by Matt Bromley
This article first appeared in SecEd on 30 June 2026. Read the original here.
For years, many of us have argued that what happens beyond the core curriculum – extra-curricular clubs, visits and visitors, careers education, personal development – is not an add-on but an essential part of school because it helps prepare students for life and work.
And now the Department for Education has published a national framework and eight benchmarks that aim to place this work at the heart of education.
The framework is non-statutory, but Ofsted has included specific reference to it in its updated School Inspection Toolkit for September 2026 (schools will not be assessed directly against the benchmarks but enrichment is considered under the Personal Development judgement).
Not coincidentally, the framework arrives at a time when schools are grappling with multiple challenges: persistent absence, widening disadvantage gaps, concerns about young people’s wellbeing and the time they are spending online, and growing demands from employers for schools to teach broader skills and attributes.
Against this backdrop, enrichment is no longer something schools do when time and budgets – and a teacher’s goodwill – allow; it’s becoming part of how schools fulfil their core duty.
The framework does not prescribe a single model and, crucially, it does not dictate when enrichment should happen nor who should lead it. Instead, it offers eight benchmarks against which schools can evaluate and improve their provision pragmatically and contextually.
The challenge for school leaders is not simply to offer more activities, but to think strategically about why enrichment matters, who it is for, and how its wider impact can be measured.
To this end, key focus areas for schools include:
- Ensuring enrichment is planned strategically not separately.
- Ensuring participation is equitable and targeted at those who need it most.
- Ensuring enrichment is accessible to all and adapted where necessary.
Why enrichment matters
Education is not simply the transmission of knowledge; it’s the widening of horizons, the expansion of possibilities; the process through which young people become informed, capable, cultured, and confident citizens. And that is why the Enrichment Framework matters.
It’s not perfect – there are questions, for example, about how schools can afford to deliver it and do so without adding to teachers’ workload – but it’s a start and a positive step in the right direction.
At one level, the framework is a practical document with eight benchmarks against which schools can audit/evaluate their provision and plan to improve their enrichment offer.
But at a deeper level, it represents something more significant: a recognition that enrichment is not something schools do after the “important work” is done, but is an integral part of that important work.
The data included in the DfE’s evidence-base behind the framework (DfE, 2026) suggests that enrichment is associated with a range of positive outcomes including educational engagement, a sense of belonging, improved wellbeing, social and emotional development, and better attainment.
Perhaps the strongest argument is that it helps schools deliver a genuinely broad and balanced education. Young people need opportunities to participate in the arts, engage with their communities, experience nature, develop leadership skills, build relationships, and discover passions that may stay with them for life.
This matters because, for some children, enrichment provides the very reason they come to school when the academic curriculum doesn’t talk to them.
Every teacher and school leader knows pupils whose commitment to football, drama, choir, coding club, Duke of Edinburgh, debating, gardening, or leadership responsibilities becomes the hook that keeps them connected to school.
The DfE’s evidence suggests that enrichment may play a role, not just in preventing a student from becoming absent, but also in re-engaging pupils who have already become disconnected from education.
And let’s not forget that enrichment is also a powerful tool for tackling disadvantage. Young people from affluent backgrounds often enjoy access to music lessons, cultural visits, sports clubs, travel opportunities, and wider social networks outside school. Many disadvantaged pupils do not. If schools do not deliberately provide such opportunities, existing inequalities can become entrenched.
Enrichment expands a child’s frame of reference, too. It introduces new experiences, broadens horizons, and builds what many would describe as “cultural capital”. Through enrichment, pupils encounter different careers, communities, cultures, and possibilities. They gain knowledge and experiences that make the curriculum more meaningful and the wider world more accessible.
For vulnerable children – those living in poverty, young carers, children with SEND, and pupils who are persistently absent – these opportunities can be transformative. The framework repeatedly emphasises the importance of ensuring that enrichment is equitable and accessible.
Finally, enrichment helps prepare young people for employment and adult life. Employers consistently highlight the importance of skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, resilience, leadership, and adaptability. These attributes are often developed most effectively through authentic experiences rather than classroom instruction alone.
Understanding the eight benchmarks
At the heart of the framework are eight benchmarks. Together, they provide a roadmap for schools seeking to develop a high-quality offer.
Benchmark 1: A strategically aligned enrichment offer
The framework begins with leadership. Too often, enrichment develops organically through the goodwill of enthusiastic staff. While this can generate excellent opportunities, it can also lead to inconsistency, duplication, and gaps in provision.
The DfE argues that enrichment should be aligned with a school’s vision, values, and improvement priorities. This means asking some fundamental questions:
- What outcomes are we trying to achieve? How is its impact monitored and evaluated?
- How does enrichment support attendance, behaviour, personal development, and achievement?
- How do we ensure equitable participation and accessibility for all?
Schools should consider appointing a senior leader with responsibility for enrichment and ensuring that enrichment features explicitly within school development planning.
Benchmark 2: A broad and well-rounded enrichment offer
The framework identifies five core categories of enrichment:
- Civic engagement
- Arts and culture
- Nature, outdoors, and adventure
- Sport and physical activity
- Wider life and future skills.
