Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of using enrichment activities on rates of student absenteeism.

For children to achieve and thrive, they need to be in school. The department is working to make sure that all children and young people have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school as an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Absence is a key barrier we seek to break.

High standards can only be built on a foundation of belonging at school. Thanks to the hard work of the sector there has been progress, but we remain a long way off pre-pandemic levels.

The department recognises that enrichment activities are a vital way for children and young people to gain skills and strengthen their sense of school belonging, supporting them to achieve and thrive. We know how important it is to ensure that opportunities are available for all children and young people. For example, the department is providing over £2.9 billion this financial year for the pupil premium grant to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. Schools must use this funding in line with the department’s ‘menu of approaches’, which is based on the evidence of how best to improve attainment for disadvantaged pupils. This includes the flexibility to use pupil premium to tackle non-academic barriers to success, including providing enrichment opportunities to benefit those pupils who may not be able to have access otherwise.

Additionally, the National Wraparound Childcare Programme is improving the availability of childcare across the country and providing additional support for parents. The programme aims to ensure all parents are able to access full time wraparound childcare beyond the school day, enabling parents to work and supporting children with enriching opportunities.

The department will continue to monitor the evidence base for the impact of enrichment activities and a variety of factors that support attendance. In addition to ensuring children have access to enrichment activities, we are also tackling absence by expanding our attendance mentor programme, rolling out breakfast clubs to all primary schools, and providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school.