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Study support development began with the encouragement and financial support of the Princes Trust in 1998. The development of a county-wide strategy stems from the appointment of a Study Support Co-ordinator in 2000 to access the New Opportunities Fund.

In the 3 years that have followed, study support has established itself as an integral part of Durham's Educational Development Service and is now an essential element of their Education Development Plan (EDP). Their Study Support Unit is staffed by five full time employees:

• a Partnership Development Manager who oversees the Unit and all project development;
• an Advisory Teacher who runs the QISS programme, UFA Fellowship training programme and the 'High Fives' raising standards initiative targeting KS4;
• a UK Online co-ordinator who oversees the development of 15 UK Online centres in rural primary schools and the development of outreach study support centres;
• a Study Support project co-ordinator responsible for a number of externally funded projects involving partners in study support; and
• an administrator responsible for the day to day administration and accounts of the Unit. 

The Playing for Success centre staff at Durham County Cricket Club are also attached to the Unit.

All current projects, which now involve over 250 schools, libraries and community venues are carefully monitored and at any one time the unit can produce reports on all aspects of its work.

CASE STUDY 1

Ferryhill Comprehensive Gifted and Talented UFA Summer School

Our "Jitterbugs"

What was planned?

The aims of the project were to help new students, to learn "how to learn" through experiencing workshops in Maths, English, Technology, PE and ICT.  Students had to apply by letter stating, the reasons why they wanted to attend and what the benefits would be. Places were awarded on the quality of the "application". Needless to say the event was oversubscribed and unfortunately some children were disappointed.

What was done and when?

The summer school ran for five days in August 2002 with twenty Year 6 students taking part. The summer school introduced the children to the school, delivered workshops and UFA activities such as brain gym, mind-mapping and parachute games and culminated in the children presenting their experiences, using Powerpoint presentations, at a celebration event on the last afternoon. The event was attended by parents, staff and the Director of Education who awarded the certificates.

What has been learnt?

The following are comments from the student evaluation:

• We made new friends.
• Gained more confidence.
• Developed skills in technology.
• Found out what type of learners we are and how we learn best.
• We had lots of fun and enjoyment.

CASE STUDY 2

Murton Primary Drama Club

What it was like before Study Support?

Murton Primary School is situated in East Durham and is part of an Education Action Zone.  In 2001 the Zone was awarded a major NOF grant bid for the Study Support Unit to develop "out of hours" learning in all schools. 

What was planned?

Schools were asked to target students who would benefit most from study support experiences. The targeted children were those who were shy and identified as needing language support.

What was done?

Murton Primary School decided to create a KS1 drama activity, that was led by a teacher trained in drama and this proved very popular with the children. 

What has been learnt?

Over a ten-week period the children gained in confidence, their shyness disappeared and their use of language improved. Alan Evans, the Head Teacher, firmly believes in the value of study support and has established a comprehensive programme of activities throughout the school.

CASE STUDY 3

UK Online Centres Project

What was done?

Another part of the study support strategy in County Durham, is developing UK Online centres as study support outreach facilities to support both phases of education. 125 children access seven of the centres regularly for a variety of activities:

• At Burnhope Primary school the UK Online centre runs a club attended by thirteen Year 6 pupils "The Burnhope Wheel" who produce the community newsletter;
• At Chilton, Shield Row and Hartside Primaries they run  ICT clubs;
• At Nettlesworth Primary they run a homework club for secondary school pupils;
• At New Brancepeth they run a video-conferencing French Club provided and delivered by staff at Deerness Valley Comprehensive; and
• At South Hetton Primary they run a drop-in homework club for junior and secondary pupils.

What has been the impact and how is it verified?

As a measure of County Durham's success they have a primary phase school, which was the first in the country to have achieved established status in QISS and three secondary schools have received QISS recognition. To increase their capacity to support schools, they also have four critical friend trainees who mentor seven more schools following the QISS process. They are also a UFA authority and have 21 partner secondary schools (from a total of 36) all delivering UFA activities.  Due to the success of the UFA in County Durham, the Partnership Manager has become the North East Hub co-ordinator. Working through Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs), study support has been identified as an effective tool for community regeneration. Neighbourhood renewal funding has been made available to develop study support activities outside the school environment fostering partnerships between schools and communities and allowing education to work with other County Council departments.

Durham's success is due to the commitment of many people seeking to provide ways to engage children and young people in activities beyond their school curriculum.  Their belief is that this will open the children's minds to the understanding that learning takes place all the time and that "school learning", although key to future ambition, is just one aspect of their learning journey.