Enrichment at St Edburg's

At our school we believe in the importance of enrichment education and its intrinsic benefits, rather than just the benefits extra-curricular activities may have on academic achievement. This is sometimes referred to as “art for art’s sake”. We think all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, deserve a well-rounded, culturally rich, education. 

See links for recent research on the importance of enrichment in schools.

Extracurricular activities to develop life skills - findings and lessons for practice (publishing.service.gov.uk) (DfE 2020)

 Life skills and enrichment | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)  

What we offer

At St Edburg’s we offer a wide range of an enrichment across the school year with the objective of developing our pupils into confident, resilient and healthy citizens. We are proud that the uptake of our club offer is strong, with the majority of our children taking a place in an extra curricular club during the school year.  Our clubs offer rich experiences which are coherently planned and run by our expert staff. 

Supporting our ethos of inclusivity these clubs are offered on a two tier basis, additionally we prioritise children who have not yet taken part in a club (ensuring equity of provision). Uptake is carefully tracked. 

Tier 1 clubs are offered to children who show a particular aptitude in the subject and are invite-only.

Tier 2 clubs are general invite and open to all. Since September we have offered the following clubs

A wide range of experiences

In addition to the selection of weekly extra-curricular clubs, our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and offers a range of enriched experiences such as:

• Forest School, Welly Wednesdays and Toast Tuesdays 
• Weekly trips to the community garden and local church
• Whole-school themed days/weeks: Climate Change Conference, World Book Day, Poetry Slam, Shakespeare Week, Science Week, Sports Week, ‘St Ed’s Got Talent’ Show
• Educational visits: Oxford Castle, Cotswold Wildlife Park, IMPs, Junior Citizen, Oxfordshire Book Awards 
• Overnight residential trips: Hill End (Y4), National Space Centre (Y5), Woodlands (Y6)
• Visitors to school eg. Author visits, science talks, Viking/Roman themed days, skipping workshop, book fair 
• Pupil leadership opportunities including: sports captains, Spanish Champions, Digital Leaders, School Council, Eco-Council, Junior Librarians, Office Helpers, School Journalists, Art Ambassadors, Worship Monitors 
• Music experiences: Festival of Voices, The Big Sing, termly class music showcases, Carol Concert, Leavers’ Assembly
• Drama opportunities: termly class assemblies, nativity production (EYFS)
• Partnership sports events: Dynamo Cricket, hockey, indoor athletics, gymnastics, netball, football, Quadkids, swimming gala
• Participation in creative arts initiatives: Arts Mark, Arts Council, Oxford Art Trail - Ox Trail