A significant step towards enrichment for all

We warmly welcome the Government’s Enrichment Expansion Programme and its investment in expanding access to enriching opportunities for young people.

As longstanding members of the Enrichment for All campaign, we believe every child and young person should be able to benefit from sport, arts and culture, outdoor activities, volunteering and the many other experiences that help build confidence, skills, relationships and a sense of belonging. 

But access to these opportunities is not equal. As our Fair Education Report Card 2026 sets out, children and young people from low-income families continue to face significant barriers to accessing the opportunities and experiences that support their education and development. A child’s family income or where they grow up should not determine whether they get those opportunities.

That is why we particularly welcome the Government’s decision to use measures of income deprivation and community need to target the programme. Directing investment towards communities experiencing the highest levels of poverty is an important step towards tackling the inequity in who gets to participate in enrichment.

Building on what already works

The programme will work with more than 400 secondary schools across communities in all nine regions of England. Many of these places are already home to Fair Education Alliance members delivering enrichment and working directly with children and young people.

That existing expertise, provision and local knowledge is key. As the programme moves into delivery, it will be important to identify and build on the organisations and partnerships that are already working effectively in these communities, rather than duplicating what exists. 

We therefore welcome the focus on brokerage and partnership working, including the role that FEA member the Youth Sport Trust will play in delivering the programme. Schools cannot do this alone. Effective brokerage can help them understand and navigate their local offer, connect with organisations and make the most of the expertise already around them.

As a national alliance with members working across the country, the FEA also has data, relationships and insight about existing activity and delivery. We want to work with government and partners to help identify organisations that can support delivery, strengthen collaboration and share learning between places.

Making the different parts add up

The Enrichment Expansion Programme is a significant step forward. But it will have the greatest impact if it forms part of a coherent approach to enrichment rather than becoming another standalone initiative.

This is a key recommendation in our Fair Education Report Card 2026. We urge government to ensure that alongside funding for entitlements, frameworks and benchmarks, there is effective coordination across central government so that these different interventions translate into meaningful opportunities for children and young people.

In particular, we need clear, shared outcomes for enrichment across government departments, schools and delivery organisations. We also need national policy to connect with what is already happening locally, so that new investment strengthens existing provision and partnerships rather than creating duplication or fragmentation.

Schools need the capacity and resources to participate fully in those partnerships too. Local enrichment opportunities need to be visible and easy to navigate, and schools need effective brokerage to connect children and young people with them.

There is also an opportunity to test, learn and share what works. We would like to see learning from the programme captured and shared across the education and enrichment sectors, helping to develop best practice that can benefit children and young people well beyond the schools directly involved.

Building from this strong start

We look forward to seeing more detail about how participating schools will be supported to engage fully with local partners and, crucially, reach children and young people who are not currently accessing enrichment. 

The current programme focuses on secondary schools. We would also welcome further information about the role of primary schools and colleges, and the support available to help them participate in the Government’s wider ambitions for enrichment. Giving children access to enriching opportunities from a young age can help build participation habits that are sustained throughout their education. We also need to ensure those opportunities continue as young people move through education and into further study, training and work.

The Enrichment Expansion Programme is a strong start. Now the opportunity is to build on it: bringing together government, schools and the organisations already doing great work in communities across the country, learning from what works, and making sure the different parts of the enrichment landscape add up to a coherent whole.