The New DfE Enrichment Framework: What It Means for Outdoor Learning in Schools
Outdoor Learning Has Just Had Its Moment!
Here’s What the New Enrichment Framework Means for You
We’ll be honest, when we first read the DfE’s new Enrichment Framework, we had a bit of a “finally!” moment in Alfresco HQ.
Since 2019, we’ve been standing on playgrounds, in school fields and at teacher training events, telling teachers the same thing: taking your lessons outside isn’t a treat, it’s not ‘extra,’ and it’s definitely not just for sunny Friday afternoons. It’s a genuinely powerful way to deliver the curriculum you’re already required to teach. So when the government published a framework that names ‘nature, outdoors and adventure’ as one of five pillars every school should offer, it felt like finally, they’re cottoning on!
If you’re a teacher or school leader wondering what the ‘Every Child Can’ initiative and the Enrichment Framework actually mean for your daily teaching, (and how it all links to outdoor learning!) we’ve broken it down for you.
Levelling the Playing Field (Or Playground!)
The Every Child Can initiative is providing £132.5 million in new government funding (announced in June 2026) dedicated to making sure every child, not just those from families who can easily cover the costs of clubs and trips, gets access to brilliant, enriching experiences. It’s set to boost activities across schools, community groups, weekends, and holiday times.
It’s the first time in a long time that the government is acknowledging that there needs to be more time and focus on wider learning opportunities, and on the ‘soft’ skills that the knowledge-heavy curriculum, with a maths-and-English focus, had pushed aside.
It’s recognising that teamwork, problem-solving and communication are valued and that education should be about inclusion, belonging and wellbeing alongside attainment, and that enrichment can support all of these objectives.
The bit that’ll likely make the biggest impact on your day-to-day teaching life is the Enrichment Framework. While it’s non-statutory, it provides eight clear benchmarks designed to help schools and colleges create a truly well-rounded, vibrant offer for every single pupil. These benchmarks give a structure for schools to evaluate their current provision and to help shape the improvements to their offer. It’ll be one of the documents (alongside the self-assessment and action planning tools) that senior leaders and headteachers are using to audit the bigger picture of enrichment in their schools.
What is enrichment and what should our offer include?
When the word enrichment is mentioned, the first thing that often springs to mind is clubs, trips and after-school activities that usually exist beyond the curriculum. But the new Enrichment Framework, and the background supporting the framework, also defines it as including ‘co-curricular’ activities that are linked directly to the curriculum, and those are the ones that will be seen in the everyday teaching and learning at your school.
The new Framework groups enrichment activities into five broad areas, some of which will be curriculum-linked and some broader than the current National Curriculum in England. These five areas are:
- Civic engagement
- Arts and culture
- Nature, outdoors and adventure activities
- Life and future skills, including STEM
- Sport and physical activity
But it’s important to note that planning enrichment to tick each of these five areas isn’t the point of the framework. It’s more nuanced than that, and thankfully there’s an acknowledgement that each school will have different priorities and a different vision, and the enrichment it provides should be part of that strategy, woven into its core, not popped on top as an add-on.
What This Means for Outdoor Learning, More Broadly
For all the teachers who have spent years banging the drum about the benefits of outdoor learning, this feels like a step closer to the reality of outdoor learning becoming the norm for teachers across the country, accepted and even expected, as a tool by which to teach the curriculum, by the senior leaders in their schools. We’ve seen so many brilliant teachers over the years who’ve wanted to do more outdoor lessons but haven’t had the confidence, the time, or the backing to make it a regular part of their week, not because they didn’t believe in it, but because there was always something else competing for their attention.
This framework changes that. Outdoor and nature-connected learning isn’t the thing you squeeze in if there’s time left over anymore. It’s officially one of the building blocks of a well-rounded primary education, sitting right alongside sport, the arts, and STEM. For every teacher and educator that’s dreamed of including more of it in their teaching, that’s a genuinely exciting shift!
If you’ve ever had to justify to a colleague, a governor, or parents why you’re taking Year 3 outside to do their maths lesson, this is your evidence. It’s not a ‘nice-to-have’ anymore. It’s one of five things the government says every child should have proper access to.
How does the outdoors enrich children’s learning?
