A Day in the Life of an Extended School Coordinator

For over 500 schools in Hertfordshire, extended services provide opportunities to improve outcomes for children, young people and parents.

Schools are grouped together in extended schools consortia, that work together to provide access to a range of services.  There are 38 consortia in Hertfordshire, each with an Extended Schools Coordinator and an extended services team. Each consortium has a hub school, responsible for the management of the programme.

Nikki Howes is the Extended Schools Coordinator (ESCO) for the St Albans South Consortium where she has worked for the past two and a half years. She  explains how in response to the Every Child Matters agenda, ESCOs and their teams were brought in to help schools work together to make a positive difference.

Nikki’s team consists of parent and family support workers, an administrative assistant and more recently an activities coordinator.  The roles vary depending on individual needs of each consortia but all work in partnership with schools, local providers, services and the community.

Nikki begins, “We assist schools in achieving their ‘Full Core Offer’ status, which means delivering five areas of service - childcare, swift and easy access to specialist services, study support, community access to school facilities and parent support and family learning. Promoting the services is a big part of what we do.  Face to face is the most effective and very rewarding as it starts to build a relationship.”

Moira White, headteacher at Bowmansgreen Primary School observes how influential Nikki’s role has been: “Our consortium has two quite distinct areas in terms of the aspirations and the financial resources of parents.  I think Nikki begins to address the balance between the two by selecting a huge number of resources and support our parents can access through school.  And it is important it is through school; that is a point of safe contact for any of our families.”

Nikki continues: “We have parenting courses, we support them with transition and can signpost them to additional services.  We reach them by newsletters, the website, and needs analysis surveys. We also consult the pupils directly so that we can hopefully fulfill the children’s needs or requirements too.”

From developing breakfast and after school clubs, promoting healthy lifestyles and implementing learning activities, Nikki’s work boasts new challenges everyday, working alongside the schools and community to improve outcomes for children, young people and adults.

Activities provided at one school can be available to all pupils in that consortium area. Often, where funds allow, transport is provided between certain schools, making the services accessible to all, even if not provided at a pupil’s own school.

Moira concludes: “The programme is valuing these children as individuals and I really do think some of the children feel better about themselves.  Consequently, we address many issues around children’s emotional and mental health and wellbeing, putting them in a better position to learn.”

For further information about the projects and schemes available in your area, contact your local school or go to:

• Find a Consortium