Strong school and community partnerships and connections, developed between local organisations and revolving around specific localities, can contribute to improved learning opportunities for students. They also have the potential to enhance social inclusion and build social capital.
Over the last decade, there has been increased interest in the concept of schools working together with community, social, welfare and health agencies. This concept goes by many names including: Extended Service Schools, Extended School Hubs and Full Service Schools, and is defined as a school or cluster of schools that work with a range of partners and organisations to provide services and activities before, during and after school hours to help meet the needs of children and young people, their families and the wider community.
The goal of Extended School Hubs
Extended School Hubs aim to strengthen partnerships between schools, community and business to support students to achieve their education potential. Extended School Hubs aim to do this by:
- reducing the barriers to learning that children and young people experience
- connecting and coordinating external activities before, during and after school hours to provide complementary learning for children, young people and families.
Extended School Hubs Pilot Project
National Partnerships funding from the Commonwealth Government provided a range of programs and initiatives to boost student outcomes and improve the quality of schooling. One of the initiatives within the National Partnerships was the Extended School Hubs Pilot Project. This involved five Extended School Hubs in Victoria located in Geelong North, Sandhurst, Frankston North, Wyndham and at Berendale School.
An independent evaluation of the Extended School Hubs Pilot Project has been conducted. The evaluation found that the hubs facilitated schools’ collaboration with a rich diversity of partners from across a range of sectors, and that the hub pilots have had a positive impact on students, schools, families and communities. For students, these impacts have included improved school readiness, increased engagement in learning and enhanced education and employment pathways.
The report also proposes a best-practice model of Extended School Hubs comprised of six key elements:
- a student-centred focus – students’ needs should be centre stage, with the long-term goal of improving student outcomes
- strategic intent – a clear strategic purpose that is responsive to local and emerging needs and known and understood by all stakeholders
- structural components, including a whole-of-community approach; a diverse range of services, programs and activities; collaborative partnerships; and leadership and governance
- inputs, such as operational support and time
- outputs, including active engagement and participation, leverage of community capacity and mutual benefits
- a setting agent – a forward-facing perspective on growth and improvement.
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