroom: patience, focus, taking responsibility. We’re gathering some of those journeys to share properly — real stories, with permission — before long.

How schools and families can refer

Referring is straightforward. Schools can arrange a placement by contacting us directly; where a young person has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or is looked-after, the local authority's SEND team should be involved as well. Placements are often funded through a school's alternative provision or SEND budget, and we're always happy to talk through how a placement could fit a young person's wider plan.

If you're a school, SENCo, carer or support worker with a young person in mind, we'd love to talk it through. Learn more about our alternative provision, or get in touch and we'll take it from there.