After schools activities show the way in Warwickshire
Amid fears that after school clubs are becoming too expensive, Warwickshire County Councillor’s portfolio holder for Children, Young People and Families has urged families to get involved with the wide range of extended services activities, many of which are either free or heavily subsidised.
The Save the Children charity, following an online study of 854 parents, has published a report in which nearly two-thirds of the parents claim that they cannot afford after-school activities for their children, a figure rising to nearly three-quarters for those parents below the poverty line.
Even basic activities such as catch up clubs for those falling behind, can be too costly, parents claim.
Cllr Heather Timms has urged people to take a look at what is available through their local cluster of schools rather than risk their children not taking part in out-of-school activities.
Activities include breakfast clubs, after-school homework clubs as well as sports clubs, musical activities or other extra-curricular pursuits such as astronomy, cooking or drama.
Schemes such as ‘Get Into It’, which makes funds available, via Warwickshire County Council, to schools have reduced the costs to families of children who would not be able to afford to participate otherwise.
Schools also run many free or heavily subsidised activities offering an alternative to more expensive private providers. Linked to the Children’s University, they provide an incentive to children to pursue further learning outside the classroom.
Cllr Timms said: “There is no doubt that there is a correlation between taking part in extra-curricular activities and improving academic achievement significantly. The county council is committed to narrowing the gap between the education opportunities available to the young people in all parts of the county, whatever their background.
“There is no reason why any parent should feel that their children are not able to participate in after school clubs. Through the county council’s Extended Services team, we have made sure that provision is made in every area for a wide range of activities.”
A further report, looking at how out-of-school activities can help the poorest children, said that such activities should not be seen as an ‘optional extra’.
Donald Hirsch from Loughborough University’s centre for research in social policy, said: “Our research seems to show that if you have a background of – from an early age – having done various forms of learning out of school, that affects how you’re able to engage in learning when you get to school.”
Cllr Timms said: “As well as the statutory 15 hours of early education that all 3-4 year olds are entitled to, Warwickshire has a wide network of pre-school activities through extended services offering added learning experiences.
“Again, I would urge parents to look at the extensive range of possibilities in their area. We are acutely aware of the need for all children to have access to stimulating and varied learning and are able to offer more help than perhaps people imagine.”
For further details of extended services in your area, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk , call 01926 410410 or ask at your local school for details of the cluster co-ordinator.