Why STEM belongs in the enrichment conversation
As the DfE launches its new Enrichment Framework, Jenni French argues that STEM must remain a visible part of the enrichment offer if schools are to deliver genuinely broad opportunities for all young
Enrichment matters. Experiences beyond the formal curriculum can build confidence, widen horizons and help young people understand themselves and the world around them. Clubs, visits, volunteering and cultural activities all have a role to play in a broad education.
The government’s new enrichment framework is therefore important. It sets out an ambition that every child should have access to enriching activities that build skills, confidence and relationships. It asks schools and colleges to think about enrichment across civic engagement, arts and culture, nature, outdoors and adventure, sport and physical activities, and developing wider life and future skills.
But the framework will only make a difference if it builds on what is already happening, reflects what schools can realistically provide and recognises that access is not evenly distributed.
SchoolDash’s analysis of school websites for Gatsby provides new evidence about the enrichment opportunities schools currently describe. Using AI tools to examine publicly available information at scale, it reveals considerable variation across the system. Some schools describe a rich range of opportunities; others appear to offer, or at least advertise, much less.
That variation matters. Many young people access enrichment through family networks, paid activities or local opportunities. Others rely much more heavily on what their school can provide. If the framework is intended to widen opportunity, it must be implemented with those differences in mind.
There are also lessons from how schools present themselves to families. Academic outcomes matter, but schools rarely describe their offer through examination results alone. They often emphasise opportunities beyond lessons because enrichment is widely recognised as part of a well-rounded education.
Schools will need more than a set of expectations. The framework is accompanied by tools, resources and examples of practice, and targeted funding will support some schools in disadvantaged areas. These are helpful steps. But many schools will still need practical support to build provision over time, particularly where they face barriers around staffing, funding, transport, local partnerships or geographic isolation.
The government should also think carefully about the signals the framework sends. Schools pay close attention to what government frameworks emphasise, particularly where those frameworks may influence future expectations of schools. In a system where school leaders must constantly make decisions about priorities, visibility matters. What is included in the framework is likely to shape how schools think about enrichment. What is absent, or less clearly described, may receive less attention, regardless of policymakers’ intentions.
Against that backdrop, the position of STEM in the framework matters. STEM appears within the life and future skills category and in some of the examples used to illustrate enrichment activity. That is important, but it also creates a risk. If STEM is understood only as part of future skills, or if it is mainly visible through examples rather than as a clear area of enrichment in its own right, science and technical enrichment may drop out of sight as schools interpret the framework.
This would be a loss. There is already a substantial STEM enrichment ecosystem supporting schools across the country. Organisations such as STEM Learning, EngineeringUK and the British Science Association, to name just a few, work with large numbers of schools and young people through clubs, challenges, resources, competitions, practical activities and wider programmes. Their work helps schools offer opportunities that many pupils would not otherwise access.
Those efforts should continue and be strengthened as the framework is implemented. The existence of a new enrichment framework should not inadvertently narrow attention to the most immediately visible categories of enrichment. It should help schools recognise and build on the full range of opportunities already available, including the substantial STEM enrichment currently provided through national and local partners.
This is not because science and technology are any more important than sport, the arts, culture or outdoor education. A strong enrichment offer should include all of these. But STEM must not be treated as incidental to enrichment. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are often discussed in relation to qualifications, skills and economic growth. Those issues matter, particularly at a time of technical skills shortages. But every young person also deserves opportunities to engage with STEM through curiosity, creativity, practical problem-solving and first-hand experience.
For many pupils, enrichment provides a different way into science and technology. Through practical challenges, projects and conversations with people working in technical fields, young people can experience science as something they participate in rather than simply something they are assessed in. This includes activities that make technical roles visible, from STEM clubs and engineering challenges to encounters with technicians working in health, digital technology, manufacturing, construction, research and the creative industries. For those with limited access to STEM opportunities beyond school, these experiences can be particularly important.
The right kind of STEM enrichment sparks curiosity and creativity. It allows young people to move from learning about science and technology to experiencing them first-hand. Whether tackling an engineering challenge, investigating a maths problem, joining a STEM club or taking part in an externally designed activity, pupils gain a deeper understanding of how STEM shapes the world around them. In doing so, they may begin to see science and technology as something that has a place in their own future.
Nor should STEM enrichment be treated as an add-on. Science and technology are woven into many of the global challenges of our time: how we respond to climate change, generate clean energy, feed a growing population and harness the opportunities of artificial intelligence. These issues are not confined to laboratories. They are part of culture, citizenship and public life.
STEM enrichment also gives young people first-hand experience of how scientific knowledge develops. Through investigation, experimentation and problem-solving, they learn that understanding is built through evidence, scrutiny and the testing of ideas. At a time when it is becoming harder to distinguish reliable knowledge from opinion, these experiences are increasingly valuable.
The publication of the enrichment framework is an important moment. But the test will be whether it helps schools improve provision where access is currently limited, recognises the full range of enrichment already being delivered, and gives appropriate weight to the experiences that make up a rich education.
STEM should remain visible within that. Not because it is more important than other forms of enrichment, but because science and technical enrichment already reaches many schools, supports important skills and pathways, and helps young people develop confidence, curiosity, problem-solving skills and an understanding of the world they are growing up in.
