Advice for senior strategy managers in local authorities

Strategy guide Meeting strategic education goals in England through study support Advice for senior strategy managers 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 help you meet your strategic objectives • study support can be built into the support you, as a strategy manager, 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. The grid on the next page, showing key strategic areas of work, gives more information on how study support links to the delivery and implementation of strategy objectives. 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 senior strategy managers As a senior strategy manager, 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. How does study support help with my strategic objectives? Strategic areas of work How study support fits with these areas or complements them Raising achievement and social inclusion Study support already plays a central role in raising achievement at primary, transition and secondary levels. The challenge in education is to find new ways to help young people learn, taking into account their learning styles, interests and individual tastes. Study support offers schools a whole range of innovation to extend, enrich and enable independent learning and focus on the needs of children who are hard to reach. The recently published policy document Study support: a national framework for extending learning opportunities (DfES, 2006) clearly highlights how study support contributes to school improvement. Promoting personalised learning Good study support takes place in an environment that is different to the classroom, promoting independence in young learners and encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning. It plays a vital role in complementing and reinforcing what children learn in formal lessons in a way that values the independence and individuality of each student. Every Child Matters and children’s services These initiatives focus on the well-being of children and young people in and out of school hours. Study support activities help to increase a young person’s sense of personal achievement by providing a range of opportunities for them to choose to participate in. Study support can focus on specific areas such as health, lifestyle or safety, but it can also provide wider opportunities such as drama, outdoor pursuits or ICT sessions. Regardless of the activity itself, study support will have a broad impact on the children and young people who participate in it. Their economic well-being may well improve, together with their confidence, engagement in learning and social skills. Study support can provide opportunities for success to those who are perhaps less successful in, or choose not to engage in, classroom-based learning. Because of its personal, informal approach and high levels of one-to-one involvement, study support provides a space for children’s voices to be heard and for them to be valued as individuals. Integrating school and community objectives (including extended services and children’s centres) A varied menu of study support activities is a key aspect of the core offer of extended services in and around schools. The core offer enables children, parents and the wider community to come together to take part in joint learning, mentoring or volunteering schemes or to share facilities such as libraries or health promotion services. Children’s centres are an ideal platform from which to build community-wide study support. Family learning, community access, parenting support and swift and easy referral can also be supported through study support programmes. It isn’t only schools that provide study support opportunities; it is important that community providers are made aware of how the provision they are offering can contribute to the achievement of other local strategies and initiatives, and can also help build safer communities and develop active citizenship. Using study support to meet other local authority targets Because of their flexible nature, study support schemes often meet the objectives of a range of policies. In addition to their learning benefits, they can have an impact on crime reduction, youth inclusion, health and mental health promotion, and diversity – particularly when run in partnership with outside agencies such as the police or the youth service. This means that funding can be drawn from a range of different sources. Case studies Children’s Services Nottinghamshire Children’s Services For children who struggle to achieve in school, are sent to school hungry or dirty, or face bullying, study support can be a lifeline. ‘We know that children who may not have been able to achieve in the classroom can have wonderful skills in other areas,’ says Nottinghamshire children’s service manager Carol Angharad. Carol works closely with the study support, corporate parenting, youth and children’s teams to ensure that study support is high on the agenda of social workers, managers and colleagues across the local authority. When a child is brought into care, we ask about their out-of-school-hours interests immediately at their initial placement planning meeting. Details of children’s involvement in study support are included in all progress reviews and evaluations, and the team tracks what activities every child is doing. Nottinghamshire Children’s Services is tackling these strategic objectives: • Every Child Matters and children’s services • raise attainment and social inclusion. The effect ‘Study support can tap into those skills to help children feel good about themselves and boost their confidence to believe they can achieve. This can improve their school work and their social skills and change how they perceive themselves.’ ‘Study support forces us to look at the whole child, rather than just addressing the government targets,’ says Carol. ‘You have to think more holistically, in terms of life chances, how they are in themselves, and what they’re achieving. Seeing the children develop is a real morale boost for staff too. We have a real sense of pride.’ University of the First Age The notion of personalising education is at the heart of the University of the First Age (UFA), a charity that develops programmes and resources to link school, home and community in a joint learning enterprise. Its main tenet is that everyone has the potential to succeed. The organisation develops and delivers training packages across the UK and supports more than 40 partners – mostly local education authorities – and 1,200 trained ‘Fellows’ to help build UFAs in their local areas. The UFA develops learning teams, run by the Fellows, to deliver activities designed to support and help young people understand and develop their own way of learning. It offers a tailored approach for each stage of learning, from early years through primary and secondary school. So that they represent the wider community, the teams include not only teachers, but also parents, community tutors, learning mentors, volunteers, and professionals from all walks of life. The activities range from out-of-hours clubs, summer schools and peer tutoring, to volunteering in the community. The UFA is tackling these strategic objectives: • personalise education • raise attainment and social inclusion. The effect Evaluations show raised GCSE and SATs attainment as a result of participation in UFA programmes. The UFA works in partnership with LEAs, which pay a flat annual fee plus additional amounts for extra training sessions, depending on what they need. Local authority partners have found that their work with the UFA has helped them meet a range of targets, both educational and non-educational, from achieving primary stage objectives to improving social cohesion. 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 e– 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. Education Leeds Study support is an integral part of learning for young people in Leeds, thanks to the local authority’s strategic approach to out-of-school-hours learning. The study support team works closely with schools and other learning providers to help set clear objectives for each programme. It rigorously evaluates the impact, to ensure the young people benefit as much as possible from each activity. It also raises funds for specific projects from sources such as the Children’s Fund, Neighbourhood Renewal and the DfES Innovations Fund, and promotes partnerships with local businesses. Education Leeds is tackling these strategic objectives: • meet targets other than education • raise attainment and social inclusion. The effect Education Leeds has created a culture across the city that recognises the value of study support in raising young people’s attainment and improving attitudes to learning. ‘We’ve done a lot of awareness raising, promotional activity and networking across the local authority and in schools,’ says study support adviser Angela Bailey. ‘We’re quite unusual in our size and profile. And having a chief executive and leadership team who support us has been invaluable.’ Study support has helped the authority meet a range of local objectives – not just in education, but in crime and health. Crucial is a joined-up approach and its links with Leeds City Council’s ‘Closing the Gap’ strategy. The team links with the youth service, social services, the police, and other community agencies and groups, and works closely with local health agencies. ‘Study support is part of that whole range of support and interventions for young people which helps remove barriers to their achievement,’ says Angela. ‘We’re keen on creating the right environment for learning, and links with communities through extended schools. Study support fits clearly with that package.’ Extended schools and study support Bowbridge Primary School, Newark Being an extended school seems to legitimise what Bowbridge Primary School has been doing already, says headteacher David Dixon. Providing services for local families has been part of its ethos for many years. ‘Because it’s an area of high deprivation, we felt we needed to do more than deliver the curriculum in the traditional sense,’ says David. ‘We tried to make learning more relevant to the children by introducing hands-on activities and using the environment for learning, rather than shoe-horning in content that they couldn’t relate to.’ The school’s study support programme is Quality in Study Support (QiSS)accredited, offering opportunities and clubs run by staff and outside providers. The school is also home to a family learning centre and an extensive adult education programme. This is funded by the European Social Fund in partnership with the family learning team and the local FE. The school also offers wraparound childcare and a crèche. Parents and children can access emotional support through health visitors, child and family therapy, play therapy, counselling, and the school nurse. Other services include Citizens’ Advice, job search, police surgeries, a toy library and a community library. The school is also running a laptop-lending scheme in partnership with Microsoft, to help more local families get connected to the internet. Bowbridge Primary School is tackling these strategic objectives: • integrate school and community objectives • meet targets other than education. The effect Study support is just one aspect of the broad range of services that the school is offering the community, but it’s a fundamental part of the integrated approach. ‘We have an open-door policy, so parents can see we’re in it for them. Now they have confidence in us, and that has an effect on their children’s attitudes to learning too. Rather than a reductionist view of boosting attainment, we’re working towards holistic school improvement.’ Where to now... What you can do next • Contact your study support (out-of-school-hours learning) and/or extended services co-ordinator. • Include study support activities when planning your Children and Young Person’s Plan, your Local Area Agreement and other cross-cutting strategies/development plans. • Find out what study support activities schools in your area provide now and how these can help you to meet your existing targets. • Consider how community partners could add value to study support provision and ensure their work is recognised as contributing to Every Child Matters. • Support schools in embedding study support by including it in your INSET provision. Focus on the benefits of young people choosing to re-engage in learning and choosing to become active citizens. • Host a workshop for headteachers to discuss some of the strategies, initiatives, policies and agendas that study support can be used to target. Useful resources Websites 4 Nations Child Policy Network www.childpolicy.org.uk Children’s University www.childrensuniversity.org Progress on England’s Children’s Rights Commissioner www.unicef.org.uk/youthvoice 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 14–19 curriculum and qualifications reform, DfES, 2004 Building the future of learning, Big Lottery Fund, 2004 Learning outside the classroom manifesto, DfES, 2006 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.