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Extended schools are at the heart of the delivery of Every
Child Matters, improving outcomes and raising standards of
achievement for children and young people. Over 8,000 schools
- one in three - are now providing access to extended services
in partnership with voluntary, private and independent providers.
This shows the high level of support from schools and the
other agencies – including health services, the youth
sector and private, voluntary and community organisations
– that work closely with children and families.
By 2010, all children should have access to a variety of
activities beyond the school day. Well-organised, safe and
stimulating activities before and after school provide children
and young people with a wider range of experiences and make
a real difference to their chances at school. It gives them
the opportunity to keep fit and healthy, to acquire new skills,
to build on what they learn during the school day or simply
to have fun and relax.
Extended services can include childcare, adult education,
parenting support programmes, community-based health and social
care services, multi-agency behaviour support teams and after-school
activities including sport. By consulting with parents and
involving them in the planning of services, schools will be
able to develop the package of services which best meets the
needs of their community.
An extended school works with the local authority and other
partners to offer access to a range of services and activities
which support and motivate children and young people to achieve
their full potential. These services and activities are:
- a varied menu of activities, combined with childcare in
primary schools
- community access to school facilities
- swift and easy access (referral) to targeted and specialist
services
- parenting support.
Not every school will need to provide all these services
and activities on its site – access can be through a
cluster of local schools or through other providers.
Extended schools are at the heart of Every Child Matters
(ECM), raising standards and ensuring that children:
- are healthy
- stay safe
- enjoy and achieve
- make a positive contribution
- achieve economic well-being.
Many schools have been providing a range of extended services
for a long time. They wanted to find ways of tackling the
underlying causes of underachievement by some pupils, to improve
children’s resilience, and to enrich the learning experiences
of children and families. The current approach to extended
services has been developed by building on their experience.
Parents will have greater choice, flexibility, convenience
and accessibility to help them balance family and work commitments.
The 8am-6pm offer allows greater flexibility for full or part-time
employment. Some parents may choose to use home-based carers
who can also be part of the extended schools offer. Working
parents on lower incomes, who are accessing childcare through
their school, can benefit from claiming the childcare element
of the working tax credit which can cover up to 80% of the
costs.
Teachers will not have to deliver extended services themselves.
It is about working well with existing private and voluntary
sector childcare providers, and with support staff want to
get involved. Extended services can help remove barriers to
learning and give support to pupils with problems outside
their academic work, helping teachers focus on their core
job of teaching. Everyone who works in schools should enjoy
a reasonable work-life balance.
Many schools will choose to develop the core offer by working
in partnership with existing local private and voluntary sector
providers, or by building on existing links with other local
schools and working as a cluster.
There is no expectation that teachers will deliver childcare,
though it may be appropriate for a member of the teaching
staff to undertake a coordination role. The Training and Development
Agency is taking a lead role to ensure that there is no increase
in teacher workload.
Local authorities are key partners in supporting the development
of extended services across communities. It is crucial to
the success of the extended schools programme that there is
close cooperation at local level between partners working
in education, childcare, children's centres, health and other
children's services.
Providing quick and easy access to services such as health
and social care means that problems affecting children's learning
can be more easily dealt with. Where families are involved
in activities such as family learning, they become more involved
in their children's education, embrace new learning opportunities
and encourage their children to learn.
To support schools in setting up and embedding their services,
the government has committed funding of £840m over 2003-2008.
This will be made available through each local authority alongside
funding direct to schools. The funding can be used flexibly
to support schools to develop a sustainable model and overcome
potential barriers to developing extended services.
In addition, £1.3 billion has been made available
over the period 2006-08 for schools to support personalised
learning during and beyond the school day. This will support
access to extended services, especially for children from
disadvantaged areas.
Developing and embedding access to extended services is
a long-term agenda. This is about putting in place services
that will last and provide continual benefits to children,
young people and families over time. Services should become
sustainable by charging for services such as childcare, and
working with the local children's trust to develop links to
appropriate agencies and professionals who will deliver services
in new ways through schools.
To find out more please see:
Extended
Schools building on experience document
Extended
Schools Access to Opportunities & Services - A prospectus
document
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