Enrichment Framework: Government Pledges £132.5m to End the Postcode Lottery

• Children in every part of the country to get access to enriching activities to beat isolation online and build connections in the real world
• New benchmarks to give every school and college the tools to offer high-quality enrichment across arts, sport, nature, civic life and life skills
• £132.5 million ‘Every Child Can’ programme will fund activities within school and beyond including in communities, at weekends and in the holidays, ensuring enrichment is a common entitlement for all — not just those who can afford to pay

Every child, regardless of where they grow up or which school they attend, will benefit from enriching activities that build the skills, confidence and relationships they need for life and work thanks to government action announced on Saturday. 

Greater access to opportunities in sport, creative activities, nature and the arts will be made available to children both in and out of school in order to halve the participation gap and reclaim childhood for all young people.

The drive to make sure all children are supported to develop new skills and explore their talents includes new benchmarks for schools and colleges published on Saturday. These will ensure schools and colleges have the practical tools and guidance to offer a wide range of opportunities across five categories: civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; life and future skills including STEM; sport and physical activities. Leading figures within these categories will soon be announced as ambassadors using their influence and expertise to inspire participation, raise awareness and help drive support for enriching opportunities for young people. 

Activities could include music groups, engineering clubs, debating societies, football clubs and much more. These clear benchmarks will work in partnership with civil society and help schools and colleges develop inclusive, engaging enrichment offers that reflect the needs of their pupils and communities. 

Ofsted will consider a school’s enrichment offer as part of how it assesses personal development, and parents will be able to see their local school’s offer through new ‘school profiles’ – a one stop shop with key information on a school’s offering.

This complements government’s wider reforms to bring the national curriculum into the modern day, break down barriers to opportunity and better prepare young people for life and work in today’s world and beyond. 

‘Every Child Can’, funded through the Dormant Assets Scheme, will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision. It is structured around the same five categories as the Enrichment Framework, ensuring a consistent approach to building skills and confidence wherever young people engage and removing the postcode lottery that has held children in underserved parts of the country back.

It responds directly to the State of the Nation survey of more than 14,000 young people, which found that despite being the most digitally connected generation, young people today face some of the highest levels of isolation globally. They want safe spaces, trusted adults, better mental health support and greater access to enriching activities. However, access to these opportunities remains unequal, with too many children locked out because of where they live and what school or college they go to. 

Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said: 

“Every child should be able to enjoy sport and the creative arts, not just the lucky few. 

“Whether it’s performing on stage, playing sport, exploring nature or getting involved in their community, these experiences build confidence, spark ambition and help young people discover what they are capable of.

“As the world around our children continues to move fast, investment is about making sure the childhood experiences we truly value can once again be for every young person, wherever they live.”

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: 

“I have always been clear that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. A child who loves the arts shouldn’t have to be born into the right postcode to pursue it, because we believe that Every Child Can excel in the creative arts. 

“By investing in these life-changing opportunities, we are supporting their futures and delivering a positive step forward to break down the barriers for children and young people to access creative opportunities that could in turn open up doors for their long-term careers.” 

This package forms part of the government’s commitment to restore lost childhood freedoms – investing in playgrounds, in music hubs, sports partnerships, youth services and youth spaces and support for families through measures including VAT relief on children’s activities this summer.  

With children growing up in an increasingly fast-changing world the package is designed to protect and nurture childhood, ensuring young people are equipped with skills and confidence to achieve and thrive.

Participating in enrichment activities has been associated with higher attainment and a stronger sense of school belonging and wellbeing among children and young people.

According to EPI research, children who attended sport clubs during secondary school were more likely to be in education or employment as young adults, while those who participated in hobbies, arts and music clubs were significantly more likely to progress to higher education. 

Saturday’s announcement builds on the government’s work to ensure young people have access to enriching and cultural activities including: 

• More than £500 million for an ambitious 10-year National Youth Strategy – co-designed with young people – to connect half a million more young people with a trusted adult outside their home and equip them with skills to boost their resilience and stay safe online. 
• Over £1 billion of investment in school sport over the next three years, including the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, which will bring national sporting expertise into every primary and secondary school to tackle inactivity and ensure more young people have access to high-quality PE and sport. Alongside this, an additional £400 million will also be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities across the country 
•  £1.5 billion would be provided to cultural venues across England over the course of this parliament, including £27.5 million for public libraries to help them upgrade their buildings and technology to meet changing needs to better serve their communities. 
• Inviting 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to take part in the £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme, to support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the Enrichment Framework, helping them build a strong offer shaped by their own pupils.
• Revitalising the curriculum to ensure young people are given the chance to experience the arts, while maintaining a strong academic core, removing school performance measures that constrain subject choice, and making sure GCSEs in arts subjects are fit for purpose.

