The charity runs 16 subsidised after-school clubs in south London as well as breakfast clubs and holiday play schemes, but plans to have more than 300 after-school clubs throughout the country by 2012.
Trojans was founded ten years ago by chief executive Jackie Nunns. She says, 'Our plans might sound very ambitious for what is currently a small charity but we have spent two years in preparation for this and are very confident that our robust framework for out-of-school services is what schools are looking for. As the extended schools agenda is now on the table, headteachers are under pressure to provide wraparound activities for children from 8am to 6pm.
'Many seem to be worried about this, believing that it is going to create a lot more work for themselves and their teachers. What many don't know is that Trojans can do the whole thing for them - all they need to do is provide the premises. We train and provide the staff, we organise all the activities, payroll and all the administration.'
The charity aims to expand into other urban and regeneration areas because this is where its expertise lies. Several boroughs are interested in working with it.
In addition to expanding the number of clubs it runs, Trojans also offers a toolkit for PTAs and other organisations to replicate their system. It has also set up a pilot franchise scheme it hopes to roll out in the next 18 months. Jackie Nunns aims for 150 franchises to be in operation in eight years time, with franchisees running the clubs backed up by Trojans'
branding, payroll, uniform, marketing material, activity plans and regular staff training.
To find out more about the Trojans Scheme visit www.trojansscheme.org.uk.
* Extended schools are raising children's attainment and engagement levels, according to an evaluation.
The Evaluation of the Full Service Extended School Project: End of First Year Report, by researchers from the universities of Newcastle and Manchester and published by the DfES, suggests that the benefits of developing extended schools will outweigh the costs.
Positive outcomes of extended schools include children being more interested in learning, raised attainment levels and growing trust between families and schools. The report also stated, 'There were indications that full-service provision might potentially intervene to break established cycles of disadvantage in some cases. None of this yet amounts to robust evidence of "effectiveness" (however defined) but it suggests that longer-term and more wide-ranging outcomes may indeed be possible. It is possible that the benefits of these outcomes (calculated in returns to society) will outweigh the costs.'
The report can be seen at www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR680.pdf.