Alperton - The Extended School

Every Child Matters

The Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme is the national programme of system-wide reform designed to ensure that children's services work better together and with parents and carers to help give children more opportunities and better support.

It has five outcomes:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

Extended schools

This is essentially the way in which education will meet the ECM agenda. It is proposed that by 2010 all schools will provide access to a 'core' of extended services:

• High quality 'wraparound' childcare
• Menu of study/leisure activities
• Parenting support/involvement
• Swift referral to a wide range of specialist support services
• Community access to facilities

In developing Alperton as an extended school it is important that we listen to our students and parents. We have already taken the opportunity to survey parents in Y7, 8, & 9, and put in place initiatives based on their views of wishing to offer a varied menu of study/leisure activities both in and out of term time.

Our next plans include an expansion of the Breakfast Club (by adding Wednesday and then Friday to the current Monday, and by having healthy breakfasts available).

In the near future we are very keen to establish activities which give parents and carers a much greater involvement in the school. In particular we shall be offering events which enable families to be active together, so please keep an eye out for any publicity material (look in your childs schoolbag - it will be in there somewhere!), and feel free to get involved.

If in the meantime you have views on how we might develop Alperton as an extended school please don't hesitate to contact me at the school (0208 902 2038 xt300).

Ian Roberts - Extended School Manager