Education Endowment Foundation

This theme brings together the evidence on a diverse range of approaches that seek to enrich children’s school experience. 

These approaches may happen during or outside of normal school hours and may seek to pursue academic goals through non-traditional means (eg, improving maths by playing chess); develop children's character (eg, their motivation or resilience); or pursue wider goals because these are held to be important.

At the EEF, we think enriching education has intrinsic benefits (sometimes referred to as "arts for arts' sake"). We think all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, deserve a well-rounded, culturally rich, education. 

However, many go beyond this and argue that enrichment approaches can directly improve pupils’ attainment and it is this link that EEF is particularly interested in.

Our Teaching and Learning Toolkit contains several strands relevant to this theme. The overall impact of enrichment activities on academic achievement tends to be positive, but small. 

Of course, the activities may have intrinsic or other related benefits. For example, there is some evidence that enrichment activities, such as sports participation, may lead to small improvements in attendance. There is moderate evidence that outdoor adventure learning can have a positive impact on attainment. 

Conversely, the evidence suggests that approaches focusing solely on pupils’ aspirations are unlikely to improve attainment.

Given the complex nature, and limited evidence of impact on attainment of enrichment activities, it is important to think carefully about what you are intending to achieve. It is also important to consider carefully whether such activities should replace curriculum-linked activities, as this might have a negative impact on attainment.