Dr Ali Body,
Director of Research and Development
Estimated reading time 5 minutes

The government's new Enrichment Framework for schools represents an important and genuinely welcome moment for education, despite the fact that it is non-statutory guidance as opposed to legislative framework. It creates space for schools to prioritise the experiences that help young people develop confidence, relationships, leadership, civic responsibility, creativity and purpose. The opportunity is now there. The challenge is ensuring that opportunity translates into meaningful experiences for every young person, regardless of where they live or which school they attend.

For too long, many of the experiences that help children and young people develop confidence, relationships, leadership, civic responsibility, creativity and a sense of purpose have been viewed as peripheral to education rather than central to it. This Enrichment Framework rightly recognises that education is about more than what happens in the classroom and more than what can be measured through exams alone.

At Global Action Plan, we see this as an important recognition that some of the most valuable things young people learn cannot be captured through a test score. Learning who you are, what you care about, how to work with others and how to contribute to the world around you are every bit as important as academic achievement. Thus, this framework should also prompt us to ask a bigger question…what is the purpose of education?

Education has always been about more than preparing young people for the labour market. At its best, education provides transformative learning opportunities to help understand ourselves, understand others and understand our responsibilities to the communities and world we are part of. In an age of climate and nature crises, social division, rapid technological change and growing uncertainty, this wider purpose feels more important than ever. It must, therefore, also be about preparing young people for participative, active citizenship within a democratic society.

This imperative is only strengthened by the government's commitment to extend voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds. If we are asking young people to participate formally in our democratic processes at an earlier age, then we must also ensure they have meaningful opportunities throughout their education to develop the knowledge, confidence, critical thinking skills and civic dispositions that democratic participation requires. Voting matters. But, like civic values, democracy is not learnt on polling day. It is learnt through discussion, participation, deliberation, collective action and experiencing that your voice has value. Enrichment has an important role to play in creating those opportunities. Indeed, the role of education therefore must be to help young people critically consider, understand and question the world around them, navigate complexity, work across difference, contribute to their communities and develop the confidence and agency to shape the future rather than simply inherit it.  

And this is why the civic dimensions of enrichment are so important.

Education programmes at Global Action Plan, such as Good Life Schools, Transform Our World and Dirt is Good, time and time again show that the most powerful enrichment opportunities are the ones that help young people realise that they matter. That they have a voice. That they can influence what happens around them. Whether that is restoring a local habitat, volunteering in their community, campaigning on an issue they care about, debating difficult questions or leading change in their school, these experiences help young people move from learning about society to participating in it. They help children see themselves not simply as future citizens, but as citizens of now. 

The opportunity here is enormous and very welcomed. But aspirations alone do not create transformative opportunities for young people. Schools up and down the country are already doing extraordinary work, often against a backdrop of intense pressure on time, budgets and staffing. The challenge now is ensuring they have the space, support and partnerships needed to turn this ambition into reality.

This is particularly important when it comes to civic participation and active citizenship. Research shows that opportunities for deeper forms of civic learning are often unevenly distributed, with schools serving disadvantaged communities facing the greatest barriers despite often having the most to gain. If enrichment is to fulfil its promise, every young person should have access to opportunities that build agency, participation and civic confidence, regardless of background. 

Therefore, whilst this framework provides a strong foundation - the task now is to ensure that enrichment is not seen as an optional extra, but as an essential part of what a great and transformative education looks like. That means investing not only in activities, but in the relationships, partnerships and learning experiences that help young people develop as active citizens. This framework therefore is about more than just ‘enrichment’ activities. It is ultimately about the kind of society we want to build. Do we want young people who feel disconnected from their communities, uncertain that their voice matters and pessimistic about their ability to influence the future? Or do we want a generation who feel agency, belonging and care for the world around them? Enrichment, done well, helps enable that generation.  

We welcome this framework and the ambition that sits behind it. But frameworks alone do not change young people's lives. This guidance opens the door to a richer vision of education; the task now is to ensure that door is pushed fully open. That will require investment, partnership and sustained commitment across government, schools, youth organisations, communities and funders. At Global Action Plan, we look forward to playing our part in that collective effort. The real test of this framework will not be whether it exists, but whether every young person is given meaningful opportunities to participate, contribute and develop as an active citizen.