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.
