Parents have been encouraged to find out about before and after school clubs following a £1.3m cash injection into county schools.

The money comes from a £167m pot of Government cash for children and young people who are “economically disadvantaged” .

The aim is to help all schools offer childcare before and after school during term-time, from 8am to 6pm, with further activities available in school holidays. It has not yet been decided exactly how the money will be spent.

About 45,000 youngsters benefit from the ‘wraparound’ clubs, which include a breakfast at Gosford Hill School , Kidlington, and summer holiday activities, such as DJ workshops, at the Marlborough School, in Woodstock.

Nationally, 86 per cent of secondary schools and 81 per cent of primary schools offer the services, while in Oxfordshire the figure is 87 per cent of all schools.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “The subsidy provides funding to help schools ensure that these out-of-hours activities are accessible to those pupils who would not otherwise be able to afford them.

“The funding can be used to meet the cost of the provision, or possibly the transport or equipment if that is the economic barrier.”

Gill Jaggers, who has three children, Leo Marinari, 11, Maria Marinari, 13, and Joe Marinari, 15, and lives in Cricket Road, welcomed the news.

She said: “It is hugely helpful for young, usually mothers and especially single mothers, who find it incredibly difficult to juggle the demands of looking after their children and the economic problem of needing to work at all.

“I think all working families find everything very difficult when it comes to balancing your work and your home life, and having to leave things hanging at 3pm to pick up your kids.”

She said none of her children currently used the ‘wraparound’ provision — but said with both her and husband Salvatore Marinari working full-time, it would have been a boon when her children were less independent.

Extended schools are also expected to offer parenting and family support, and access to specialist services including speech therapy.

For more information, contact your children’s school or log on at oxfordshire.gov.uk