Advice for governor development officers in local authorities

Strategy guide Meeting strategic education goals in England through study support Advice for governor development officers in local authorities Local authorities are under increasing pressure to deliver the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, extended services in and around schools, and other initiatives designed to raise standards, such as healthy schools and personalised learning. Study support (also known as out-of-school-hours learning – oshl) can help to address many of these initiatives simultaneously. Study support offers children the opportunity to take part in a range of informal and imaginative activities and projects outside normal lesson time, and has been shown to offer a range of benefits – for example, improving pupils’ attendance and levels of achievement. The government recognises the important contribution study support can make to a range of educational strategies. It is, therefore, working with key partners to embed study support within strategy documents and planning at both local authority and school level. This strategy guide highlights how: • study support can assist the delivery of governor development plans • study support can be built into the support you, as a governor development officer, already offer to schools • schools can use study support to benefit pupils, schools and communities. About study support What is study support? ‘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.’ (DfES, 1998; quoted in Study support: a national framework for extending learning opportunities, DfES, 2006) ‘Study support’ is a broad term that includes almost all activities that happen outside normal lesson time, including: • breakfast clubs • creative/performing arts and crafts • design technology and ICT • special interest groups or clubs • homework, revision and drop-in sessions • activities linked to the curriculum • peer mentoring and peer tutoring schemes • summer schools • residential experiences • visits to museums, galleries and heritage sites • modern foreign languages • environmental projects • volunteering. This is not an exhaustive list, and a key factor should be what engages and interests children and young people. There should be scope for the members to suggest, run or lead particular activities. The Study Support ETC pages of the ContinYou website provide more information on how to develop and sustain study support activities (www.continyou.org.uk/studysupportetc). The benefits of study support Study support is recognised as a key contributor to school improvement and the development of the whole child/young person. The greatest impact is seen when study support is strategically rooted, valued, planned and evaluated at both school and local authority level. For more information about study support and evidence of its impact, visit www.continyou.org.uk/studysupportetc and www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/ studysupport. Study support has been shown to help to: • raise standards • improve behaviour and attendance • encourage parental and community involvement • ease transition • improve motivation, and attitudes towards, and engagement in, learning • increase self-esteem and confidence • tackle social exclusion. Funding study support programmes Although there is not one ring-fenced source of funding for study support, money can be used from a number of sources to support the delivery of activities. These include the core budget, the school standards grant (SSG), and money attributed to personalised learning. Schools that apply for designation as specialist schools are now required, as part of their strategic planning, to show how their activities contribute to the achievement of Every Child Matters and the core offer of extended services – thereby enabling the money associated with this designation to be used to support extended learning opportunities. How study support can help governor development plans As a governor development officer, you can help develop and sustain study support activities that will contribute towards achieving your targets. You might support activities aimed at particular groups of children, or you may find ways to incorporate study support into your mainstream strategy. What aspects of study support might governor development officers focus on? Governor development officers have a crucial role to play in helping school governing bodies understand the potential of study support and its role in improving standards and in raising the profile of the school within its local community. It is important that all key stakeholders are involved in deciding on a school’s core values, vision and aims. Pupils, parents, staff, foundation bodies and representatives of the wider community will all have a view on what the school should try to achieve and how it should go about it. Governing bodies can be encouraged to ensure that those discussions aren’t limited to what can be achieved within the school day. They can encourage creative thinking to ensure that all children are given the opportunities they need to succeed. Study support has the greatest impact where managers, staff and pupils see it as a core part of the school’s provision and as an entitlement for all children. This is equally true whether the school develops services on its own or jointly with other providers. It is likely to mean that study support: • features in the school improvement plan, prospectus, school profile and self-evaluation form (SEF) • is discussed at meetings of governors and of the senior management team • is the responsibility of a designated member of the senior management team. Governing bodies should be encouraged to audit what is already going on in the school and to take a lead role in ensuring that the school’s study support activities are strategically planned and ultimately sustained. The following questions may be useful for governing bodies to use as a starting point for developing study support in their school: • Is there a collective view on the role