The article interprets additional education as an important factor in the transition of school students from failure to success in academic and non-academic development. The role of additional education and its significance along with basic education is shown. The article describes the resource possibilities of additional education in terms of overcoming the educational failure of schoolchildren. Attention is drawn to the «landscape» of additional education in Russia, which is considered as a unique social institution of children's education as a dynamic system characterized by openness, mobility and flexibility. The authors identify the direction of the state policy to support additional education, shows its limitations, and makes suggestions for its optimization.