“Over the past few years, schools have been extending the services they offer. Many now open up their facilities outside school hours for pupils, their families and the local community. So far, more than half of all schools in the country offer some ‘extended services’ for the pupils, families and communities they serve. By 2010, the Government wants that to be all schools.”
Department for Children, Schools and Families
The services that many schools offer today include :
- affordable Ofsted registered childcare from 8am until 6pm, 48 weeks a year.
- breakfast clubs – a healthy meal, starting the day ready to learn.
- after-school clubs – to unwind and socialise in a safe place.
- homework clubs and study support – a quiet place to work, where pupils get the support they need.
- holiday clubs – run by local organisations, where children can try their hand at, say, canoeing, cycling, or an adventure course.
- activities for children up to the age of 14 – such as sports, computers, music, drama, art, model making and cooking.
The future looks bright; the concept and services that will become available will help not only our children, it will extend into our community.
Great ideas but what are the school doing ? It is tempting to say nothing, as we tend to be kept at a distance. (‘Mushroom Management’ comes to mind !)
What will the school do ? This time it is not the school alone that will provide new services, like a breakfast club and all that the government expects to be in place by 2010. Sorry ... you have to appreciate that the schools’ role is to teach our children. That is a significant task in itself - we need to let teachers and other staff do their jobs.
So who else is there ? It is us parents and other service providers who will become actively involved with the school to help our children.
The school has been transformed by the new buildings but remember it is not the fabric of a school that is important. The vital factors are the teaching staff, their training, experience, dedication and commitment and us the parents and the rest of our community who must work together to provide our children with a bright, secure and promising future.
Can we make this happen ? Yes, but we need to work together - the school governors must progress with the introduction of a Parents’ Council.
The school management must become more open and accepting of new ideas. For many years there has been an impasse - us and them.
Even in the short time that this blog has been operating, there have been comments made that might well have originated from the school - the entry associated with Deaf Ears - Breakfast Club is such an example.
It is time that they listened and “were willing to respond to positive ideas” !
No comments:
Post a Comment