Teachernet, Varied menu of activities

Varied menu of activities including study support

For children and young people to reach their full potential they need a positive approach to learning and to school. Having opportunities before and after school to play sport, engage in arts and drama, volunteer and make creative use of ICT all help.

Study support, covering learning activities that take place out of school hours, helps to improve young people's motivation, build their self-esteem and help them to become more effective learners. Above all it aims to raise achievement.

How can schools set up activities?

The Study Support: a national framework for extended learning opportunities leaflet includes practical advice and guidance on setting up and sustaining study support programmes.

Schools and local authorities will need to find out what is available locally and where there are gaps. Finding out how other schools have set up activities, working in partnership with local providers and working in clusters are ways in which to ensure activities are varied. Read how County Durham has developed study support projects in over 250 schools, libraries and community venues, including summer schools and drama and ICT clubs.

Read about Writhlington Business and Enterprise School's menu of activities and how they are helping to improve standards of attainment.

Read how the The Parks Special School is providing art workshops for children and families.

ContinYou has a range of guidance and case studies on developing study support activities.

Volunteering — briefing paper: 'Extended schools — why promoting active citizenship and volunteering by pupils is important'.

See also information about the Youth Opportunity Fund.

Funding sources

The European Youth Foundation (EYF) has announced that the next deadline for applications for funding for youth activities is the 01 October 2007.

Youth Music, the UK-wide charity set up in 1999 to provide high quality and diverse music-making opportunities for 0— to 18-year-olds, has announced its new funding programmes. Funding is available through three programmes.

Awards for All — grants of between £300 and £10,000 for people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, and projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community.

Most schools will be part of a School Sport Partnership which can be used to offer sporting activities across a cluster of schools. School Sports Partnerships receive up to £270,000 per partnership to develop sports opportunities for children and young people. Find out more.

Sports Leaders Award courses are run locally in schools and other community locations for young people from the age of 9. They incorporate both practical learning sessions and a period of volunteering in the local community. Participants do not need to be budding sports stars. Benefits include increase in self-confidence, self-management, transferable skills that can lead to further training/educaiton courses and employment.

The Department's Playing for Success initiative is establishing out of school hours study support centres at football clubs and other sports' grounds. The centres use the environment and medium of football, rugby and other sports to motivate children and young people and to help raise literacy, numeracy and ICT standards amongst KS2 and KS3 pupils who are struggling and often demotivated.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is running a music programme to tackle antisocial behaviour and raise aspiration and respect. The Music Mentoring Programme is a £660,000 two year programme operated by Youth Music which funds and facilitates high quality and diverse music making for young people, particularly those living in areas of social and economic need and geographical isolation. The programme is running across 14 English areas: Birmingham; Bradford; Bristol; Camden; Hackney; Kingston-upon-Hull; Leeds; Liverpool; Manchester; Newham; Nottingham; Sandwell; Southwark; Tower Hamlets. Read the full press release.