Blackpool Schools Invited to Join £22.5m Enrichment Expansion Programme

It’s such exciting times for young people in Blackpool – over the past couple of weeks the announcements from government investing in them have just kept coming.

Following news of a new Young Futures Hub for the town, a massive work experience programme and new technical education routes, this week I’m proud to announce that eight local schools have been invited to be among the first to take part in the government's new Enrichment Expansion Programme – a £22.5 million investment aimed at giving more children the chance to discover a passion outside the classroom.

The scheme, delivered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport alongside the Department for Education, will roll out across 400 mainstream, special and alternative provision schools in England. It's being led by the Youth Sport Trust and its partners, and it's built around a simple idea: every young person deserves the chance to try something that lights them up, whether that's sport, music, volunteering or getting outdoors. In Blackpool too many young people miss out on these opportunities – particularly those facing disadvantage or with special educational needs.

For Blackpool, a town that knows better than most how much talent can go untapped without the right opportunities, having eight schools invited to take part is a genuinely welcome boost. Participating schools will get support to strengthen what they already offer, build it around what pupils actually want to do, and forge stronger links with local sports clubs, charities and community groups.
Work is set to begin with schools in January 2027 and run through to March 2029, with the wider goal of halving the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers by 2035, as part of the government's Youth Matters strategy.

I’m looking forward to visiting the schools taking part once the programme is up and running, and finding out how pupils locally are benefitting from this investment in them.