Are private school enrichment weeks worth the extra cost to parents?

[hulkincredible]

My nephew has an "Enrichment Week" coming up at his private school. For a whole week there are no formal lessons; instead, the children go on trips and take part in various activities. On Monday, for example, he is going to Legoland. My sister struggled to find the money for the numerous trips and events scheduled during the week, and we had to help out financially. Some of the children are even travelling abroad.
What I struggle to understand is the thinking behind this. Parents are already paying substantial school fees for education, yet during this week the lessons they are paying for are not taking place. On top of that, families are expected to pay extra for daily trips and activities. There are also additional trips throughout the year outside of this enrichment week.
In the current climate, when many families are finding school fees increasingly difficult to afford, is this really appropriate? Legoland, for example, is hardly what I would describe as enrichment. Many of these activities seem closer to entertainment than education. Schools often justify such trips by citing benefits such as teamwork, confidence-building and social development, but those opportunities already exist through sport, clubs, extracurricular activities and everyday school life. It is difficult to see why expensive trips are necessary to achieve the same aims.
From the children's perspective, it is essentially a holiday: no lessons, no homework, and no work to do in the evenings. My nephew is understandably looking forward to it.
This seems to be common across many private schools, but should it be? Are schools genuinely providing educational value, or are they increasingly offering costly experiences that blur the line between enrichment and entertainment? At what point does an enrichment week become little more than a series of subsidised leisure trips that parents feel obliged to fund on top of already substantial school fees?
(He also told me his form tutor told him the teachers hate it!!!)

This is very school specific and not the norm even for independent schools.

I remember my own school trips when I was a child. There were very few of them, but when they did come around, everyone was excited and on their best behaviour. A trip to Hastings felt like a real adventure, and we were genuinely interested in learning about the fishing industry and local history.
I'm not convinced that a week packed with expensive trips, on top of the regular outings that already take place throughout the school year, is necessarily more enriching. In fact, the trips spread across the year are probably more valuable because they tend to be better planned and more closely linked to what children are learning.
I do believe that educational outings and trips are important, particularly for children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience them. Schools should ensure that all pupils have access to some trips at no cost, so that financial circumstances do not prevent children from benefiting from these experiences.
Sometimes, having fewer trips can make them more meaningful. When something is rare, children often appreciate it more and look forward to it with greater enthusiasm.

Anyhoo I have given them the money. I hope it does build some memories for him.

In state, the school can use pupil premium money to ensure kids don't miss out. Obviously this doesn't apply in private so the assumption must be that everyone can afford it.

Enrichment weeks at our DSs prep school didn't involve leisure trips. Each year had a topic or task. Some of these were tedious sports weeks others involved more interesting stuff like doing a play or concert. To be honest, when we moved and went to a local state school the difference was that it was for years 5 and 6 and better planned and not called 'enrichment'. The year 5 kids did art projects and a sale or art work at the end of the week, the 6s prepped for their end of school play.

@hulkincredibleIt’s not about the rather silly idea of making memories! At my DDs private secondary school there were activities for bonding as they went away to a French activity centre for a week. Helped with French too. This was y7. Other years were young enterprise week, typing skills week and DofE expedition. Each year there was something new and useful. My DDs enjoyed getting involved and learned new skills. I did not see the activities as a jolly or “making memories“. There were trips for various subjects too. Drama A level went to Edinburgh Fringe for example. Any parent signing up to an independent school will have extras. If it’s not affordable, dc don’t have to go or do the activity. However it was mostly about gaining skills and having a broader education. It was useful.

I think "some are even going abroad" is one of the stronger justifications. If schools want to offer languages (or cultural) trips within term-time, there is then the problem of what to do with those who are not on the trip. You can't teach new stuff, as those not on the trip miss out. So doing something different with everyone for the whole week is quite a good option. However I think it's a pity when that ends up being entertainment, as you say.

At one school I taught in, I think a theme park trip was first included because some staff put considerable effort into planning a two day activity, with one day looking into the science of the rides, and then the trip, which I think might even have had an educational activity whilst there. That option was massively oversubscribed, so the school caved to pressure and allowed other theme park trips but without the educational bit.

I think you have a good point that private schools could make trips a paid-for part of the curriculum - and then the whole year group could go on the languages trip.

Our local secondary tries to take as many children as possible away during activities week, with some fairly cheap camping options. The "in-school" programme doesn't come out until some time after the residentials are booked, and can often end up costing as much. I presume they do have some free options in school, but as most go on the trips, it must be very difficult for parents to say no.