The government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to develop Every Child Can. Further details on the remaining funding, how each programme will work and how to apply to take part will be published in due course. 

The Department for Education will work closely with schools, colleges and sector partners, including the Enrichment for All Coalition, to support implementation of the framework and understand its impact on children and young people. This will help build a shared approach to ensuring high-quality enrichment opportunities can support attendance, engagement, wellbeing and achievement for all pupils.

Sector Reaction

Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), and Chair of Enrichment for All Coalition said:

“We welcome the new Enrichment Framework and wider investment in enrichment expansion.  At the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, we see every day how high-quality enrichment opportunities help young people build confidence, resilience, adaptability and the vital skills they need for adulthood and work.

“At a time when investing in young people has never been more needed, this is a major step forward.

“We look forward to supporting Government and our school and college partners across England to deliver a much-needed step-change in access to enrichment for all young people, particularly those who are currently missing out.”

Séverine Trouillet, Chief Executive of STEM Learning, said:

“Schools across the country are already working hard to provide rich opportunities beyond the classroom, and this framework will help ensure greater parity of access so every young person can benefit from a strong enrichment offer across a wide range of areas.

“STEM has a vital role to play, and enrichment helps young people build confidence, skills and a sense of belonging as active citizens in a world where STEM is increasingly part of everyday life. Building STEM capital through activities such as STEM clubs, and competitions such as CanSat, will be key to engaging more young people and supporting their future opportunities.”

Ali Oliver MBE, Youth Sport Trust CEO said:

“We are excited to see the launch of the new Enrichment Framework, which has the potential to open up high-quality opportunities for more young people.

“We know participation in extra-curricular sport and other enrichment activities can have a significant impact for young people on their attendance, wellbeing, sense of school belonging, as well as supporting the development of key life skills. However, many pupils including those eligible for free school meals, those with SEND, and those with lower prior attainment are significantly less likely to participate in sports, arts, music and hobby clubs.

“By prioritising and making these opportunities more accessible, we hope this will help schools see the resulting benefits across all aspects of school life, while ensuring every young person has the chance to experience the positive impact of enrichment.”

John Yarham, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company said:

“The Framework offers an exciting opportunity to bring greater coherence and consistency to schools’ approach to enrichment and to establish a shared entitlement for all young people.

“The Schools White Paper is right to make the connection between the Enrichment Framework and the Gatsby Benchmarks which have paved way for stronger careers education across the education system. Enrichment opportunities in tandem with high-quality careers education help young people to broaden horizons and to develop and demonstrate confidence and skills needed for work and life.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“We welcome the intent behind the government’s plans for more enrichment in schools and colleges and the funding announced. However, as with many other government announcements, there are several question marks over the capacity of schools and colleges to deliver these aspirations.

“Schools and colleges already strive to provide excellent enrichment opportunities to their students, but they have to operate within extremely challenging financial and staffing constraints. Those pressures will not disappear simply because the government announces new policies. It has to focus more on how to turn aspirations into realities, particularly in areas of high disadvantage where these opportunities are most needed.

“We’ll now work with our members to fully understand the implications of the new framework and the resources that will be required to deliver these expectations.

“We all share the ambition of providing the very best opportunities for children and young people.

“It is important, however, to have a realistic plan of how to achieve those objectives.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Schools already do a huge amount to enrich their curricula. Whether that be day trips, visitors or music and sports opportunities – schools work incredibly hard to ensure children get a rounded set of experiences. We must not lose sight of the fact that the majority of that happens within the school day to ensure all pupils get to be involved. We must also remember that when it comes to extra-curricular activities, a lot of that relies on the goodwill of school staff – whether that be taking pupils to sporting fixtures or running clubs after school.

“Such opportunities can have a hugely positive effect on children and young people. If the government wants to build on that offer, it must ensure schools have the necessary resources and funding to do so. Crucially, that cannot rely on an already stretched school workforce. Local partnerships and access to external providers will be key.

“A non-statutory framework has the potential to be helpful to schools as long as it doesn’t become another accountability tool and we are pleased that Ofsted will not be expected to inspect against the benchmarks.”