The New Enrichment Framework: An Opportunity to Champion Inclusivity for Every Pupil

Clare Carlin, Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC)

Across the education sector, there’s been growing conversation about the Department for Education’s new Enrichment Framework and Benchmarks. A new government framework can, understandably, sound like more paperwork for schools already juggling a great deal. Here at the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, we’ve dug a little deeper into what this Framework means for schools, and specifically their Educational Visit Coordinators (EVCs).

What’s actually changed?

In June 2026, the DfE published the Enrichment Framework and eight accompanying Enrichment Benchmarks, giving schools and colleges in England a clear structure for planning and delivering enrichment. The benchmarks cover areas including accessibility, partnerships, communication, outcomes and continuous improvement, and the framework is built around five areas of enrichment: 

Crucially for EVCs, learning beyond the classroom sits at the heart of every one of these five areas. Whether it happens during the school day or beyond it, whether it’s teacher-led or delivered by a third party, and whether it supports extra-curricular or co-curricular provision – it all counts as enrichment. 

You don’t need to start from scratch

If your school already runs day visits, residentials, cultural trips, environmental projects, employer engagement, volunteering or clubs, you’re already doing much of what this framework asks for. The real task now isn’t inventing new activity, it’s bringing what you already offer together into a strategically planned, well-evidenced, whole-school programme that is genuinely inclusive and accessible to every child.

Why this matters for inclusivity

The framework puts real emphasis on making sure every young person, including the most disadvantaged, can access a broad range of enriching experiences that support their personal development, wellbeing and future success. For EVCs, this is a genuine mandate, and a lever you can use, to review who is currently accessing your trips and enrichment offer, and who might be missing out.

This is a chance to ask some important questions across your programme:

Asking these questions now, while the framework is new, gives you a natural and welcome reason to open these conversations with senior leaders.

Practical guidance for EVCs

1. Audit before you add

Map your current enrichment offer against the five framework areas and eight benchmarks. You’ll likely find you’re covering more ground than you think. The task is often more about evidencing and joining up than creating something new.

2. Look at access, not just activity

Track participation data by pupil group, not just by trip. This turns inclusion from an assumption into something you can evidence.

3. Build partnerships deliberately

The benchmarks highlight partnership working as a key strand. Trusted providers, like Rayburn Tours, can help you widen access, for example through subsidised places, accessible destinations, or residential experiences designed with inclusion in mind.

4. Keep safeguarding and risk management central

A broader, more inclusive offer still needs robust due diligence. Don’t let enthusiasm for wider access outpace your usual visit approval and risk assessment processes.

5. Get support rather than going it alone

You don’t have to interpret this framework in isolation.

Support is already there

CLOtC has spent almost twenty years helping schools develop high-quality learning beyond the classroom, and our existing frameworks map closely (approximately 90%) onto the new benchmarks.

There are free resources to help schools get going, including self-assessment audit tools and ‘how to’ guides. As part of the LOtC Mark, an award that recognises and celebrates progress, schools can access online CPD and case studies, a bespoke online progress tracker, and advice and templates to help evidence enrichment activity, there’s even support from a mentor from another school.

Whether schools are just starting out or looking to develop further, there’s a set of tried-and-tested tools, resources and guidance already in place that align tightly to the new Enrichment Framework and Benchmarks.