I used to run the activities week in a large secondary. We had some great in-school activities. When else do you get to play a full day cricket game? One science teacher led a fishing activity - most of the kids who did that already fished, but he taught them lots. Lace-making, bellringing, putting on a show, hiking... Everyone got to list their preferences, and I did my utmost to ensure that everyone got some of their highest preferences.

Thanks all

State schools will make sure that kids get trips without spending money. Private, fee paying schools have no obligation to do any such thing. It is generally expected that if you are finding £1000s per term for the school in the first place then you can afford the extras without too much difficulty.

I think my kids school had days out rather than a week, or if it was a week they did a number of school based activities . I don’t remember paying extra.

At most private schools, it’s buried in the T&C’s that they can charge you for enrichment trips and other activities - even if you decline to take part. May as well go if you’re paying anyway.

@lanthanum
They won’t include them in the fees because it makes the headline fees huge! I’ve never seen that and they are optional! Parents really can ask about extras before signing up. Your school had great ideas but fee paying schools do assume parents can afford what’s on offer - except the £4000 sports trips!

I understand prep schools doing this, it could be worthwhile at that age.
My sister gave me some more information. This school has a sixth form attached. Their Year 12’s are not included in the Enrichment week and instead have a week of careers talks and university applications preparations as the teachers are not around to teach them. She said some of the mums she knows with older children are not happy. There are also A Level exams taking place in the same week and most teachers are not available.
Just when it was starting to seem a little okay now it sounds wild to me.

@hulkincredible It’s not remotely wild! How bizarre anyone thinks that! Year 12 is a very good time to talk about university and applying. Quite frankly, your Dsis and a few others are at the wrong school if they think this is odd. DC should have done a lot of thinking already about which university and what course and hopefully have visits to open days booked. Some schools put coaches on to the popular ones and what’s wrong with careers info? Nothing. You truly don’t understand private education! It’s not morning, noon and night teaching! I would expect my dc to be allowed time for exploring universities and applications!

I understand the careers aspect but a whole week! They also have this every half term throughout the year.
University applications again a whole week!
I understand if it is one day.

I am not against other activities outside of teaching, it is the disproportionate amount of time and money. Academic lessons should be the priority in any academic school.

Anyway I am going to park this. There are other far more interesting threads.

It doesn't have to be expensive. In our state school., we just collapsed the the timetable and let the school do non-standard activities like putting on plays, making foreign biscuits, or doing new artwork for the corridors. There was plenty of choice in each faculty and the kids enjoyed it. I think country dancing went down well....

@hulkincredible You just aren’t cut out for private school are you?!

The idea of enrichment week is to build cultural capital, but in private schools it seems likely that the children will get to have the same sorts of trips/experiences with family anyway so I’m not sure how much value it adds.
A school in a deprived inner city area taking children to see the sea for the first time is a different matter - truly enriching.

Our state school does this. Basically they have one week in the year for residentials, due to increasing financial pressures on families they have increased the choice of activities for those who don’t go away on a residential, there’s usually a theme for example engineering, they spend a couple days doing engineering in school and will go to a theme park to see what they’ve learned in practice. They have everything from outdoorsy activities to creative ones like a drama week. The cost ranges from free up to £1000 for the residentials abroad, and pupil premium get some financial support.

I think it’s great tbh, it enables them to fit in the foreign residentials while offering broad options for those who can’t or don’t want to do that. In my day, the kids that couldn’t go on trips were just left behind to do cover work.

@BestZebbie it’s not the same as doing things with family. We don’t go on music trips where dc sing in a choir! School did this. Dc did young enterprise. We don’t do that either. There were sports tours with the teams - we don’t do that either. Plus art trips, Edinburgh Fringe, DofE etc etc. There was a big difference between our holidays and what school offered!

@Smartiepants79: If she can’t afford the couple of hundred quid for the trips how does she afford the thousands in fees??

Perhaps because she’s already spent thousands in fees. There’s nothing left over.

It really annoys me when people (not you) say, “If they can afford private school they can afford… “ when they might be scraping by, having taken out a second mortgage for the fees.

Woah. No need to get personal.

I worked at a prep school. Activities week was a week long residential for y6, and 3 day residential for y4/5. Y3/4/5 also did things like canoeing and climbing. Younger children did museum trips, a trip on the train to another town for a picnic by the river, that sort of thing.

the y6 trip was probably about £700, everything else cheaper than that (much much cheaper for up to y3 where no overnight is done). It was all educational though. Lego land as an educational trip for middle class children who have probably been before is pushing it to be fair!!