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Extended schools guidance

What is an extended school?

Extended schools have the potential to support social and economic well being by bringing together different sections of the community and by making services and facilities available for community use.  An extended school provides a range of services and activities, often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of children, their families and the wider community.  The core offer of extended services for schools, mainstream and special includes:

High quality childcare available form 8am-6pm all year round.

A varied menu of study support activities such as homework clubs, sport, music tuition, dance and drama, arts and crafts, and special interest clubs.

Parenting support including family learning lessons.

Swift and easy referral to a wide range of specialist support services.

Wider community access to ICT, sports and arts facilities-including adult learning.

Many schools will deliver the core offer of services by working in partnership with existing local and private or voluntary sector providers by building on existing links with other schools and working as a cluster.

Opportunities for working with the Local Authority

Co‑operative Childcare is pleased Local Authorities are now considering partnership working as a first option in providing extended services and using Local Compacts to strengthen joint working with the co‑operative and social enterprise sector.  The Government has produced several guidance publications including 'Every Child Matters: Change for Children-working with voluntary and community organisations to deliver change for children and young people', 'Engaging the Voluntary and Community Sectors in Children's Trusts' and the National and Local Compacts Guidance.  All of which urge co‑operative, social enterprise and other forms of community and voluntary childcare providers to actively seek out and get involved in their local extended schools programme and further on we discuss ways in which to do this.

Through the Co‑operative Childcare project it appears that Local Authorities are keen to see different approaches towards implementing the childcare agenda in a systematic way and Co‑operative Childcare does offer advice and support for those looking to explore this new approach.  Childcare co‑operatives have been operating with success for a number of years but this is the first time specific co‑operative childcare support has been so widely available.  Co‑operative Childcare has now had the opportunity to use case studies of long running, successful childcare co‑operatives to show case how the model works.

Many Local Authorities are ensuring there are opportunities for co‑operative childcare providers to participate in the process of identifying local needs, developing plans and managing inclusive services.  It is also expected by Central Government that schools will receive support from Local Authorities in identifying partners for collaboration, which is why it is important that co‑operatives explain to the local Extended Schools Remodelling Advisers and Early Years Teams how their service is governed and what added value a co‑operative structure brings to a childcare setting.

Where do co‑operative childcare services fit in?

The governance of a co‑operative encourages democratic ownership and concern for the local community. New models of governance that reflect the delivery models for extended services are beginning to emerge as different sectors come together to provide joined up services. For example Co‑operative Childcare offers support and guidance for a worker co‑operative, user/parent co0-operative, multi-stakeholder co‑operative and a co‑operative consortium model. If respect and ownership can be shared it enables the mutual development of extended services in a way that can only help young people and the whole community to succeed and prosper.

The requirement for community consultation is in place to ensure that extended services delivered through or by schools meet the needs of the community.  Schools need to work in partnership with other providers to compliment and support access to existing services in the community not to replace what is already working well.  It is likely that new models of governance for extended services may emerge as schools collaborate with schools and/or other partners to ensure that its pupils have access to their core services.  This will not represent a lessening of governors' powers or responsibilities with respect to their schools.  School governing bodies have particular responsibility for setting a charging policy for the school and have overall responsibility for the school premises-although they can enter into transfer of control arrangements (ToFCA) with other organisations using the school site.

New model rules for multi stakeholder childcare co‑operatives have been created by Co‑operativesUK, which enables the service to be run and owned by parents, staff, school representatives, and members of the local community (which could be a place for a Local Authority representative member).  The multi stakeholder model ensures that the services are held accountable to the community it serves. There are also updated model rules for user and worker childcare co‑operatives, which are suitable if the school wishes to contract out services to childcare workers and parents.  Another option is the consortium model where a number of services join together for mutual benefit and provide a range of services whilst retaining their autonomy.  All model rule specimens can be found on this site at .....

What steps can we take to make sure we are involved in extended schools?

1. The first stage is to make contact with the local Extended Schools Remodelling Adviser or a member of the Local Authority Early Years Team and arrange a meeting to find out about current provision in the area and future plans.  It is important at this stage that you express your interest in being part of the new joined up services. Together you can identify opportunities to be involved in planning and delivery.

2.  The second stage is to seek partnerships with local schools including the board and head-teacher.  It is important to either email, telephone, write to or organise meetings with other organisations that may be involved in the delivery such as Learning and Skills Council, Life Long Learning, Social Services, Health Services and CVS organisations. Involving a maximum number of partners from the beginning increases the chances of being able to deliver all of the services needed by the community.  Once you have identified a number of interested parties, meetings should be held to establish how you will find out what services are needed and who can provide these.

3.  Community engagement is at the heart of the process and allows the community to identify its own needs and concerns and it is vital that there are measures in place to not only consult in the beginning but also an on-going way to measure change and improvement.  You may work in conjunction with the school in finding out the needs of its pupils, families and members of the community.

4.  Developing a business plan is the next stage. At this point costs, premises, staff, contracts, possible TofCA, autonomy and partnership agreements need to be made.  Support can be gained from local co‑operative development or social enterprise agencies and business support officers from the Local Authority.

    Local Authorities will be concerned to develop a market for children and young peoples services that include a diversity of services from the public, private and voluntary and community sectors and allow these providers to participate on an equal footing with each other.  'In working with voluntary and community sector partners to ensure their effective engagement in the children's trust, a local authority will want to consider what steps it can take to enhance their ability to participate' (Engaging with the voluntary and community sectors in children's trusts DfES 2005).  It may be worth considering what would support your service would need in terms of capacity building materials and infrastructure support and informing the local authority whilst asking what measures they are considering or have already taken.  If provision is off site the schools must ensure that there are transfer arrangements.

    Co‑operativesUK provides a list of local co‑operative development bodies on this website and until December 2006 the Co‑operativesUK Co‑operative Childcare is offering a low cost business development, telephone advice line and limited business consultancy to existing and new start co‑operatives looking to become involved in extended schools services.  Or you can find pdf versions of our leaflets in the 'downloads' page of this section.

For further information or hard copy leaflets you can call Angela Gibbons the project co-ordinator on 0161 246 2941 or the business advice line on 0845 458 1879.