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AFTER-HOURS SCHOOL'S OUT
Parents and children ‘being failed’ over extended activities
PARENTSs in Westminster are being forced to fork out for costly childcare because schools are failing to offer after-school activities, new figures have revealed.
Last year Westminster was ranked the worst in London for providing the government’s trumpeted dawn-to-dusk “extended schools” services.
By 2010 all schools are expected to extend traditional hours, providing childcare for working parents and offering extra classes, clubs and activities to broaden opportunities for children from deprived backgrounds.
But figures obtained by Labour MP Karen Buck reveal Westminster is still failing dismally in its bid to meet the target. And the schools that are failing are in the most deprived corners of the borough – confirming Ms Buck’s fears that schools without a critical mass of middle-class parents suffer, creating a divide between rich and poor.
Westminster remains in the bottom 20 local authorities in the whole country with half of secondary schools not offering after-hours clubs.
The schools falling short are: St George’s School in Maida Vale; Paddington Academy; St Marylebone School; Westminster City School in Victoria; and King Solomon Academy in Lisson Grove – all of which have a higher than average number of pupils receiving free school meals.
The MP for Regent’s Park and Kensington North has been joined by opposition councillors in Westminster City Hall in criticising schools chiefs at the council.
There are fears that the picture in Westminster suggests an educational apartheid, where wealthier city academies and schools with fewer children on free meals are able to provide extended services while in more deprived “tough” schools, children and the local community miss out.
Ms Buck said: “The figures speak volumes. We know the money from central government is spread too thinly, but there’s no excuse for Westminster to be falling so short when other authorities seem to be showing more of a commitment to it.
“This programme is so important in Westminster where kids don’t have gardens and can’t run around. It’s simply not good enough.
“At the moment it’s patchy and I fear schools in more deprived areas, that really need the service, are going to miss out.
“I’m not necessarily against parents contributing, but if you’re on £12,000, on income support and have four children, it’s not the right thing to have to shell out for your kids to be looked after until 6pm.”
Martin Tissot, the heateacher at St George’s Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale, said a school’s ability to meet the target was all about money.
He said: “We are running some of our services at a loss, it’s that simple. We don’t have enough money.
“Some schools have the ability to collect more, either from parents or the local authority and that means they are more sustainable.
“We would love to do more with the community and lay on more clubs, but it all costs money.”
The council has played down the figures, highlighting the strides that have been made in the last eight months.
In July just two secondary schools offered extended services compared with the current figure of 5.
And in the same period seven primary schools have joined the 17 that were already fulfilling the core offer.
Mike Potter, the council’s head of early years, said: “We are closing the gap on the national average as the latest figures show that 66 per cent of our schools are now providing the full range of extended services such as after-school activities, childcare and support for parents.
“This is a substantial rise in the last six months.
“This clearly demonstrates our commitment to education and we will continue to work with headteachers across the city to meet our target of 85 per cent by September.
“While we acknowledge that the government may have previously expressed concern, in their latest assessment of Westminster’s performance, they said we have strong leadership and expressed confidence that we were on course to meet our next target.” |
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