Research has found that the economic benefit of extended schools far outweighs the cost of running them, but a lack of a coherent national approach now puts them in the firing line for government cuts. Academics warn that undoing the good work of these schools through cutting future funding would be a 'great mistake', as keeping children and their families 'on the right track' can literally save thousands of pounds by avoiding unemployment benefits, early pregnancies, mental health interventions, drug counseling etc.