'All-through' schools to increase

It is claimed that "all-through" schools make children feel more secure

The number of Academies in England offering "all-through" education for pupils aged three to 19 will rise sharply in September.

There are currently just 13 such schools, but nine more are planned.

The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust says seven of these will be open this September, and said it supported "all-through" education.

The government said all-through Academies could offer a positive experience to pupils if well run.

National Challenge

Oasis Community Learning, which currently runs nine Academies in England, has applied to run its first two "all-through" Academies - one in Croydon, south London, and the other in Hadley, in Enfield, north London.

It is the second-largest provider of Academies in England, currently running nine.

For the Croydon school it will bring together Ashburton Junior and Infant Schools and Ashburton Community School together with a children's centre.

The three schools would remain on their current sites, with the intention of finding a new purpose-built facility for the infant and junior schools to replace current "inadequate" accommodation, Oasis says.

At the current Ashburton Community School in Croydon, 31% achieved five good GCSEs at grades A-C last year, just above the threshold for the government's National Challenge scheme for poorly-performing schools.

Ashburton Infants School is in special measures and the primary school has had a notice to improve.

Croydon Council approached Oasis Community Learning to bring them together.

Chief executive Steve Chalke says he believes "all-through" learning offers huge benefits to both children and their parents.

"The big problem with UK education is what happens at the end of primary school - attainment slows down.

"In primary school you are the biggest grown-up, and in charge, and you have your own classroom and teacher, and then you go to secondary school and are the kid that nobody's heard of.

"Primary schooling is built around the child, but secondary school can be intimidating.

"It's good for children to branch out, learn lessons and meet other children, but the problem is there is no transition towards that.

"We are not mollycoddling the children, we are helping them to plan and develop."

Mr Chalke said that "all-through" schools helped remove the dip in attainment by preventing children losing their confidence when they went to secondary school, by keeping them engaged in an environment where they felt comfortable.

He said these benefits were also felt by parents, who could also feel intimidated by secondary schools where they had to start again to get to know parents and teachers.

"The bottom line is that if you feel happy, safe and secure you learn better," said Mr Chalke.

Facilities

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said the government was "fairly neutral" on the idea of all-through education, though it recognised that such schools can offer very good extended services for young and older children.

"People often think of children from four to 18 playing in the same playground, but usually it's not like that - the different age groups are often on different sites, but there is continuity and shared facilities," said the spokesman.

"They often offer very good extra facilities and good role models for children."

He said any proposal for an all-through Academy would need to have government funding approved in the usual way, and the sponsors would need to show they had consulted with the local community.