Speaking at the Kids' Clubs Network annual conference in London, Catherine Ashton said there would be 240 extended schools in England by 2006, at least one for every local authority.
Extended schools and children's centres are seen as key to the Government's vision of integrated and sustainable childcare provision. Extended schools are intended to offer childcare, health and social care, family learning, study support, lifelong learning, sports, arts and ICT access.
The funding for extended schools will be aimed at disadvantaged areas initially. It is anticipated that 61 will be established in the first year of the scheme.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) acknowledged that aspects of the scheme were similar to the New Community Schools (NCS) programme in Scotland, first piloted in 1999. The Scottish Executive is rolling out the approach to all local authorities by 2006 and to every school by 2007.
The NCS initiative aims to raise educational standards and promote inclusion by bringing together teachers, social workers, family workers, health professionals and others. Interim findings of an evaluation published in August 2002 found that the projects led to increased education, health and social policy activity in schools.
However, Rosemary Murphy, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, criticised the DfES for not yet having a framework in place for extended schools to be regulated under the national standards for under-eights daycare and childminding, in line with other childcare provision. She said, 'We need urgent clarification of how quality of care in schools will be inspected. Government-funded development on this scale is unacceptable outside the national standards. Don't babies and young children in school-based childcare have the same right to protection as those in nurseries or with childminders?'
Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said teachers would welcome extended schools. 'Currently teachers are expected to take on many of the problems that other local authority services should be tackling,' he said. 'Local authorities now need to accept the strong argument for such services to be in schools directly meeting the needs of pupils and parents.'
This Government is exposing our children to unnecessary risk by encouraging the development of unregulated childcare.