Contact: Cliff Turner, Deputy Branch Manager, Children and Families Branch, Children's Services Department, 01962 846533

1 Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to describe the out-of-school provision that is currently in place for 8-13 year olds in Hampshire. It summarises available out-of-school provision with particular reference to type of activity, providers, funding, and participation rates.

1.2 This report is written in consultation with representatives from the Recreation and Heritage Department, Children's Fund, voluntary organisations, various sections of Children's Services such as the Early Education and Childcare Unit (EECU), the Adult and Community Learning Unit (ACLU), the Youth Service and the Hampshire Music Service.

1.3 It is acknowledged that there is a broad range of provision for children aged 8-13 years. Much of this work is undertaken by the voluntary sector (sometimes with County Council support), and by the private sector. Clearly, it is important to work in partnership with a wide range of organisations to support out-of-school activities for 8-13 year olds.

1.4 Hampshire enjoys a reputation for affluence, but this masks the fact that there are some wards with a high level of deprivation. Moreover, even within prosperous wards there are children living in pockets of deprivation. The report demonstrates the issues of deprivation and access difficulties for the 8-13 year old age group. Lack of access to transport, poverty and low expectations prevent some children from accessing provision.

1.5 Out-of-school provision for 8-13 year old children supports:

· Aim one of the Corporate Strategy: maximising life opportunities; and

· Aim four of the Corporate Strategy: building strong and safe communities

1.6 All five outcomes of the Children Act, 2004 are supported through these developments:

· Be healthy: by providing physical exercise

· Stay safe: through participation in activities that are compliant with health and safety regulations (including child protection)

· Enjoy and achieve: by supporting whole-child development

· Make a positive contribution: by developing self esteem and social skills

· Achieve economic well-being: by supporting working parents.

The provision of a rich diversity of out-of-school activities in every community is essential to the prevention and early intervention agenda, as well as community safety initiatives.

2 Out-of-school provision

Introduction

2.1 Unlike school attendance, participation in out-of-school activities is voluntary. At their best, these activities should be opportunities for children to grow in confidence and competence, and to develop constructive relationships with each other and with adults. From a Children's Services perspective, out-of-school provision should benefit children and young people, as well as supporting parents and carers who need or choose to work.

2.2 Children and young people are members of the Hampshire community in their own right and therefore should be able to access community facilities that are on offer to other age groups, e.g. libraries, community centres, cinemas, theatres, church activities and special interest societies e.g. fishing, chess, philately, and bird-watching. The range of activities in which children aged 8-13 years can participate in Hampshire includes popular sports, e.g. football, cricket, netball, basketball, badminton, martial arts, gymnastics, trampolining, cycling, watersports and horse riding. It also includes special activities for children such as holiday activity sessions, after-school clubs, homework clubs, junior youth clubs, music, dance and drama classes, uniformed youth organisations, special needs groups, ICT classes, language classes, youth discos, and environmental awareness activities. Unstructured recreational provision is also available such as recreation grounds, playgrounds and skateboard parks. Such facilities are typically provided by parish councils.

2.3 As an example, (rather than as an exemplar), opportunities and costs of some activities that were available in the Eastleigh District Council area during the school summer holidays in 2005 are shown in appendix one. (The list is not exhaustive. It is recognised that similar activities would have been available in other areas, and that the listed activities are not necessarily available in the summer of 2006).

Voluntary sector activities

2.4 As previously indicated, much of the work with children aged 8-13 years is undertaken by the voluntary sector, but nevertheless the number reached is limited. For example, the 30 voluntary youth organisations associated with the Hampshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services (HCVYS) together work with just over 100,000 (20%) of the young people across the 0-19 age range. It is often difficult to sustain these projects as funding is short term (e.g. one year). Furthermore, it can be challenging and time-consuming to secure ongoing funding.

2.5 At present several sections of the County Council provide grant funds to voluntary organisation e.g. Children's Social Care, Recreation and Heritage, Early Years, and the Youth Service. Other partners such as Connexions, the Drug and Alcohol Action Team, and Children's Fund also fund the voluntary sector. This current arrangement leads to inefficiency (as the voluntary organisations need to make repeated applications), potential gaps (as there is no overall strategic approach), and overlaps (as several voluntary organisations serve similar purposes).

