What’s the point of Enrichment in schools?

[Fusedspur]

My children’s school has enrichment week and on the face of it there are lots of interesting things to do but actually, lots of the kids hate the break in the routines. What is the point of it?

Literally says it on the tin. To give children the opportunity to do something they may not have been able to or thought of.

What sort of things?

Because when we stopped doing it, parents complained.
Different ones complain that we do do it.

The point is enrichment 🤷
What activities will they be doing?

There’s been a theatre trip, presentation of a community thing, and a careers day.

Sounds fantastic.
Why do you think it's pointless?

Enrichment week at my kids secondary school is rubbish. They’d really rather not do enforced sports activities or some other mundane activity. I resent paying for it too as they don’t ever really go anywhere!

@Goatalone what do you have to pay for?

Enrichment is great but like anything if it's done badly it will be rubbish. A whole week in one go is a bit much.

But some kids may never get to go to theatre etc without an enrichment week or activities. It’s to enhance the school experience, build on key learning etc

Well, schools are often made up of kids from a wide demographic. Including kids whose parents give no shits about ensuring they are exposed to lots of difference experiences in their lives outside of school. Just because lots of kids at a school will have been taken to the theatre by their parents, or discussed with their parents about what career they are thinking of and been supported in getting there etc etc doesn't mean they all have.

And you can’t see why they are useful?

My son hates it when things are out of routine and struggles with such days but that doesn’t mean I don’t see how very beneficial they are and encourage him to take part as much as he is able

I love our school’s week. Year 7-9 chose from different trips , older years on exsm
leave or work experience. Trips range from residentials to free stuff in school. Means some kids have experiences that their parents couldn’t offer them.

Very grateful to the staff that lead these trips.

The point is if schools didn't do these things some kids would literally never experience these things. I find people (especially on Mumsnet) have no idea about how some other people live. I was a parent helper on a school trip, we walked from the school to a park (so between 5 to 10 minutes walk) with duck pond and play equipment etc. despite living in the area since birth there was a not small amount of 6 year olds who had never been there. On another trip we were further afield but the highlight for one little boy was seeing a field of sheep from the coach window he had never seen a sheep before. These are just a few examples but it continues into secondary school. If schools didn't take kids to museums or theatres etc some kids would never do it.

So to some it seems a waste of time as their kids have been to or done these things multiple times but for some kids it really is an enriching experience.

Enrichment makes me think of captive wild animals. 'Enrichment' in my DC experience is generally poor - eg rounders, sports days, rubbish collection (round school) ...

I work at a university and have just had a bunch of college students here doing an all day enterprise challenge as part of their enrichment week. It’s the first time many of them have been inside a university, or explored business and entrepreneurship, product design, and venture creation. It’s been a fantastic day and the feedback has been outstanding. Hopefully it will have inspired some of them to go to uni. If that’s not enrichment I don’t know what is.

As above - do something you wouldn't normally do and... enrich...?

Annoys me when kids don't turn up and then complain we "never do anything" outside of normal lessons.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't...

There’s always a suggested donation. Sometimes they offer local trips to museums, cinema etc. the films are usually ones that were released years ago, of the more ‘educational’ variety. I personally don’t consider any of the activities they offer ‘enriching’.

@Goatalone do the children enjoy them though?
So what if a film is old - some children never go to a cinema.
(I'm curious what an "educational" film that a cinema shows could be)
Presumably if no one donated they wouldn't go. Don't donate then.

Even for the children who get the experience with parents they still get a different experience going and doing it with friends!

Enrichment is for opening minds in a country where education is too often about closing minds. Hoover it up; rejoice in it!

No they don’t enjoy it. No need to be so snippy. I made it clear it was MY opinion.

Apologies.... didn't mean to sound "snippy".
I mean though if no parents at all donated then the school will realise no one is interested in these activities.
Is there a student council? Maybe they could find out what things people would like to do and suggest it to the teachers.

It clearly differs from school to school. My DD enjoys enrichment week some years and some years not so much. It very much depends on what the offer is.

The work that goes into organising these events and activities is immense.
But yeh, have a moan ffs