Reassurance for Extended Services users
Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for Children, Young People and Families has moved to quell concerns that the county’s after schools clubs are to face slashing cuts following a statement by Education Secretary Ed Balls MP.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe’s portfolio includes the provision of extended services through which families can access services such as before and after school clubs, childcare, family learning and a varied menu of activities.
It has also co-ordinated the Get Into It scheme which has seen pupils who are entitled to free school meals, as well as looked after children, receiving financial help to enable them to take part in after school activities where an expense is involved.
Mr Balls has outlined plans to reduce the spending on education and an article in the Sunday Times, (headlined ‘Ed Balls targets schools clubs in £500million cuts’) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7052764.ece
claims that he has identified £100million in funding for after school clubs as among the savings he needs to make.
This has caused some concern in the communities in which the clubs are used with parents anxiously seeking reassurance from cluster co-ordinators that their services will continue.
Cllr Seccombe has offered some reassurance by stressing that the £100million that Mr Balls has mentioned was never a long-term arrangement and was only provided by the government to start the programme of services.
At the outset of the extended services, which forms an integral part of the Every Child Matters agenda, the target was for all schools in the country to provide access to the core offers of extended services by the end of 2010. With around 90% of schools in the UK having achieved this, the plan is for the services to become sustainable through partnership delivery and without the pump priming funding.
The situation in Warwickshire reflects excellent progress with every one of the county’s schools providing the core offer of activities.
Carol Bunyard, extended services strategy officer at Warwickshire County Council, said: “Extended services is going very well in Warwickshire. With all of our schools involved in the core offer, we are well ahead of the national average and have been for some time. The £100m funding that Mr Balls has spoken about was used to get schools to develop their extended services and we have made great strides in doing that. We always knew it would start to be phased out from April 2011.
“We are in a strong position to build on the progress we have made and the many people in the community who use the services should not be too concerned by the ministerial statement. For us, business carries on as usual and we will continue to pour efforts into providing much valued services that meet the needs of our local communities.”
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, lead member for Children Young People and Families said: “I know how concerned people will have been that there would be some threat to extended services and, whilst schools will undoubtedly have to face some financial pressures, extended services have shown increasing value to the community.
“Children enjoy a safe environment before and after school enabling parents to work, there are stimulating after hours clubs for children to develop their learning or their physical activities, parenting support is available. This is just a small fraction of what Extended Services might offer. I must pay tribute to the tutors, trainers and activity leaders who have shown great commitment and initiative in establishing extended services for all of the family to be involved in. Their input has helped us to be successful in providing a service that is needed at local level.”
For information on extended services in your area, log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/extendedservices