Extended Schools guidance — overview
What is an extended school?
An extended school is one that provides a range of activities and services, often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families and the wider community.
Across the country many schools are already providing some extended services including adult education, study support, ICT facilities and community sports programmes.
Schools and their partners can build on existing provision and consider what additional service or activities they might offer. There is no blueprint for the types of activities that schools might provide, or how they could be organised. Working with local partners, schools can develop as little or as much provision as they think suitable for their own community.
What are the benefits?
Schools offering extended activities and services have already seen major benefits.
Benefits for pupils and schools:
- Higher levels of pupil achievement
- Increased pupil motivation and self-esteem
- Specialist support to meet pupils' wider needs
- Additional facilities and equipment
- Greater opportunities for staff for flexible working and career development
- Enhanced partnership working with the community and better school security
- Easier access to essential services for staff, helping staff recruitment and retention
Benefits for families:
- Improvements in child behaviour and social skills
- Greater parental involvement in children's learning
- More opportunities for local adult education and family learning
- Greater availability of specialist support for families
Benefits for communities:
- Better access to essential services
- Improved local availability of sports, arts and other facilities
- Local career development opportunities
- Better supervision of children outside school hours
- Closer relationships with the school
How will the Education Act 2002 help?
The Education Act 2002:
- Makes it easier for governing bodies directly to provide facilities and services that benefit pupils, families and the local community
- Provides flexibility for governing bodies to enter into agreements with other partners to provide services on school premises
- Enables governing bodies to charge for some services
The legislation also puts in place a number of safeguards to protect pupils' education and to ensure effective delivery of services. For instance, governing bodies are required to:
- Consult their LEA, the staff of their school, parents, pupils and any other
stakeholders they
consider appropriate - Have regard to any advice given to them by their LEA
- Ensure that any proposed service does not interfere with the main duty to educate pupils and promote high standards of educational achievement at the school
- Take account of guidance from the Secretary of State/DfES
Will extended schools need to work differently?
Most schools are likely to need to make some changes to the way they operate, covering practicalities such as more flexible opening hours.
Schools will also need to work in partnership with other groups and agencies to enable:
- More diverse activities that involve parents, community members and local groups, such as playgroups, sports clubs and voluntary organisations
- A 'joined up approach' to local services by involving the local authority, local agencies and partnerships
- Services that require specialist skills, such as healthcare or social services
- Sustainable programmes where activities and services are not over-dependent
on the skills
and time of a few key staff - Opportunities for services that have a different ethos from school activities and present themselves as 'teacher-free' zones
