The Ashley School - Summer School 2016 Last summer we offered a summer school at The Ashley School Academy Trust. The initial ideas to plan and provide a summer school this year were as a result of various discussions aired at the school Parents and Carers Get together meetings. In an effort to offer activities which were age/ability appropriate we decided to focus upon a target age range by inviting pupils in years 6,7,8,9. We also felt that summer school could also serve as a great vehicle in supporting the transition of pupils new to our school. A varied programme of activities was developed. Areas which were focused upon were, team work, individual creativity, communication, social skills, fitness, creative thinking. Pupils were sent a flyer with information about the sessions and could choose which interested them. The week’s programme was as follows: Monday 22 nd August Tuesday 23 rd August Wednesday 24 th August Thursday 25 th August Fun with fire and food- campfire cooking. Move and groove- street dance. Pizza making fun and Morrisions shopping visit. All aboard- team building games. Whacky Olympics- some of the strangest games invented. Superhero’s- creative games and crafts. Pirate adventure fun, crafts, map reading and games. Family picnic and games fun afternoon. Feedback from parents and carers was very positive. Parents and carers explained that summer school had provided a resource which they felt was a safe space for their child to attend during the holidays. For many it had provided time which could be used to support siblings, have some ‘me time’ allowing adults to have a break. The young people who attended also were very positive with the water games being the highlight of the week for many. Participants stated that seeing their friends was something they had enjoyed most about summer school. Cooking with fire, crafts, water fun and pizza making were all also popular. Future plans/ Next steps Building upon the clear success of Summer School 2016 we would hope to provide another similar provision next summer. This pilot project has helped us learn more about interests, duration, costs, need of provision, and access to provision. In particular areas to think about for future summer school provision. Rename- participants would prefer to not have the word school in the name. Consider if we could have a block week or single days over a longer period. Cost to families, how the provision could be more accessible to families on low income. Travel arrangements for participants who live further away from school.