To consider the progress towards the implementation of extended services in and around schools within Herefordshire.

The Committee considered progress towards the implementation of extended services in and around schools in Herefordshire.

The Early Years and Extended Services Manager presented her report setting out the financial position; background to the provision of the extended service and set out its context in supporting the Every Child Matters agenda.  The expectation by the DCSF was that by 2010 every school will offer under a ‘core offer’: high quality childcare; a varied menu of activities; parenting support; swift, easy and effective referral to a wide range of support services and wider community access to ICT sports and arts facilities.  The report also described how the Council was working with its partners to deliver the service and set out that under the new Ofsted inspection framework the effectiveness of extended schools services and educational and support programmes would be evaluated and reported on by Ofsted.

She further reported that by September 2008 the DCSF expected 50% of primary and 33% of secondary schools to be delivering the full core offer.  Herefordshire had achieved this target with 64% of primary and 100% secondary schools offering the full core offer.   She updated the figures in the report at paragraph 14 by commenting that the actual number of primary schools delivering the core offer was now 67 and that the Steiner Academy, Hereford, would need to be included in the overall figures.

During the course of debate the following principal points were noted:

• The Committee acknowledged that a lot of hard work had gone on to ensure that the delivery programme was on track. However, a member questioned whether schools were actually delivering it on the ground as a number of concerns had been raised.  The Cabinet Member (Children’s Services) invited the Member to discuss the concerns with her.
• Information was requested concerning which schools were delivering and which were not so that Members could make further enquiries.  The Director agreed that it may help Members to undertake an informal visit to schools to see the delivery first hand.
• The Committee noted that due to limited resources, particularly in rural areas, some schools were working to provide services from within their cluster rather than try to provide the full core offer from every school.
• Referring to a chart entitled ‘extended schools cluster report’ handed out at the meeting, it was clarified that ‘full’ or ‘sustainable’ referred to whether the provision at the schools was provided (full) or whether that provision was considered ‘sustainable’ to 2010 and beyond.
• Responding to whether there was any underlying pattern to those school (19) currently not involved in providing services, the Committee were informed that, no pattern had been detected other than they were mainly rural schools where difficulties had occurred in appointing Extended Schools Co-ordinators to progress the work at a local level.
• The Chairman and Cabinet Member (Children’s Services) reported on their recent attendance at a conference when they had established that in comparison with other Local Authorities Herefordshire was going well in its Extended School provision, however, they acknowledged that more needed to be achieved.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the Director of Children’s Services arrange for Members of the Committee to undertake an informal visit to see the provision of Extended School Services.