that study support can play in our school? • Is it an integral part of our school improvement plan? • What do we currently offer? • What are the aims of the current programme? • How many pupils are involved? • Is a member of the leadership group/senior management team leading this as part of a broader extended services programme? • Should an individual governor be given responsibility for oversight of this aspect of the school’s work? • How does/should the governing body receive information about study support and extended services? The table on the next page outlines some of the key strategic goals that a governor development service may be working towards within a local authority and identifies how study support can play a part in these – and help to support the work of governor development officers. Study support and government policy on children and young people Study support plays a key role in a range of national policies and initiatives, including: • extended schools – study support contributes extensively to the delivery of the ‘core offer’ of extended services in and around schools to which every community should have access by 2010. The ‘varied menu of study support activities’ can also contribute to the delivery of the other four areas: childcare; community access, including adult learning; parenting support, including family learning; swift and easy referral; and shared use of facilities (www.teachernet.gov.uk/extended schools) • Every Child Matters (www.everychildmatters.gov.uk) • Personalised Learning (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/personalisedlearning) • Department for Culture, Media and Sport strategies (www.culture.gov.uk) • DfES Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners (www.dfes.gov.uk/publications) • Healthy Schools (www.healthyschools.gov.uk) • Learning Outside the Classroom (www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/resourcematerials/ museums/outsideclassroom) • Ofsted (www.ofsted.gov.uk) • PESSCL (www.youthsporttrust.org/page/pesscl/index.html) • Youth Matters (www.dfes.giv.uk/publications/youth) • 14–19 Strategy (www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/14to19) • Playing for Success (www.dfes.gov.uk/playingforsuccess). More information on how study support meets the challenges and targets presented by other initiatives can be found at www.continyou.org.uk/studysupportetc. How can study support contribute to priorities for governor development plans? Key elements of a governor development plan How study support fits with these elements or complements them Improve the effectiveness of the governor services team • Provide a training and awareness-raising session for governor development officers on study support and on the broader extended services agenda. • Through the local authority study support or extended services co-ordinator, identify which schools are providing a programme of study support activities and whether/how governors are involved in its planning or delivery. Support governors’ development by providing training and briefings • Write a briefing on study support for the next governors’ newsletter. • Identify the most suitable strategy for supporting governing bodies which are looking to develop study support and other areas of the ‘core offer’ of extended services in their school. • Co-host a workshop for governors with the local authority’s study support co-ordinator, focusing on understanding study support, its role in the inspection process, and the implications of running an extensive study support programme. Build recognition of the role, context and scope of governing bodies in children’s services and in other departments within the local authority • Ask where your governors are in relation to the provision of study support activities and programmes in their schools. • Identify whether there are any governance issues that are affecting them in the provision of study support and extended services. • Develop a dialogue with children’s services managers about what effect the development of study support and extended services can have on the shape of the governing body, and its role in relation to the future development of the school. Support the work of new governors, through the provision of a comprehensive, high-quality training programme • Include information about study support in the induction programme for new governors. • Encourage new governors to engage with and take part in study support as a way of getting a better understanding of their school, its pupils and the wider community. • Run a training session on study support and extended services for new governors. Case studies Involving parent governors Newport Junior School, Waltham Forest Carol Lopez is a parent governor at Newport Junior School. She got involved with the school ten years ago, when her children were there, by helping the London Wildlife Trust to construct a wildlife garden on the site. This gave her the confidence and skills to join the committee, which raised funds and planned the garden. Carol was then co-opted onto other committees. The next step was volunteering as a parent governor. She was at the school through several changes of headteacher. She performed practical duties and supported staff suffering from low morale. At this stage there were no after-school clubs at all. A reliable person was needed to start things up. As a governor, Carol provided continuity and support to groups. The school now offers a range of activities – football and music, plus a wildlife club. Carol regularly goes along to see what they are doing and, because she knows the children, she can offer advice to the leaders. ‘It is not just about coming to a couple of meetings,’ says Carol. ‘You need to be around – and staff need to know who their governors are.’ Sandi Bain, Education Officer at the London Wildlife Trust, comments: ‘My colleagues would not have continued working in this school without Carol’s support for us – and our input has given her added impetus too.’ Hands-on support Glycoed School, Blaenau Gwent Glycoed School, Blaenau Gwent, is an 11 to 16 mixed comprehensive in an area of high deprivation, where between 25 and 30 per cent of pupils receive free school meals. Attendance statistics and Key Stage 3 results have usually been above LEA and national averages. For the last three years, the school has been involved in study support and curriculum-linked learning activities in partnership with ContinYou. These have developed into an extensive programme, recognised as a key feature of the school and its success. One of the school’s governors, Malcolm Williams, has run the Stained Glass Window Craft Club since September 1999. The club targets pupils with special educational needs, pupils who are disaffected, and those who have low self-esteem. Attendance at the club has brought tangible improvements in the attendance, motivation and behaviour of pupils taking part. Malcolm says he has found great pleasure in teaching the children. The group is currently involved in making a water feature for the school garden, using sheet copper and pipe-work. New governance structures Leigh extended schools cluster, Wigan The Leigh Excellence Cluster, comprising 26 schools, is taking forward the development of extended services in Wigan. It is piloting a unique programme of provision based on a cluster model (schools working in partnership as a single body), in a core group of six primary schools serving a disadvantaged area of Leigh. The programme is funded by the BIP (Behaviour Improvement Programme) until April 2008. The core cluster (known as the Leigh Community Learning Zone) has a full-service extended schools co-ordinator whose role is to identify, plan, commission, deliver, monitor, evaluate and sustain extended services in all six schools. The first step was to audit existing activities and services provided by the schools in relation to the ‘core offer’ (as set out in the DfES prospectus on extended schools), closely followed by community consultation to find out what kinds of provision people wanted. Gaps in services have now been identified and ‘Extended Learning Plans’ are being developed to meet the needs of children, families and the local community. A governance structure for the cluster was developed in close consultation with the headteachers of the six schools. It was decided to set up a formal partnership, involving headteachers, governor representatives, the BIP manager and the full-service extended schools co-ordinator. This would operate under school governance regulations for the start-up phase, with a view to moving to a voluntary management committee with broad community representation once the services outlined in the ‘core offer’ had been set up. The strategic vision for extended services within the Wigan Borough was presented at the Leigh Excellence Cluster headteachers’ conference in September 2005. Where to now... What you can do next • Contact your study support (out-of-school-hours learning) or extended services co-ordinator. • Include information about study support activities in your briefings or newsletter for governors. • Find out what study support activities are being provided within your area, perhaps through your extended services cluster or by speaking to the lead officer for study support within your local authority. Ask for examples of case studies, where to go on visits and where to see a copy of the LA’s strategy on study support. • Support governors in embedding study support in the school improvement plan and ensure that schools offer a wide range of study support activities across the spectrum, not just homework or booster clubs. All study support activities can have an impact on levels of achievement and attainment, not just those most closely related to a curriculum subject or examination. • Encourage networking, the sharing of good practice and visits to other schools where study support activities are taking place. If governors wish to become involved in study support, suggest that they could help by delivering a study support session, helping behind the scenes, or sharing their skills and expertise – for example, by listening to children read, telling the history club about their family history or acting as a mentor or a fundraiser for the club. Useful resources Websites DfES Study Support Team www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/studysupport Governornet www.governornet.co.uk National Governors’ Association www.nga.org.uk Quality in Study Support (QiSS) www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/departments/professional-development/ centres/quality-in-study-support/ teachernet www.teachernet.gov.uk Training and Development Agency for Schools www.tda.gov.uk University of the First Age (UFA) www.ufa.org.uk Publications Extended schools: access to opportunities and services for all, DfES, 2005 Extended schools: a guide for governors, National Remodelling Team, 2006 The governance and management of extended schools and Sure Start children’s centres, DfES, 2006 Governors’ Extra: a guide to out-of-school-hours learning for governors, ContinYou, 2003 Study support: a national framework for extending learning opportunities, DfES, 2006 The study support code of practice (England), DfES, 2004 For information about useful resources for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, see www.continyou.org.uk/strategyguides. Acknowledgements Extra Time Strategy Guides are published by ContinYou, 17 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PJ. Tel: 020 8709 9900 Fax: 020 8709 9933 Email: info.london@continyou.org.uk Website: www.continyou.org.uk Copyright © ContinYou 2007 Edition 2. First published 2006. Revised 2007. ContinYou uses learning to tackle inequality and build social inclusion. ContinYou is one of the UK’s leading community learning organisations. Registered charity 1097596 ContinYou supports the strategic development of study support activities in schools, local authorities and their communities. There is a wide range of information and advice available at www.continyou.org.uk/extratime – or phone 020 8709 9900.