Bradford is to receive almost £1.5 million to allow more schools to provide out-of-hours services.

The district is at the forefront of the Government's push to put schools in the heart of communities by keeping them open from 8am to 6pm.

Bradford was chosen as one of 25 education authorities across the country to pilot the Extended Schools programme.

The Government wants every school in the country to provide such services by 2010.

This will mean every parent of primary age school children can get affordable child care from 8am to 6pm via their school. Extended schools also provide community services like sports and leisure clubs to allow the community to use school facilities in the evenings.

Bradford has 94 extended schools in the district working together in 15 clusters.

Each cluster has a lead school which was given £80,000 to recruit a project manager over two years.

Bradford Council has now been given annual funding of £717,000 from the Department for Education and Skills for the next two years to create more extended schools in the district.

John Deeley, Bradford Council's extended schools co-ordinator said: "We want to have every school involved in the extended schools programme. The model we are working on could see the creation of between 23 and 30 clusters of schools working together.

"We could also see schools asking to join existing clusters, or schools could operate as an extended school on their own."

By 2010 all secondary schools will be open from 8am to 6pm giving young people access to sports, music and holiday activities.

Clusters are in place across the Bradford district and include a partnership which is operating across the county border with schools in North Yorkshire.

Dale Smith, Bradford Council's executive member for education said the success of the existing clusters would encourage other schools to get involved. He said: "The creation of extended schools has been enormously beneficial where we have managed to involve the community in the heart of the school.

"It is an enormous benefit to parents to be able to come into a welcoming atmosphere and understand what the schools are trying to do to educate their children and have a much more open dialogue between parents and schools.

"Extended schools give parents a wonderful opportunity to recognise the value of education and enhance their own capabilities.

"This will undoubtedly raise the standards achieved by children in extended schools."