Meeting the enrichment benchmarks: How schools can mobilise student leadership

How confident are you that every pupil in your school has meaningful opportunities to participate, contribute and lead?

Enrichment is moving higher up the agenda for schools. With the DfE’s new Enrichment Framework and Benchmarks, alongside a growing focus on enrichment within Ofsted inspections, schools are being encouraged to think more strategically about the opportunities available to every young person.

And this isn’t simply about offering more clubs or activities. Emerging inspection evidence points towards greater attention being paid to who participates, how provision reflects pupils’ needs and interests, how schools monitor engagement, and whether enrichment is aligned with wider school priorities.

In this think piece, Dr Keven Bartle examines what these expectations could mean in practice, drawing on SSAT’s analysis of inspection reports and its work with schools. He also explores how student voice and leadership can help schools strengthen enrichment by making better use of the capacity, ideas and experiences already within their
communities.

For school leaders, it’s a timely opportunity to consider not just what enrichment you offer, but who benefits from it and whether your current approach will meet growing expectations.