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Has the time of truly extended schools arrived?

Government policy
Given that many schools are already offering significant extended provision without additional funding, has the time come to fund schools nationally to help meet the wider needs of their communities? Helen Osgood explains
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“One of our pupils came to school shivering and without a coat – it turns out he doesn’t have one and mum can’t afford a new one because she had to take some leave during the school holidays to look after him.

“The school has a pre-loved uniform and clothing bank next to the main office where the admin team had a search for something appropriate for him before sending him onto class. Later that day, his mum popped into the food bank for a bag of donated supplies so he could have something to eat for tea.”

 

This is no isolated story. It is easy to think that this only affects a small proportion of children in some of the poorest areas of the UK. And yet, last year, it was reported 95% of mainstream schools and 87% of special schools have provided uniform and clothing items to pupils, with 70% providing food parcels, food banks, food vouchers, or subsidised breakfasts (Lucas et al, 2023). Separate research has found that 1 in 5 schools are also now operating food banks of some kind (Baker et al, 2024).

It might be easy to argue that none of this should fall to schools to tackle, but there is a wider pattern and a deeper issue emerging here – one that raises fundamental questions about how our schools might operate.

The idea of extended schools is not a new one – 75% of schools have some sort of breakfast club provision and many schools in poorer and deprived neighbourhoods lay on extra breakfast provision before exams to ensure pupils will be able to better concentrate (see CPAG, 2021).

But since ringfenced funding for breakfast clubs ceased in 2011, the picture of provision across England has become sketchy and inconsistent.

And, with the curriculum being stuffed fuller, schools are making greater use of after-hours learning to run music and drama clubs and sports provision, extending the school day to provide enrichment opportunities for those who can stay.

The ad hoc provision that is being put in place by the schools in the studies above is fantastic to see. But much of this provision is being created without any additional funding or support, putting pressure on already exhausted staff and already stretched budgets.

Maybe there is an opportunity here to fundamentally rethink our approach. Can we embrace the needs of our school communities and make addressing these needs a part of what it means to be a school?

Schools have opened up their buildings for years now and engaged with their communities. Many are now also opening up their provision, offering things like IT support and access to apprenticeships and adult education courses.

And where there is a particular need, schools are taking the bull by the horns and targeting classes at their parent body – for example with the offer of child behaviour support or good parenting classes. Schools could offer lessons on all sorts of issues, including budgeting and household finance.

Could schools become the place where we might find a local banking hub? What about wider health and social care? Every school already has a SENCO and there are so often specialist trained staff visiting from local services – could these professionals be on hand to support local people with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties?

Of course there would be significant additional costs with the introduction of such a model – which would have to be met by central government.

But the research into extended services has shown benefits relating to improved attendance as the school site becomes seen as a place of help and safety (Robinson, 2024).

As the Child Poverty Action Group states: “Schools have a unique place within their communities. With an extended school day, schools can and do support children’s development and learning, support mental health and wellbeing, mitigate the effects of child poverty, and help prevent poverty by supporting parents to work.”

This is not about dumping extra duties upon schools. If this model were to be adopted, then it would require additional funding and staffing to make it work. It does not even need to be the case that these professionals are employed by the school – but simply that these services are grouped together and work hand-in-hand.

This is about acknowledging that many schools are already viewed by their local communities as community hubs; many schools are already offering wider support to their families.

With proper acknowledgement of the vital role they play in bringing people together and with the right level of funding and buy-in from health and social services, could we move to a model of truly extended schools – where this kind of offer is not a postcode lottery, but where all schools are offering vital services as true hubs within their communities.

 

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