Many schools already offer activities across these areas, but the framework encourages leaders to audit provision carefully. An effective audit asks not only whether activities exist, but whether pupils can access them. Schools may discover that some categories are heavily represented while others are underdeveloped.
Primary schools might find opportunities to strengthen civic engagement through school councils, community projects, and volunteering; secondary schools may identify gaps in outdoor learning or future-skills provision, for example.
The goal is breadth, balance, and purpose.
Benchmark 3: A well-communicated offer that celebrates participation
One striking finding from the research-base is that pupils often do not participate because available opportunities fail to match their interests. Schools therefore need effective communication systems.
Pupils and families should know what is available, when activities run, how to join, and what support is available. Communication should be simple, consistent, and accessible.
Equally important is celebration. Participation should be valued publicly. Assemblies, newsletters, certificates, digital portfolios, and reports can all reinforce the message that enrichment matters. Recognition should focus not only on excellence but also on participation, commitment, and personal growth.
Benchmark 4: An offer shaped by the community
One of the strongest messages in the framework is the importance of pupil voice. Schools often design enrichment for pupils rather than with them. The DfE encourages schools to gather meaningful feedback from pupils, parents, and staff and use it to shape provision. This is particularly important when seeking to engage groups whose participation rates are lower.
Student leadership also has a role. Older pupils can lead clubs, mentor younger students, organise events, and contribute to planning. Such opportunities further strengthen ownership and engagement.
Benchmark 5: An accessible and engaging offer
This benchmark may prove the most important. The framework explicitly highlights disadvantaged pupils, vulnerable learners, those with SEND, young carers, care-experienced children, and persistently absent pupils.
Schools should ask: Who participates? Who does not? Why? Many barriers are practical rather than motivational including transport, cost, caring responsibilities, accessibility, timing, and lack of confidence.
Addressing these barriers may involve subsidising activities, providing equipment, adapting provision, offering lunchtime alternatives, or targeting invitations towards specific groups.
Importantly, schools should move beyond measuring overall participation and instead analyse participation by pupil group, because success is not simply high participation, it is equitable participation.
Benchmark 6: An offer that works in partnership
Schools cannot do everything alone. The framework strongly encourages collaboration with external partners, including employers, universities, cultural organisations, sports clubs, community groups, museums, charities, and STEM organisations.
Such partnerships can significantly enhance quality while reducing pressure on staff. For many schools, the question is not where to find opportunities but how to coordinate them effectively. Mapping existing partnerships and identifying gaps can provide a useful starting point.
Benchmark 7: An outcomes-focused offer
Perhaps the most significant shift within the framework is its emphasis on outcomes. Historically, schools have often measured enrichment through activity counts: number of clubs; number of trips; number of participants. The framework encourages leaders to think more deeply. What difference is enrichment making?
Possible outcomes might include improved attendance, increased belonging, enhanced wellbeing, better social skills, greater confidence, stronger community engagement, and improved educational outcomes. This requires schools to identify intended outcomes from the outset and collect evidence that demonstrates progress.
Benchmark 8: A continually improving offer
The final benchmark emphasises continuous improvement. Enrichment should not remain static. Schools should regularly review participation data, feedback, equity of access, quality of provision, and the impact on outcomes. The aim is to create a cycle of evaluation and refinement that ensures provision continues to evolve.
What schools should do now
The framework is accompanied by a self-assessment tool (DfE, 2026) that provides perhaps the most practical starting point. Rather than rushing to create new clubs or activities, schools should begin by evaluating their current position. The self-assessment tool uses four stages of development:
- Identifying
- Developing and implementing
- Embedding
- Sustaining and stretching
Taking a developmental approach is important because few schools will score highly across every benchmark immediately. To move the dial, schools should consider establishing an enrichment working group involving senior leaders, pastoral leaders, curriculum leaders, pupils, and governors.
The first task might be to complete a comprehensive audit against all eight benchmarks and identify strengths, weaknesses, and priorities. Participation data should also be gathered and analysed, particularly for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
What schools should do next
Following the audit, schools should create a phased enrichment strategy. Implementation should be realistic. The framework is about quality, coherence and accessibility rather than simply increasing volume. A three-year plan might include:
Year one
- Complete self-assessment
- Map current provision
- Establish leadership structures
- Improve communication
- Begin participation tracking
Year two
- Address gaps across the five enrichment categories
- Strengthen partnerships
- Remove barriers to participation
- Develop pupil leadership
Year three
- Embed evaluation systems
- Demonstrate impact on outcomes
- Refine provision based on evidence
- Move towards sustaining and stretching
What will success look like?
The ultimate test of enrichment is not how many clubs appear on a timetable but, rather, in the experiences and outcomes of young people. Schools implementing the framework effectively should expect to see:
- Increased participation across all pupil groups.
- Reduced participation gaps between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils.
- Stronger attendance.
- Improved school belonging.
- Enhanced wellbeing.
- Greater confidence and resilience.
- Better social and communication skills.
- Stronger community engagement.
- More positive destinations and aspirations.
Success will also be evident culturally. In successful schools, enrichment becomes part of the school’s identity. Pupils talk enthusiastically about opportunities. Staff see enrichment as central rather than peripheral. Parents understand its value. Governors champion its impact.
