Alan DysonKristin Kerr

Out of school time activities and extended services in England: A remarkable experiment?

Shortlink: https://www.waxmann.com/artikelART102809

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Abstract

England has a long tradition of schools offering extracurricular activities outside of normal school time. In recent years, however, a remarkable experiment has taken place through which these activities have been subsumed within a wide array of ‘extended services’. All schools have been expected to make these services available to their students, to families and to local communities. This initiative has similarities to the full service and community schools initiatives in countries such as the USA. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of these developments and to consider the issues that they raise. It therefore describes the development of extended services, explains the problems of evaluation in this field, and offers a brief overview of the evidence currently available for the impacts of these services. It argues that the evidence is particularly promising in terms of impacts on children and adults experiencing disadvantage, and that there are indications of wider impacts on school ethos, school standing in the community, and community well-being. However, the evidence for impacts on overall levels of attainment in schools is more ambiguous. The paper also points out that the purposes of extended services are not well-articulated, other than through an assumption that they constitute a means of tackling disadvantage. It argues that this assumption is problematic, and that the purposes of extended services cannot be considered separately from more fundamental questions about the origins of disadvantage, and the nature of an equitable education system and an equitable society.

Keywords
Schools; Disadvantage; Full service schools; Community schools; Out of hours provision

APA citation
Dyson, A. & Kerr K. (2014). Out of school time activities and extended services in England: A remarkable experiment?. Journal for Educational Research Online (JERO), 6(3), 76-94. https://www.waxmann.com/artikelART102809