Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award on halving the participation gap in enrichment activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers by 2035.
Answered by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
For over 70 years the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) has played a significant role in providing young people with enriching activities and enabling young people to learn new skills, develop confidence and make new friends
DCMS provided almost £6 million of funding to the DofE between 2022/23 and 2025/26 and the Department for Education also provided a further £3.4 million as a joint investment. This funded over 50,000 participant places via licences to over 700 settings, including mainstream and SEND/Alternative Provision schools, breaking down barriers for disadvantaged young people. This investment has created a long-term legacy as the DofE will continue to provide training, safeguarding support and resources to licensed organisations..
We continue to work closely with the DofE on enrichment policy, including the new Enrichment Framework. This framework supports schools and colleges in developing strategic and intentional enrichment offers for all students. The DofE aligns with this framework, contributing to our ambition to halve the participation gap in enrichment activities for disadvantaged young people.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →