At a time when the memory of Every Child Matters and Extended Schools is fading fast, when the policy agenda has returned with a vengeance to an exclusive concern with governance, choice, regulation, and performance, when the school seems more than ever to be viewed by government as primarily a business selling exam results – we should remember Extended Schools. And do more than remember: to reflect upon their experience, to assess the challenges they faced and what they achieved, and to consider how, someday, we might build on this experience to create education-in-its-broadest-sense and schools that are public spaces in the public domain and public resources – not only for children and parents, but for the whole community – genuinely public schools. This book, based on research undertaken in four schools and communities, has a vital role to play in such work of remembrance and reflection, giving a vivid insight into an ambitious education project and using that to build an imaginative portrayal of how an Extended School of the future might be.
