Varied menu of activities

Both primary and secondary schools should provide access to a varied menu of extra-curricular activities from 8am to 6pm (provided there is sufficient demand) during term time plus flexible holiday provision. These activities could include:

• academic ‘catch up’ and ‘stretch’ activities;
• homework clubs;
• arts activities;
• sports activities, and,
• other recreational activities (e.g. creative use of ICT, music lessons, languages, enterprise activities, museum visits, residential trips, holiday provision and summer schools).

Research carried out by Ofsted shows that the wider the range of activities on offer, the higher the participation rate.

What schools should be doing:

Secondary schools must make sure activities provide young people with a safe, supervised place to be, including completing Criminal Records Bureau and health and safety checks. They must also give parents clear information about what activities are available and whether formal registration is needed. Parents should also be made aware that the childcare element of tax credits can be claimed for regular supervised provision for children up to 15 (or 16 if their child has a disability), if the school is charging for this service. Direct parents/carers to information on using tax credits for reducing childcare costs.

Delivering a varied menu of activities:

Schools do not have to deliver all activities themselves nor provide them on site. Instead, they can signpost parents to existing services. Schools will need to assess existing provision and consult parents and carers, pupils, staff and the local community about their needs before deciding which approach to take and which services to offer. Some useful links are:

• Shine - for enquiries about fantastic leisure opportunities for children and young people aged 5 to 18, and families
• The Play Team at City of York Council
• Finding services in your area
• Children’s Centres in York, where children under five years old and their families can go to get services in their local area.
• Information on ensuring that Extended Services are fully inclusive to all

Extended Learning Opportunities:

Study Support is a strong element of the Varied Menu of Activities under the core offer for Extended Services and is defined as follows:

“Study Support is learning Activity outside normal lessons which young people take part in voluntarily. Study Support is, accordingly, an inclusive term, embracing many activities – with many names and guises. Its purpose is to improve young people’s motivation, build their self-esteem and help them become more effective learners. Above all it aims to raise achievement.”  - ‘Extending Opportunity: a national framework for Study Support’ (DfEE, 1998)

City of York Council refers to Study Support as Extended Learning Opportunities. The Children and Young People’s Plan for York also makes references to the enhancement of learning opportunities for all children, and therefore there is a clear commitment to making the best Extended Learning Opportunities provision possible across the city. The Extended Services unit at City of York Council is taking the lead in developing Extended Learning Opportunities, which is at a very early stage of development.  So far, the Extended Services unit has commissioned research and a report into the Extended Learning Opportunities in York; you can read about the findings of this research by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. 

A new Extended Learning Opportunities forum has also been established, specifically to discuss and share good practice across the city on Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO).  If you would like to be involved then contact Barbara Mands on (01904) 554637 or email barbara.mands@york.gov.uk.

• Extended Learning Opportunities report - research findings of the Extended Learning Opportunities available in York.
• Extending Learning Opportunities - a framework for self-evaluation in study support