Sunderland Study Support Programme

Space for Sport and Arts Programme

'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' (Department for Education and Skills) 

'By 2010, all children should have access to a variety of extended services in or through their school. The driver for this is the Every Child Matters agenda. Children with disabilities and/or special educational needs must be able to access all extended services.'

Sunderland Extended Schools Programme supports schools to broaden the range of services they deliver for children, young people, families and the local community. It is part of the Government’s plans to change the way in which services are delivered. Schools, especially primary schools, are ideally placed to deliver services from the heart of local communities.

Schools will be encouraged to work together in clusters and in partnership with other agencies and community organisations to set up and deliver services.

Sunderland is already well on the way to realising the Government’s vision of Extended Schools by 2010.  Many Sunderland schools already deliver the types of service set out by the Government. All Sunderland schools have an Out of School Activities programme supported by the central Study Support Team. Many schools have specialist facilities, which can be booked by the local community or offer adult and community courses. Childcare is available in all Sunderland nursery schools, over 60% of primary schools and some secondary schools.  Specialist services for children and families are delivered from some schools and community settings, so that families do not have to make long journeys to access these.  Many of our schools provide facilities and activities for parents such as parent and toddler groups and family learning courses. 

In line with the Children Act 2004, Sunderland Extended Schools Team are working with key partners to strategically plan, commission and coordinate extended services.  This includes helping ensure initiatives - such as regeneration, capital programmes for school buildings, the specialist schools initiative, Every Child Matters, the local children's workforce strategy, Local Area Agreements, Children and Young People's Plans, and children's centres - link with and support the extended schools agenda.

The Extended Schools Team are also helping schools identify resources, including funding.  Extended services need to be affordable and sustainable over the long term. This involves devising a clear charging policy for those activities that should attract a fee, for example childcare.  For more information, contact Sunderland's Extended Schools Remodelling Advisor.

Extended schools are not about teachers running services or taking on additional responsibilities. Consistent with the aims of workforce remodelling, schools should ensure only the most appropriate people develop and deliver extended services. For example, support staff may want to be involved as well as external staff, such as health and social workers and local sports and arts organisations.  Extended services and activities can be organised and delivered directly by school staff, and/or by schools working in partnership with existing local private or voluntary sector providers, via school clusters and/or by third parties. While many schools may choose to develop an even richer mix of services and activities, the core offer for mainstream and special schools is:

• high quality childcare provided on the school site or through clusters or other local providers, with supervised transfer arrangements where appropriate, available 8am-6pm all year round
  
• a varied menu of activities to be on offer, such as homework clubs and study support, sport (at least two hours a week beyond the school day for those who want it), music tuition, dance and drama, arts and crafts, special interest clubs such as chess and first aid courses, visits to museums and galleries, learning a foreign language, volunteering, business and enterprise activities
  
• parenting support including information sessions for parents at key transition points, parenting programmes run with the support of other children's services and family learning sessions to allow children to learn with their parents
  
• health and social care - swift and easy referral to a wide range of specialist support services such as speech therapy, child and adolescent mental health services, family support services, intensive behaviour support, and (for young people) sexual health services. Some may be delivered on school sites
  
• Specialist facilities - providing wider community access to ICT, sports and arts facilities, including adult learning
  

To monitor the provision of extended services, Ofsted and other involved inspection organisations have developed a new system of school inspection that covers both education, wider childcare provision and extended activities.

Contact us:
Sunderland Extended Schools Team 
Children's Services
Sandhill Centre
Grindon Lane
Sunderland
SR3 4EN
Tel: 0191 553 8826
Email: Extendedschools@sunderland.gov.uk