Warwickshire News Mine

The new remote control car club at Wellesbourne CofE Primary School has helped improve pupil performance both in and out of the classroom and is one of the many out of school activities that are being offered as an ‘extended service’.

Graeme Burgess, headteacher and co-founder of the club, said: “We hold a remote control car club every week and it is making a real difference to the behaviour of some of our children in school.  They are developing better relationships with each other in these sessions and it is having a positive impact on their attitudes towards learning during the school day.”

The remote control car club is open to parents and children and it is co-run by Andy Boswell, a parent and employee of the school, and supported by Dominic Trinder, a former pupil, Steve Naylor, a parent, and Martyn Crocker, parent and model shop owner. 

Wellesbourne CofE Primary School offers a wide range of activities and was recently inundated when an African drumming class was offered to parents and children through the Stratford Parenting Project. Headteacher Graeme Burgess said that the extra activities, either arranged by the school itself or in partnership with other organisations, were really adding value to the life of the school. He said: “At the last count, 85 per cent of our students were involved in at least one of our out of school activities, either after school or at lunch time.”

As part of its ‘extended services’ agenda, the school has also established a private nursery, operated by the Governing Body of the school and managed by the headteacher.  In addition, the school has entered into partnership with ‘the swim school’, a Stratford based swimming coaching business, which leases the pool regularly to conduct private lessons for the local community in the evening.  The reciprocal arrangement gives the school a full-time swimming tutor during the school day.

The Government wants all schools to help provide access to extended services by 2010, with half of primary schools and one-third of secondary schools doing so by 2008. By providing access to extended services, a number of schools across Warwickshire are helping to support the needs of their families by making sure that key services are available, including childcare, parenting and family support, a varied range of activities including study support, music and clubs, referral to specialist services such as health and social care, and community use of facilities.

Ally Lynch, Extended Services Development Officer for Warwickshire County Council, said: “By providing access to a range of extended services, schools can really broaden their role in the community as well as see an impact in the classroom.  Wellesbourne CofE Primary is showing how these kind of activities can enhance life for everyone.”

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For more information please contact Rebecca Davidson in the Warwickshire County Council press office on 01926 414142.

Link to WCC