In conversation withJoshua ColemanCEO - EMAT

ENRICHMENT FOR EVERYONE

East Midlands Academy Trust (EMAT) · 5 Nov 2026 · 9 min read

What happens when a whole trust takes a week off the usual timetable and gives every child a touch point with enrichment? Jake Wiid caught up with Joshua Coleman CEO of East Midlands Academy Trust to find out.

When East Midlands Academy Trust’s enrichment week started popping up on my LinkedIn feed, I knew it belonged in The EVC Magazine. Between 12th and 16th October, core subjects carried on across the trust’s schools while everything else came off the timetable. Each school built its own programme around its pupils, covering mental health, confidence and resilience, public speaking, physical activity, film and more, with specialist partners including Bounce Forward, LoudSpeaker, Commando Joe’s, IntoFilm and Delight working alongside PGL.

Year 5 and Year 8 pupils also took part in The Big Adventure, a three-day PGL residential, while Year 6 pupils from across the trust visited Bolsover Castle with English Heritage.

Joshua has led EMAT for nine years and has worked in education for more than 25, starting as a teacher in 1996. He calls the people who make up his trust #EMATters. The story here is EMAT’s, and it is one that any school or trust can learn from. Here’s what Joshua told me.

What made you want to run enrichment across the whole trust?

Pushing the agenda and being creative is one of our values at EMAT, so it suits us. It began when PGL wanted to run a small project for 30 children at Northampton International Academy (NIA). I liked the idea, but I had a slightly different one, which was to involve every child in the trust.

I also think the government’s new enrichment guidance will follow the same path as the Gatsby benchmarks. They start out as nice to have, and before long they become a must. I like to get ahead of that, so we wanted something that reached every age group and phase rather than relying on residentials alone.

“We wanted every child to have a touch point, not just those who go away on a residential.”

Why was it so important that everyone could take part?

Our communities are very diverse, and they change a lot. In a single year, upwards of 300 children can move in and out of one of our schools, which is the size of a whole year group. Some have arrived from Ukraine and Afghanistan and we all know not everyone wants to jump off a trapeze or sleep outdoors, and for some families overnight activities just aren’t part of their culture.

Of course cost is a barrier too, because a residential can run to three or four hundred pounds. To make this inclusive we looked at sponsorship which covered most of it, this meant we could set the price at just £25 for every Year 5 and Year 8 pupil. When a child/their family thinks they can try it for £25, that changes who signs up. We had a 90 per cent take-up in Year 8 and less for year 5, so next year I’d like to build on that.

How does attendance fit in?

Attendance has been our focus for three years and we’ve improved by about three per cent. All our schools are now above the national average, including for ‘disadvantaged’, SEN and pupil premium pupils.

When we looked at three years of data, October stood out. Years 5, 7 and 8 dropped off and never really recovered, and children who miss time early in the year can drift into persistent absence. The enrichment week was partly our answer to that, and attendance during it is about two percentage points up on last year. Now we must hold that through to February, which is the other pinch point.

Did it work, and what would you change?

Yes, on most measures. We could have mixed the groups of children better. We’d also hoped to give staff some off-grid time to look after their own wellbeing, and that didn’t land as well as I wanted. We’ll definitely run it again and this year’s pilot has given us a great launch pad to build upon.

How does the week sit alongside everything else you do?

It’s one part of our wider #EMATters enrichment programme, which aims to make sure every child has access to a broad range of exciting experiences alongside their day-to-day learning. We hold the EMAT Olympics, the Ability Games for children with different cognitive and physical abilities, and #EMATters Voices, where school choirs perform together for an evening. There’s a Big Camp Out for Year 6s moving up to Year 7, the Big Sleep In, and the usual trips and residentials.

I see the enrichment week as a five-year project. Today’s Year 5s will do a residential again in Year 8, and everything else builds as they move through the trust. PGL Beyond is also working with Sheffield Hallam University on research into the difference enrichment makes. We’re asking pupils short, age-appropriate questions before and after the week, and again at three and six months. That will show us whether there are real long-term benefits, and help us make these opportunities available to more young people.

“A one-off trip creates a memory. Progression and growth change lives.”

What would you say to schools/trusts that want to try something similar?

It starts with wanting to do it. Lots of schools get tied up in cost and accountability, but enrichment doesn’t have to be expensive. You already have staff, halls and fields, and you have PE leads and music teachers. Picture each of them leading an activity, whether that’s rugby, basketball, orienteering or cycling. It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture.

Then be honest about the why. If a trip doesn’t link to your curriculum or values, why are you going? Staff can’t do everything, and if you try to be all things to everybody you end up being nothing to anyone. And think about who’s missing out. If 30 children go to Iceland, what about the other 90 left behind?

What does being part of a trust mean to you?

If the only thing a trust offers its schools is educational outcomes, what’s the added value of belonging to it? Something should run through every school, whether that’s a way of working, communicating, teaching or enriching. For us it’s #EMATters. It brings staff, volunteers, governors, pupils and parents together as one group with shared values, so children can become whatever they want to be without barriers.

“These experiences should happen, regardless of background, ability, individual learning needs, or ANY other circumstance.” Anthony Jones, Chief Executive Officer, PGL Beyond

TOP TIPS FOR STARTING YOUR OWN GROUP ENRICHMENT

• Start with why, and link every activity to your values or curriculum.
• Make use of the people and places you already have, such as PE leads, music teachers, halls and fields.
• Look for sponsorship or partners so cost doesn’t decide who takes part.
• Build experiences year on year, from the school hall to the residential.
• Bring in providers and charities for specialist activities and wellbeing support.
• Check your attendance data to see where enrichment could make the biggest difference.

EMAT is a community of schools made up of an all-through school in Northampton, a secondary school in Oundle and 10 primary schools in Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes.

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