Analysis: Extended Schools - The rules for schools on charging

The Government tackled the thorny issue of charging parents for extendedservices last week. It led some national newspapers to proclaim thatparents could soon be paying 200 a week for out-of-hours clubsnot linked to the national curriculum.

But the Department for Education and Skills document on planning andfunding extended schools is more nuanced than this. It sets out howschools should draw up a charging structure and clarifies what schoolscan and can't charge for. There is also information on pots of moneythat can be used to fund extended school activities.

The issue of charging

The most contentious issue is what schools can charge for. Allchildcare, except the free provision that all three- and four-year-oldsare now entitled to, should be charged for. This means breakfast clubscould be charged at full cost, according to the DfES. The document alsostates that schools may charge for some study support. So while anEaster revision week for GCSEs should be free, charges could be made foran after-school foreign language club. And pupils could attend acatch-up maths club for free but have to pay to attend a film club.

Teachers' unions are concerned that this could spell the end to musicand sports clubs, which many teachers have traditionally run forfree.

But Julian Piper, national programme director of the community learningcharity ContinYou, says it's a myth that these clubs are alwaysfree.

"They may be free in some cases but they're certainly not free inothers," he says.

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of HeadTeachers, warns that charging for foreign language classes but not mathswill be an administrative nightmare. Once again, Piper dismisses thisclaim: "I haven't heard that schools doing this in the past have foundit to be an administrative nightmare. What's important is that schoolsthemselves need to be clear with parents about what's chargeable andwhat's not."

Schools can raid their core budgets to pay for extended services,according to the guidance (Children Now, 14-20 June). Piper says: "Theclarification is really helpful. It could lead to more money going intoextended services. It certainly gives schools much more freedom thanthey have perceived they had in the past."

Oriana Dalton, head teacher of King's Park Primary School inBournemouth, agrees: "We were always told that we weren't allowed to usethe core budget for extended services."

But she's sceptical about how much difference it will make to her ownschool. "It won't really help as we have a deficit budget. We have touse our core budget to provide teachers, it's as basic as that."

King's Park is in a deprived area and has developed a range of extendedservices. The DfES guidance highlights how the school developed acharging structure after consultation with parents and governors. What'sinteresting is that there's no mention of the extensive consultationwith the local community or local authority in the DfES write-up. Thatmight be for space reasons, but it reflects a concern that some haveabout the guidance: the emphasis on consulting parents.

Children's minister Beverley Hughes has previously said that schoolswill have to consult with local authorities when drawing up theircharging policy. Piper says: "The key thing that is new to me is theinsistence that any charging policy has to be done in consultation withparents.

It's interesting because I wonder what good practice in fullconsultation on a charging policy actually looks like. I have someconcern that we need some examples of what a robust, ongoingconsultation will look like in this context."

Looking at local provision

He adds: "If schools don't consult with their local authority - inparticular the childcare and early years sections - they might undercutexisting activity in the community and that then causes problems for thelocal economy. We do need to be mindful of other providers' chargingregimes and the possible implications of a school's new charging policyon these."

For Dalton this is why a thorough consultation process is soimportant.

She uses her school web site to let parents know what's available in thelocal area. "It's about signposting parents to where the opportunitiesare," she says. And she believes the initial hard work was worth it. "Ifyou believe what you're doing is going to have a genuine impact onlearning, you'll do it."

KEY POINTS

- Schools can charge parents the full cost of providing a breakfastclub. But they may use their delegated budget to support poorerfamilies

- Schools could charge pupils for a film club but not a catch-up mathsclass

- www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/?asset=News&id=41689.