2.6 An overall approach to commissioning in partnership with the voluntary organisations would be beneficial. The ending of Children's Fund in March 2008 and changes to Connexions provide an opportunity to embrace this approach. The Local Partnership Groups established as part of the Children's Fund procedure, and currently operational in 10 of Hampshire's Districts, provide a way forward at a local level, but there is need for an overarching co-ordinated county approach.

2.7 There is an issue about the shortage of adult volunteers to supervise and work with young people in the 8-13 age range. For example across Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton there are 1000 young people, some of whom are in the 8-13 years age group, who are on waiting lists to join the Scouts. (The ratios of adults to children in Cub Scouts must be at least 1:8). It may be that similar shortfalls occur across the voluntary sector.

Community centres

2.8 The Recreation and Heritage Department has identified an increasing problem of young people being excluded from community centres due to anti-social behaviour. In an attempt to address this problem, the Community Support Service within the Department collected information on activities in community centres where youth are fully included, together with information on those situations where problems have been experienced. A total of 105 community associations were surveyed. 33 associations responded, giving a sample of 31%.

2.9 The results showed that 6291 children and young people had attended the community centres that returned surveys. 1894 were in the 6-10 yrs age range and 1366 were in the 11-13 yrs age range.

2.10 The survey also showed that 21% reported hosting a youth club at least once per week, 12% more than once a week, but 64% reported having a youth club less than once per week, or not at all.

2.11 Although the Hampshire Youth Service does not routinely work with 8-13 year olds, some contact with the Youth Service was also reported. Only 9% of young people reported having regular contact with the Youth Service, with 36% reporting occasional contact, and 48% no contact at all.

2.12 Anti-social behaviour and vandalism were highlighted as problems experienced by community centres. (61% reported problems with anti-social behaviour and 63% reported vandalism).

2.13 70% of community centres reported having a Child Protection Policy in place. 45% reported Criminal Records Bureau checks being carried out on all staff, whether they work directly with young people or not, but 33% of respondents do not carry out any Criminal Records Bureau checks at all.

2.14 The survey highlighted staffing and funding problems. More multi-agency support is needed in order to identify and meet the needs of young people.

2.15 As a result of the above community youth inclusion survey, it is intended to identify good practice which can be shared across the community sector. Recreation and Heritage are currently providing some pump-priming money to pilot activities to develop good practice. A pilot project in Hiltingbury, Chandlers Ford is under way as anti-social, drug and alcohol related problems have been identified in the community. Consistent with the participation agenda, a 14 year old is involved in leading this work.

2.16 The Recreation and Heritage Department is also funding a consultation event for 11+ year olds to find out what types of activities children would like to be available. In one area, activities are provided on the basis that children become involved in community project work, for which in return (for example) they can have a day at Calshot Outdoor Activity Centre. £20,000 per year has been identified to extend this approach to other communities in Hampshire. It is also possible to apply for financial assistance to the Network Fund and the Young People's Fund.

2.17 Support by District Councils for community centres varies across the county. The District Councils in East Hampshire and in Basingstoke and Deane are examples of relatively good practice. In these districts community centres tend to be better resourced and this is associated with higher levels of participation.

Community use of schools

2.18 35 of Hampshire's 71 secondary schools and two primary schools are funded by the County Council to develop locally managed community programmes which include activities engaging children in the 8-13 age range. The salaries of the headteachers at the majority of these schools have been enhanced to reflect their additional responsibilities, and the majority have a dedicated community manager. Many other primary and secondary schools make their premises available to voluntary and community organisations delivering activities for children. The community use of most primary schools is generally supported by schools' administrative budget, rather than a dedicated community manager.

2.19 Provision by community schools includes breakfast clubs and after school activities. Many after school activities are conducted on a voluntary basis by school staff and they are therefore different from childcare provision. Holiday and week-end activities are also available, paid for by parents, on a sessional basis. These are popular with those who can access them. Some schools also run junior youth clubs. The County Council encourages the use of school facilities by those voluntary groups serving children (such as the uniformed youth organisations) by paying a subsidy to the schools to make charges more affordable. The total annual subsidy to schools is £246,000, with about £1.2m supporting the programmes delivered through the community schools.

2.20 A survey in 2005 of Hampshire schools showed that in a typical week, 27% of 8-12 year olds took part in inter-school sport competitions i.e. after school or at week-ends (25% of Year 4s, 29% of Year 5s, 27% of Year 6s and 22% of Year 7's). The PSA target is to increase the percentage of 5-16 year old children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and sport within and beyond school hours to 75% by 2006.

