School evolution

26 September 2003

A Royal Borough secondary school, Sion Manning, is to be one of the first 'Extended Schools' in the country. The visionary new approach will make the school a central focus for the local community by providing significantly more services than traditional schools in areas as wide ranging as health, social services, childcare, IT, sport and lifelong learning.

Cabinet member for Education, Libraries and Arts Councillor Mary Weale said: "We are proud that the Royal Borough's Sion Manning School has been chosen as one of the first schools of this kind. This new approach is extremely interesting and will provide truly joined up and focussed community services."

At the launch on September 26, Richard Page, Senior Policy Advisor to the Department of Education and Skills explained the vision behind the project and highlighted some of the many benefits. These include:

Easy access to health services, allowing children to be treated without having to leave the school building
Greatly extended school activities, making better use of buildings that would otherwise be left empty
Strong community services, allowing children to reach their full potential and improve the chances of those less privileged students and families
Flexible childcare, allowing easy access for parents and helps working parents in particular
Additional 'out of hours' learning facilities, which increase the potential for 'lifelong learning' in the community
Sporting activity and facilities which improve health and encourage healthy living in later life

Eventually, it is intended that every Local Authority will have at least one Extended School. The Royal Borough is proud to have one of the first.

Notes for Editors: Pictures available

For more information contact Media and Communications.