Enrichment Benchmarks - Evidence and Narrative Pack

This comprehensive pack helps you tackle the most common challenges leaders face when reviewing, strengthening and evidencing enrichment against the DfE's framework.

"What is the DfE Enrichment Framework and do we have to follow it?" The Enrichment Framework for Schools and Colleges, published by the DfE in June 2026, is non-statutory guidance built around five categories of enrichment and eight benchmarks. You aren't legally required to follow it, but Ofsted's toolkit has referred to it since September 2026. The Introduction to Enrichment section sets out the categories and the benchmarks at a glance, so you know what the framework is asking of you before you begin.

"How does Ofsted look at enrichment?" Enrichment isn't inspected as a stand-alone area. It sits within personal development and wellbeing, where inspectors look for purposeful and varied enrichment, equal access for all pupils and leaders who track participation. The guide explains this and sets out what inspectors might explore for each benchmark. Ofsted doesn't need leaders to produce documents specifically for an inspection, so the pack is designed for your own improvement work and helps you describe your offer clearly using what you already have.

"How do I review our enrichment offer against the eight benchmarks?" Every benchmark follows the same four steps: gather your evidence, rate yourself from 1 (identifying) to 4 (sustaining and stretching), write a checkpoint narrative and add your rating to the Enrichment Benchmark Ratings and Action Plan. Anything rated 1 or 2 becomes a specific action with an owner and a review date.

"How do I write a narrative summary of our enrichment provision?" Each benchmark ends with a checkpoint box and an example from a fictional school, so you can see the level of detail to aim for. You can type straight into the PDF or use the space in the Enrichment Benchmark Ratings and Action Plan.

"How do I check our enrichment offer covers all five categories?" The Enrichment Strategy and Category Mapping Template lays your provision against civic engagement, arts and culture, nature, outdoors and adventure, sport and physical activity and developing wider life and future skills, so gaps are immediately visible. The Core Offer Mapping Template then shows what every pupil is guaranteed by year group, and the guide explains how to build provision into the school day through lunchtime slots, tutor time or timetabled sessions.

"How do I track who is and isn't taking part in enrichment?" The Enrichment Participation Tracking Template logs participation by pupil premium, SEND, young carer and attendance status, while the Enrichment Accessibility and Barriers Tracker records barriers such as cost, transport or timing and what was done about each one. The guide also helps you spot patterns, talk to the pupils and families who aren't engaging and make reasonable adjustments.

"How can I show the impact of enrichment on pupils?" Benchmark 7 is the one many schools find hardest, so the guide helps you name the outcomes you expect, such as wellbeing, belonging, attendance and skill development. The Enrichment Outcomes and Data Tracking Template then maps each one to data you already hold, including attendance records, behaviour points and existing wellbeing surveys.

"What do governors need to know about enrichment?" The Enrichment Briefing for SLT and Governors introduces the framework and sets out the questions governors should be asking about strategic oversight, while the Enrichment Policy puts accountability for enrichment into one formal document.

"How do I check that external providers of clubs and activities are safe?" Benchmark 6 carries the clearest safeguarding weight of the eight, as it's the one place where people outside your normal staff structure work directly with pupils. The External Partner Directory and Due Diligence template gives you a log of every partner, a safeguarding checklist for on-site and off-site delivery, a partner agreement and a signposting log.

"How do I tell families about our enrichment offer and celebrate taking part?" The Enrichment Communication and Celebration Toolkit provides adaptable newsletter copy, a website page template, a certificate template and a pupil enrichment passport, while the Enrichment Pupil, Parent and Staff Surveys check that families know what's on and feel that participation is recognised.