2.21 There is a partnership between the County Council, Southampton Football Club and the Daily Echo to support the annual primary schools six-a-side soccer challenge. Over 300 schools enter teams of eight Year 5 and Year 6 boys and girls to play in 7 area tournaments and a finals day. More than 2,400 children are involved in this each year.

2.22 Additional support for participation in out-of-school sport is made available by the County Council through the Junior Sports Bursary Scheme. Grants are awarded to young people of school age who are able to demonstrate a particular aptitude in their sport. These grants are intended to support their training, travel and competition entry costs. In the financial year 2005/06 bursaries awarded included those to 24 children aged 11 -12 years. Financial assistance is also given to those whose sporting potential could be limited by financial hardship. The families of eight children in the 8-12 age group were helped in this way in 2005/06.

Extended schools

2.23 The Government's extended school initiative requires schools to be offering a "varied menu of opportunities" between 0800 hrs and 1800 hrs all year round for young people aged 11-14 years. This offer might include language, music, dance and drama tuition, homework and study support, arts and crafts activities, business and enterprise activities, games and hobbies, as well as volunteering, visits to museums and galleries and special interest clubs. One-third of secondary schools must be able to demonstrate that this provision is in place by 2008, and all by 2010. Working parents and carers of primary school aged children are expected to be offered access to high quality, "wrap-around" childcare, either delivered on site or signposted elsewhere in the community. This should be available within half of primary schools by 2008, and in all by 2010.

2.24 The County Council is supporting groups or clusters of schools to work with local community partners and build their capacity to deliver extended services, using money available through a Standards Fund grant. Income from school lettings and charges to service users are retained by schools and any planned surplus is also available to support development.

2.25 In addition, the School Standards  Grant (SSG), which is paid directly to schools  has been increased by 8% in 2006/7 to support their engagement. This increase in grant will help to fund progress towards meeting the expectations of the extended school agenda. Secondary schools in Hampshire are on average receiving £8,375 during the financial year 2006-7. Primary schools are receiving an average of £2,275 for the same purpose. Schools are being encouraged to work together in clusters and to engage community partners. Some clusters are planning to "pool" the additional grant to invest in staff time for co-ordination.

2.26 The task of the County Council is to challenge and support schools in their delivery of education and extended services. This means assisting schools to understand what is expected of them, rather than engaging in planning on their behalf, or becoming a large-scale provider of out-of-school activities. Some schools are well on the way towards meeting their targets in this area of work. As self managing organisations, schools have the freedom to determine how their budget share is allocated. Difficult decisions sometimes have to be made between supporting core activities and supporting extended activities.

2.27 The National Remodelling Team (in collaboration with 4Children and ContinYou) is currently funding Hounsdown School (Totton) to research appropriate "childcare" for young people aged 11-14 years. The project is part of a national pilot intended to engage children and young people to design activities and programmes relevant to them. 40 schools across the country are taking part. The initial findings will be reported in March 2006.

Hampshire Music Service (HMS)

2.28 HMS promotes a wide range of out-of-school musical learning opportunities for children and young people. Throughout Hampshire more than 70 area and county music ensembles offer regular weekly rehearsals and performance sessions. Around 3,000 pupils attend these groups, which include bands, orchestras, jazz groups, choirs and recorder ensembles. Hampshire remains one of the few counties in England where the County Council makes no charge to parents for membership of such groups. Currently, the funding is provided by a County Council budget allocation to HMS, and by the Standards Fund Grant for music.

2.29 Unlike many sporting activities, pupils in music ensembles are often grouped according to experience and stage of development, rather than simply by age. This "vertical setting" gives opportunities for members to benefit from performing alongside those of similar ability and often produces a vibrant mixed-age membership e.g. a talented 13 year old may be playing and learning alongside 17 or 18 year old students.

2.30 Increasingly, there are opportunities for pupils to take part in residential music courses at weekends and during school holidays. Typically, these activities take place at The Avon Tyrrell Activity Centre, Sparsholt College and Bryanston School. In addition to music rehearsals, opportunities often exist at these centres for players to join in a range of sporting and challenge activities. Occasionally, more ambitious projects, such as concert tours, take place. Recently these have included visits to Iceland, Disneyland Paris, and Spain. Visits to twin towns offer the ideal opportunity to be ambassadors for the County Council.