For those of you who are newer to curriculum-led outdoor learning, you may be wondering why outdoor learning is such a powerful and inclusive tool for teaching the curriculum, and how it provides enrichment to your pupils.
This starts with the physical act of being outdoors. Not only does it boost wellbeing and focus, but being in nature, fresh air and natural light are also known to reduce anxiety, reduce sensory overload and help children regulate by lowering stress hormones and calming the nervous system.
If that isn’t reason enough to take your learning outside, then the fact that the learning is often more practical, making abstract concepts more concrete and often giving them real-world contexts, supporting children who struggle with sitting still, and those for whom recording by writing is a challenge, and making the learning more memorable, makes it even more appealing as a tool for teaching and learning.
And as a final nudge to get you out there, studies have found that the number of different words children use is higher in outdoor settings compared to indoors, and that outdoor environments encourage children to speak for longer durations and produce richer and more complex sentences. A great way to boost oracy and to support children who have English as an additional language. And all the while, children are developing those ‘soft’ skills such as teamwork and problem solving that are so vital in the school setting and beyond.
Why This Isn’t Just Another Announcement to Skim Past
We’re aware education policy has been coming thick and fast recently (especially with the new curriculum on its way), and it’s easy to file this under ‘read later.’ But two things make this one worth your attention.
Ofsted will be looking at it. Since the start of September, inspectors are now considering your enrichment offer as part of personal development and wellbeing, looking at whether children get a genuinely varied, purposeful range of experiences beyond the classroom. Nobody’s failing you for not hitting every benchmark on day one, but it does mean this is now part of the conversation when inspectors come knocking.
Parents will be looking at it too. New school profiles will show families what your school actually offers outside the core curriculum. What you’re already doing outdoors, even the small stuff, is about to become something worth shouting about.
The previous Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, summed up the spirit of it well: “every child should be able to enjoy sport and the creative arts, not just the lucky few.” We’d say the same is true of time outdoors. Every child deserves it.
How to Bring Outdoor Learning Into Your School Curriculum
With ‘nature, outdoors and adventure’ now sitting as one of the government’s five key areas of enrichment, there’s never been a better moment to build this into how your school teaches, not as a tick-box exercise, but as something that gives your pupils the focus, confidence and love of learning this whole framework is trying to protect.
If you want to ignite your enrichment offer with immediate impact, Alfresco Learning’s KS1 workshops are designed to do exactly that. They help embed learning, making it memorable, practical and engaging for all your pupils whilst meeting the essential ‘Nature, Outdoors and Adventure’ area of enrichment. Your school receives expert delivery that provides ready-made evidence of your school’s commitment to enriching, outdoor-based education. Find out more about our workshops.
For teachers wanting support and planning to take their lessons outside, The Alfresco Hub curriculum-linked, grab-and-go lesson plans are designed to bring the National Curriculum to life while saving teachers time and energy. The plans require minimal preparation and use simple, easy-to-find resources, so teachers spend less time planning and more time enjoying their teaching, while delivering co-curricular elements of the Enrichment Framework.
Imagine a school where every pupil steps out into their school grounds not just to play at playtime, but to learn, to feel included, to develop their communication skills and to build a connection to the world around them.
By embedding high-quality outdoor learning into a holistic enrichment strategy, you can create an environment where every child’s confidence and wellbeing can thrive.
Every school’s goal should be an inclusive curriculum where using the outdoors is a well-used strategy in every teacher’s toolkit, and supports gains in focus, resilience, and attainment.
Take the next step today: use our ready-to-teach lesson plans to turn your school grounds into a powerful extension of the classroom, and discover how our KS1 workshops can help every child learn, connect and thrive outdoors.
Sources:
- GOV.UK, Every child to get access to enriching activities to build skills and confidence for life, 16 June 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/every-child-to-get-access-to-enriching-activities-to-build-skills-and-confidence-for-life
- Public Sector Executive, Government unveils major youth enrichment drive, 15 June 2026, https://www.publicsectorexecutive.com/articles/government-unveils-major-youth-enrichment-drive
- DFE, The enrichment framework for schools and colleges, 15 June 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-enrichment-framework-for-schools-and-colleges
- TES, Enrichment benchmarks: no government commitment on funding for schools, 16 June 2026, https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/enrichment-benchmarks-dfe-wont-commit-funding-schools