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What
is an Extended School?
An Extended School
is one that provides a range of activities and services, often
beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of its pupils,
their families and the wider community.
Some of these services
may be provided by teaching and support staff working in the
school; others may be provided by outside providers at a small
charge.
To provide a richer range of activities and support for
children, young people and their families, many schools in Hampshire
have chosen to work as a community partnership with other schools
and voluntary and statutory organisations.
There is strong evidence that
extended services can help to:
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Improve pupil attainment, self-confidence,
motivation and attendance
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Reduce exclusion rates
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Better enable teachers to focus on teaching
and learning
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Enhance children’s and families’ access
to services
The Cams partnership is made
up of representatives from the following parties:
In partnership with the
above, Cams Hill School is developing the range of services
it offers and promotes to give pupils the opportunity to
enhance their learning and benefit from new experiences that
are otherwise not normally available. |
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Cams Hill Acting Academy (Junior & Senior)
Over the past year, 32 children have joined the Cams Hill Acting Academy (Junior & Senior) and it has been a valuable social tool for many of them. The pupils have gained the confidence to become Ashcroft Advocates and Cams Hill Drama Ambassadors - many have been able to link their Acting Academy activity with other workshop and performance opportunities. This has included children from as far afield as Gosport & Stubbington where similar activities are not so easily available - if at all. An additional four children took the opportunity to participate in our special workshop, which was opened to all schools in the area, on Stage Fighting with a world renown fight arranger - this could not have been envisaged without the financial support of Extended Schools funding.
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Extended Schools support has helped set up a Junior Acting Academy, which has attracted a small but loyal membership in its first term. It is open to all Year 6 pupils from across the Fareham & Gosport area. For further details, please contact Mr D Murton, Head of Drama. |
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Trailblazer Scheme
In January 2009, 20 Year 8 pupils were picked from the year group by their form tutors to take part in the Trailblazer Scheme. The criteria for selection were pupils, who were felt, would benefit from learning outside of the normal confines of a classroom.
The scheme was led by Les Walters a Primary School teacher who was qualified to lead the Trailblazer Scheme. His objectives were geared towards KS3 curriculum objectives in Maths, Science and Literacy. The pupils took part in 3 hour sessions that encouraged learning outside of the classroom, the sessions ran on Friday mornings and afternoons during the spring and summer terms. The pupils undertook exercises in designing an “outdoor” class room on for the school. Which included a visit to Warren Park Primary School to study their outside learning environment? The scheme culminated in the pupils producing power points about plans and ideas for an outdoor classroom at Cams Hill School which they then presented to each other. The sessions would have 3 initial emphases:
- Using the Trailblazer Pack ideas as team building/warm up activities - and as ways to start other activities
- Develop the idea of a School Garden and explore pupils’ ideas on the way it should develop
- Explore ways that use of the Outdoors can be extended in the general curriculum - particularly in Maths, Literacy and Science
In Science, the main objectives covered the QCA Units 7C and 8D - to do with Habitats and Environments. In Maths, the objectives covered were Shape, Space and Measure - using measures to plan a ‘realistic environment’ (the Garden) and Data Handling (when designing and collating a questionnaire designed to investigate other pupil’s views on the Garden) In Literacy, the main objectives covered were dealing with the presenting and analysing of information for others. IT was also being used extensively, for taking pictures of work, planning and presenting work and data handling.
In order to undertake the scheme, a proposal for funding was sent to Extended Services. Who duly released funding of £1,500 to pilot the project. This was to help pay for the cost of the scheme, which included paying for Les Walters to run the scheme, the cost of materials and the cost of minibus use and staff cover. Extended services also provided contact names of people who were qualified to run the project.
In all it was felt that the pupils learnt a lot from being involved in the Trailblazer scheme, and perhaps one day the prospect of an outdoor classroom at Cams Hill will come off the planning board and become reality.
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