Extended Schools

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Welcome to the Extended Schools pages. Members of our extended community can obtain information and keep up with news.

 

What are Extended Schools?

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Extended schools are schools offering additional services to parents/carers and the wider community. This can range from having childcare facilities on site or partnership with external childcare providers, through to community use of sporting and leisure facilities, health care and advice on family support.

 

Extended schools, working in partnership with neighbouring schools and other agencies will play a significant role in the delivery of the Every Child Matters agenda. This will be through the provision of out of school hours learning for families, childcare for those who need it, and a range of learning opportunities which will raise achievement for all. Research has made it clear that while a good school can improve life chances, the impact of other factors, particularly the family and the neighbourhood, have a far greater impact. Better communication and understanding, as well as productive joint working between schools, agencies, the voluntary sector and the community, must inevitably make life better for young people and their families.

 

The specific services offered through extended schools are:

 

High Quality Childcare provided on the school site or through other local providers, with supervised transport arrangements where appropriate, available from 8 am to 6 pm 48 weeks a year (this does not need to be provided directly by the school);

 

A Varied Menu of Activities to be on offer, including homework clubs and study support, sport, music tuition, dance and drama, arts and crafts, special interest clubs such as chess and 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;

 

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;

 

Providing Wider Community Access to ICT, sports and arts facilities and adult learning – where the school has facilities suitable for use by the wider community, it should look to open these up to meet wider community needs.

 

Is there a Wirral Approach to Extended Schools?

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The local authority in Wirral through the Children and Young People’s Department’s is providing support and strategic direction to the development of extended schools within the borough. The approach adopted in Wirral is to “cluster” schools together to deliver the required extended services.

An important element of Wirral’s approach is the continued use of the term ‘Extended Schools’ rather than the ‘Extended Services’ which are used elsewhere. The underpinning rational for this is the strongly held belief that schools are the heart of its community, as children and young people are the focus of a community’s hopes and aspirations.

 

Upton, Greasby, Frankby and Irby Cluster