Extended School Service

Worried about meeting the demands of developing your extended school setting?

Kids' City Extended School Service works in close partnership with schools. We set up a formal partnership agreement from the outset, outlining the rights and responsibilities of each partner. We have found this relieves many of the concerns of partners and once in place we take the entire load of setting up and running an extended school provision.

We offer five steps towards a successful extended school

1. 1. Quality Childcare
   High quality childcare from 8am-6pm. This is year round 'wraparound' care and includes activities in school holidays. Provided through the school site or a nearby location with supervised transfer arrangements.
2. 2. A highly varied menu of activities
   Our services provide a very varied menu of activities such as homework clubs and study support, sport, music tuition, dance and drama, arts and crafts, special interest clubs, visits to libraries, museums and galleries, volunteering, business and enterprise activities. All of these are run by qualified tutors and playworkers.
3. 3. Supporting Parents
   We support parents by giving them a service in which they can feel confident in. We help parents access services such as training and give them opportunities to volunteer and become involved in their child’s social development. We have found that this gives a very positive boost to their parenting skills.
4. 4. Partnerships to Support Children in Need
   We routinely work with schools and a wide variety of other agencies to offer special attention to children in need, including facilitating 1:1 support, assistance with fees, regular reporting and appropriate referral.
5. 5. Community Access
   We facilitate and manage wider community access to the school - to areas such as ICT, sports and arts facilities and including adult learning. We lead and develop education and training for adults in the community, as well as providing volunteering and paid working opportunities for local people.
   

   Start up criteria

   In our experience, in order to make the service sustainable and viable, there are certain prerequisites to a successful Extended School Partnership. There needs to be a minimum number of services in an area supporting the community. To be most successful, there needs to be at least 5 services close to each other in a 'hub'. This allows interoperability, flexibility and financial stability for the services as well as making a greater impact on the local community. Schools we work with have found no difficulty finding enough local partners to form hubs. It also takes about a year to get a service running from concept to operating a scheme. You will need to allow for this in your planning.

   How do I take this further?

   It's simple. If you think we can help your school, contact us. Our Extended Schools Liaison team will come and see you and see how best we can fit your needs, and needs of the community and the children and their families.
   
   There’s no commitment, and our advice is free. Email : extend@kidscity.org.uk or phone: 020 8678 5964