2.31 All music ensembles prepare performances for relatives and the general public. Hampshire pupils may have the opportunity to perform in prestigious venues such as Winchester Cathedral or The Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke. More widely, pupils have performed in The Millennium Dome, The Royal Northern College of Music, and, in November 2005, The Royal Albert Hall, where 700 Hampshire youngsters performed "Worldsong" as part of the Last Night of the Schools Proms.

2.32 The confidence, self-esteem and pride that come from such out-of-school activities are immense. There is growing research evidence to show a link to improved academic attainment in school.

2.33 Other occasional out-of-school opportunities include a wider range of provision, including rock, pop, jazz and world music, DJ-ing and music technology. Hundreds of pupils have access to these opportunities annually.

2.34 The wide range of the Service's work includes specific provision for more vulnerable children. For children in Hampshire special schools, there are annual "Special Celebrations" and "Special Events", when schools are invited to bring children to take part in musical events in Winchester Cathedral and Ferneham Hall. Specific projects using new ICT resources including "Soundbeam" are very popular with these schools, as are music workshops provided by members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. All these initiatives are supported by the Government's Standards Fund to HMS.

2.35 HMS works in partnership with other local and national providers. It accesses a variety of funding streams to launch new initiatives and continues to seek ways to increase opportunities for pupils, both in school and out-of-school to participate, enjoy and achieve. A major example of effective partnership is the South-East Hampshire `Youth Music Action Zone' in which HMS is one of the six consortium partners. The associated music projects are almost all out-of-school activities.

Children's Fund Partnership

2.36 At present, the Children's Fund supports 140 projects across Hampshire. Priorities are identified using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), and qualitative knowledge about local needs by a multi-agency Local Planning Group. 40% of the Children's Fund work is based in schools, via breakfast and after-school clubs. Other examples of Children's Fund provision include drama workshops, social skills training, and an ICT club of children with special needs. Children's Fund also supports the provision of physical resources such as floodlighting for multi-activity play areas and a village climbing frame for 8-13 year old children.

2.37 Participation (not just listening) is key to the work of the Children's Fund. The Children's Fund is successfully working with young people in planning and participating in out-of-school activities. A variety of techniques have been used by the Children's Fund to elicit children's views (including a major survey). Young people, themselves view transport as an issue and this is also identified in the Local Area Agreement (LAA). Innovative practice is demonstrated by projects such as the Forest Bus (in the New Forest) and Rock Solid (that provides music related outreach services for 8-13s in the Eastleigh area).

2.38 Youth Inclusion Support Panels (YISPs) are also funded by Children's Fund. YISPs are designed to target interventions for children in the 8-12 age-range who are most at risk of crime. Preliminary data suggest they are proving to be successful. YISPs have had to tackle access issues, such as transport needs, e.g. by leasing a minibus to enable young people to travel to activities. Resources have also been pooled with local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) to provide activity schemes in YISP areas to tackle increased offending and anti-social behaviour during school holidays. This has resulted in sharp falls in complaints and police call-outs in those areas.

2.39 YISPs are currently running across three district council areas (New Forest, Gosport and Rushmoor), but it is hoped to extend this to five areas if funds from the Youth Justice Board are secured. The Children's Fund is working to adapt the model to target 5-13 year olds, with Connexions taking over at 13+ years. It is also felt that the YISP model could be "mainstreamed" as it fits with other agendas in supporting the same young people.

Early Education and Childcare Unit (EECU)

2.40 The EECU funds 6,238 places in out-of-school care, based in 147 settings. However, this remit finishes at 6 pm, and therefore does not include evening activity provision after this time. The EECU is committed to ensuring that there are high quality of play opportunities and care in all the settings that it supports.

2.41 The EECU provides funding to each of the 11 Borough and District Councils to commission the service of a Childcare Development Worker (CDW) in each area. Via the CDW, each council is charged with supporting the EECU in meeting its target of providing high quality, affordable childcare throughout Hampshire for Children aged 5-14. The CDW is a key part of the Local Development Team that operates in each of the EECU's five geographical areas.

2.42 The EECU provides a Business Support Service to aid the sustainability of Childcare schemes for children aged 8-13 years. This support can take the form of a session at a `Business Surgery', held on a monthly basis at each of the EECU regional offices, or in the form of a visit by the Business Support Officer. The Business Support Officer is also involved in financially assessing applications for EECU start-up or sustainability funding.

