Many initiatives across Europe have attempted to improve the access to out of school activities for children and young people that are disadvantaged. There are localised initiatives such as Berlin’s 'One Square Kilometre of Education'; Flanders’ initiatives for local communities; and the Netherlands’ integrated children’s centres. Some holistic provision is part of the usual pattern of services, as in Sweden. In the UK until 2010 saw the development of Extended Schools and Extended Services (Cummings et al. 2011). However, there is relatively little data to inform this policy from primary aged children and this paper tries to fill that gap.

Much is known about the effect of the home learning environment on very young children but less is known about the effects on primary school children. Out of school activities include school clubs, music lessons, language classes, childminders, tutoring, and so on. This paper examines the evidence for how children aged 5-11 in England spend their time outside of school, and the implications for their academic attainment. The study examines how these activities vary for children by socio-economic group, gender, ethnicity, family and school characteristics. It goes further than this to consider theories of change, building on existing literature to explore the mechanisms by which activities may affect attainment. This research draws on a number of possible theoretical frameworks including: social capital; goal thoery; socio-cultural activity theory; risk and resiliance; and a capabilities approach. Funded by Nuffield Foundation, this research involves teams from NatCen led by Emily Tanner and from Newcastle University led by Professor Liz Todd.

Cummings, C., Dyson, A., and Todd, L. (2011) Beyond the School Gates: Can full service and extended schools overcome disadvantage? Routledge: London & New York. Shulruf, B. (2010) Do extra-curricular activities in schools improve educational outcomes? A critical review and meta-analysis of the literature. International Review of Education 56(5-6):691-612. Shulruf, B. and Ying Wang, G. Extracurricular Activities in Secondary Schools. In Hattie, J. and Anderman, E. M. (Eds) (2013) International Guide to Student Achievement. Routledge: New York & London.