Extended Services Policy

EXTENDED SERVICES POLICY

What is an extended service?

Extended Services provide: a range of activities and services, often beyond the school's day, to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families and the wider community.

An Extended School is a school that delivers the core offer in:

·  A varied menu of activities on offer e.g. music, arts and crafts, sport etc.

·  Community Access

·  Parenting support, including family learning

·  Swift and easy referral

·  Wraparound childcare provided on the school site or through other local providers from 8am-6pm

Aims

The extended services programme at Halling aims to:

·  Develop the creative ability of pupils and enrich their life experiences and communication skills

·  Enable pupils to develop economic awareness and life skills through activities such as fundraising for the local community

·  Develop the skills to enable pupils to respond to change and meet the needs of the local community

·  Promote self esteem and good health by providing students with a range of child-chosen activities, to develop their gifts and talents

·  Increase competence in learning, thus raising aspiration and attainment

·  Provide opportunities for staff to work with pupils in a more informal context and build positive relationships

·  Consult with students, parents and the community to foster a sense of joint ownership of the school

·  Create a distinctive welcoming ethos, where our school is at the heart of the Community

·  Work in conjunction with a wide range of agencies to provide specialist support for our children with specific needs and their families

·  Utilise a variety of human and physical resources effectively

·  Achieve value for money

Context

At Halling we are continually developing ways in which to offer an extended service programme with a wide ranging set of activities for all members of the community. We are working hard to give our children, parents and wider community opportunities to learn in new and meaningful ways in a safe, secure environment. We currently offer our children, parents and the local community a selection of Extended Services provision, to help maximise each child's potential. We draw upon the expertise within our school and wider local area to ensure that our school can provide cohesive support and enriching learning experiences for all.

A varied menu of activities

We pride ourselves on the rich and engaging support that we offer to our children. Our extra-curricular activities serve to raise pupils' aspirations, enabling them to explore and develop their talents and cultivate new interests, which will ultimately enable them to understand more fully how to learn. Through our Extended Schools Provision, pupils exhibit a real sense of enjoyment in their learning, enabling them to achieve their academic and personal potential. Children are consulted on the range and type of activities that they wish to pursue and provision is put in place to facilitate their needs. Children are also given the opportunity to evaluate their learning and make recommendations for future improvements.

·  Children are regularly involved in supporting charitable events such as the Shoebox Appeal, Comic Relief etc.

·  All children are involved in decision making through their Class Council and School Council. School Council representatives are elected by their peers. The School Council are involved in fund raising activities.

·  In Year 6, pupils take on positions of responsibility such as House Captains, Vice House Captains, and Young leaders. They carry out a range of duties including organising and presenting whole school assemblies.

·  Children undertake training (usually in Year 6) to take on the role of Young Leaders. Young Leaders take responsibility for organising lunch time activities (under the supervision of the play supervisors)

·  Older pupils often ask to hold fund raising events in school to support a chosen charity e.g. a cake stall to raise funds for t shirts for the dance festival, planning a series of events to raise money for research for muscular dystrophy

·  Groups of pupils are involved in the interview process for new staff, generally through showing candidates around the school and giving their views to the panel.

·  Throughout the year children have the opportunity to attend a range of after school clubs e.g. Korfball, football and cheerleading

·  We have an active lunchtime menu of extra sporting activities available, e.g. football, netball, skills, multi skills.

Community access

We value the strong sense of community within the school and are continually looking for ways to further develop our community links. We invite our parents and families into school for a range of opportunities including: Internet Safety; maths booster classes; cooking; curriculum information sessions; pre-school library.

·  The school works hard to maintain links with the local community; the Headteacher attends Halling Association meetings and children have been consulted by the association on village matters

·  In the summer term, groups of children attend the local pre-school daily to work alongside pre-school children on organised activities enabling the older children to develop their confidence and communication skills whilst supporting the community

·  Harvest gifts from the children are distributed to elderly residents of the village

·  Our Foundation Stage children sing to the members of Halling Active Retirement Association at Christmas

·  All children were involved in planting and extending our Marie Curie Field of Hope and take part in a special assembly each year. Parents and local community members attend an afternoon tea and are entertained by the children

·  Children have been involved in a number of community projects, e.g: Kent Community Rail Partnership.

Parenting Support

Parents have access to a wide range of services, including:

·  Home visits for new parents/new Foundation Stage intake

·  A Home School Support worker, who liaises closely with families and has an open door policy and can also be contacted on a mobile phone during office hours.

·  School website containing key information for parents, such as access to letters, curriculum information etc.

·  Meet and greet sessions with new teacher

·  Parent and child 'learning together' sessions (e.g. maths, cooking)

·  Drop-in sessions/open door access to Home School Support Worker for parents

·  Library for rising 5s

·  Signposting to Bligh Children's Centre activities and support

·  Signposting to relevant services/agencies

NB: The school website keeps parents informed of school events, policies etc. and signposts them to useful websites to support children’s learning.

Swift and easy referral

A range of health and education professionals operate work in partnership with our teaching and support staff, including: the school nurse, Home School Support Worker, Bligh Children's Centre, Attendance Advisory Service, Educational Psychologist, Speech Therapy, Counselling services and Behaviour Support Team. We also signpost to a range of additional support services for families where needed. Teaching staff have had specialist training on Child Protection and the Common Assessment Framework to ensure early identification of children in need.

Wrap around childcare – Extended Hours Provision

The school offers wrap-around care from 07:30hrs until 18:00hrs. The provision is managed by the school and maintains the ethos and values of the school. Parents are charged for this service, although individuals may be offered the provision as a targeted measure.

Monitoring and evaluation

The effectiveness of the Extended Services policy is monitored by:

·  Review of the School Improvement Plan

·  Implementation and review of any Extended Schools action plans

·  Self evaluation framework

·  OfSTED inspection reports

This policy was agreed in a Policy Review meeting held in January 2017 and will be reviewed in 12 months.

Signed on behalf of Halling Primary School: ______

Signed on behalf of Governing Body: ______

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