2.43 Through the local support of the Childcare Development Workers and the Senior Development Officers for Childcare, the aim is to provide each scheme with assistance to run high quality provision. The advice and support of lead officers for Training, Recruitment and Play are also valued components of the service provided.

The Youth Service

2.44 The Youth Service does not have a statutory responsibility to provide for 8-13 year old children. Youth Service resources are focused on the 13-19 year old age group to deliver outcomes effectively. Consistent with Hampshire County Council's general revenue funding from Government the Youth Service is one of the lowest funded in the country. However, some youth work is carried out with 8-13 year old children when additional funding has been secured, or as part of training for older teenagers.

3 Conclusions

3.1 The needs of children to be protected from adults who may cause them harm is obviously paramount. Effective child protection policies and practices need to be in place within all out-of-school activities.

3.2 Looking at the range of out-of-school activities for 8-13 year old children, it is clear that there is a preponderance of music and sporting opportunities. This reflects the major interests of young people, but it does raise a question about those who are not particularly interested in these activities. Participation could be increased by making a broad range of activities more widely available.

3.3 As indicated in paragraph1.4, the real problem in making out-of school provision for 8-13 year old children is not primarily lack of opportunities, but low participation rates due to lack of access to transport, deprivation issues, and motivational factors. It is the individual circumstances of some of these children and families that need addressing in order to make it easier for them to engage in activities that are already available. This raises complex questions about transport policy, targeted intervention (to improve participation in what is by definition a voluntary activity) and cultural change. In future, Members may like to consider this topic as a possible subject for further investigation.

3.4 The County Council has a particular responsibility regarding access to out-of-school activities for children looked after. Evidence from a recently completed project commissioned by the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) on "The participation of Children Looked After in after school activities" indicated the positive impact this had on placement stability and self esteem. In 2006, there are new opportunities for fostered children and their fostering families to attend Hampshire Music Service concerts and events at no charge. There are also plans for giving more access to music in children's residential homes. The loan of instruments to summer play schemes is being developed.

3.5 One of the factors that limits the availability of opportunities is the relative paucity of adult volunteers. As it is a large employer, the County Council has a role in encouraging adult volunteers from amongst its own workforce. As a major partner within the business community, the County Council could also encourage other employers to support their workforces in this area of personal development.

3.6 It is clear from this report that there is an argument for a joint approach to planning, funding and delivering out-of-school activities for children in the 8-13 year age range. Following publication of the Youth Matters Green Paper in 2005, it is debatable whether or not such commissioning arrangements should be considered separately or together with similar arrangements in relation to young people aged over 13 years.

4 Liaison with other agencies

4.1 The voluntary sector, the private sectors and district and borough councils are key partners in providing out-of-school activities for children aged 8-13 years. District Councils, especially, are involved in providing access to sport and recreation centres. Many make extensive provision for holiday play schemes.

5 Next steps

5.1 To establish a cross-party working group with officers to clarify the role of the County Council, including the Children's Services Department in relation to improving participation of children aged 8-13 years in out-of-school activities.

6 Legal implications

6.1 None

7 Financial implications

7.1 The County Council has been effective to date in using a range of resources to support and develop provision for out-of-school activities. As indicated in this report, extended schools funding, childcare funding (from the Early Education and Childcare Unit), Youth Service, and inputs from Recreation and Heritage have all been used to date. The intention of this report is to highlight these opportunities and to seek to develop further provision through joint working within existing resources.

8 Personnel implications

8.1 The report has potential implications for Hampshire County Council policy in relation to employees who may wish to volunteer to support activities for children aged 8-13 years during core business hours.

9 Impact assessment

9.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

10 Crime prevention issues

10.1 The Local Authority has considered its obligations and approach under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Hampshire's work is consistent with these requirements.

11 Views of the Local County Councillor

11.1 Not applicable, at this stage, as this report is for information only in describing the out-of-school provision that is currently in place for 8-13 year olds in Hampshire.

Recommendations

1 That guidance be commissioned from Children's Services officers to ensure that safe child protection policy and practice is in place for all out-of-school activities in Hampshire.

2 That the Human Resources Department develop a corporate policy to encourage the County Council workforce to volunteer to support out-of-school activities for children aged 8-13 years.

3 That a joint commissioning approach be developed for out-of-school activities for 8-13 year old children within the new proposed arrangements for management and governance of Children's Services.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

List documents here or type `none'.

None.