Education: Standards

The department is committed to ensuring that all children and young people can access a variety of enrichment opportunities at school and college as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity.

The enrichment framework, including the associated benchmarks, is designed to support this ambition by providing practical guidance to schools and colleges on how to deliver and strengthen their enrichment offer.

The benchmarks and self-assessment tools provide a clear structure for schools and colleges to evaluate their enrichment offer and make informed improvements. This includes ensuring opportunities are accessible and engaging for all pupils and students, particularly those at risk of missing out.

The framework also signposts to resources that can help schools and colleges enhance their enrichment provision. Case studies from a range of settings, including alternative provision and special settings, provide practical examples of approaches that can support wider access to enrichment opportunities.

​The £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme will work with approximately 400 schools in the most deprived areas for England in support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the enrichment framework. This is alongside a variety of governmental programmes, including the upcoming PE and School Sport Partnerships and a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, as well as National Education Nature Parks, TechYouth, the Cadet Expansion Programme, Erasmus+, and Building Equal Access to Chess in Schools. ​

​The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s ‘Every Child Can’ programme will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes structured around the framework categories, delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision.​