Schools are no longer just about what goes on in the classroom during school hours. The modern vision of extended schools sees schools as assets at the heart of the community, which everyone can use and benefit from.

Schools and communities can both gain from extending school activities and services into the community and using school facilities beyond the school day. Not only can this make more efficient use of school premises, but it can also improve levels of pupil achievement, increase opportunities for teachers and provide better access to education and other essential services.

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) provides an opportunity to be innovative in the ways schools work and to explore new ways in which they can involve the local community, adults, families and local business partners.

Adult learning, health, pastoral, community policing and social care are among the additional services that can be brought together on school sites through joined-up funding, offering services tailored to a wide range of local needs and demands. The facilities that extended schools could offer include:

• early years and childcare/creches
• adult learning
• breakfast clubs and after-school clubs
• school holiday clubs
• doctor's surgeries, clinics and social services offices
• public libraries
• community sports facilities
• community halls for drama, shows, meetings, exhibitions, etc