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.

On 21 May 2026, the government announced a new approach to PE and school sport funding, backed by over £1 billion across the next three years. The new model combines a universal offer for all primary and secondary schools with targeted support for schools and pupils who need it most.

A new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will strengthen links between schools and local sports clubs, support high-quality PE, and help remove barriers to participation. Delivery will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a National Delivery Partner. Funding for the School Games Organiser network has also been confirmed for 2026/27 to support transition to the new system and maintain continuity of expertise.

Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

PE and School Sport are a key priority for this government. However, despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. ​

​​The new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will provide practical, targeted support to help schools increase participation and offer stronger links to extra‑curricular sport and local clubs. It will provide training to build staff confidence in delivering PE and set out clearer pathways into community sport. Support will align more closely with wider programmes and include competitive sport opportunities and inclusive events for less‑active pupils.

We have and continue to work closely with the teaching sector and sporting national bodies in the development and delivery of the new Network.

A core objective of the new Network is reducing the administrative burden on schools, introducing greater streamlined and standardised processes to provide PE and school sport.

PE and School Sport are a key priority for this government. However, despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. ​

​​The new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will provide practical, targeted support to help schools increase participation and offer stronger links to extra‑curricular sport and local clubs. It will provide training to build staff confidence in delivering PE and set out clearer pathways into community sport. Support will align more closely with wider programmes and include competitive sport opportunities and inclusive events for less‑active pupils.

We have and continue to work closely with the teaching sector and sporting national bodies in the development and delivery of the new Network.

A core objective of the new Network is reducing the administrative burden on schools, introducing greater streamlined and standardised processes to provide PE and school sport.

PE and School Sport are a key priority for this government. However, despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. ​

​​The new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will provide practical, targeted support to help schools increase participation and offer stronger links to extra‑curricular sport and local clubs. It will provide training to build staff confidence in delivering PE and set out clearer pathways into community sport. Support will align more closely with wider programmes and include competitive sport opportunities and inclusive events for less‑active pupils.

We have and continue to work closely with the teaching sector and sporting national bodies in the development and delivery of the new Network.

A core objective of the new Network is reducing the administrative burden on schools, introducing greater streamlined and standardised processes to provide PE and school sport.

PE and School Sport are a key priority for this government. However, despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. ​

​​The new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will provide practical, targeted support to help schools increase participation and offer stronger links to extra‑curricular sport and local clubs. It will provide training to build staff confidence in delivering PE and set out clearer pathways into community sport. Support will align more closely with wider programmes and include competitive sport opportunities and inclusive events for less‑active pupils.

We have and continue to work closely with the teaching sector and sporting national bodies in the development and delivery of the new Network.

A core objective of the new Network is reducing the administrative burden on schools, introducing greater streamlined and standardised processes to provide PE and school sport.

PE and School Sport are a key priority for this government. However, despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. ​

​​The new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will provide practical, targeted support to help schools increase participation and offer stronger links to extra‑curricular sport and local clubs. It will provide training to build staff confidence in delivering PE and set out clearer pathways into community sport. Support will align more closely with wider programmes and include competitive sport opportunities and inclusive events for less‑active pupils.

We have and continue to work closely with the teaching sector and sporting national bodies in the development and delivery of the new Network.

A core objective of the new Network is reducing the administrative burden on schools, introducing greater streamlined and standardised processes to provide PE and school sport.

The department has published a new enrichment framework with clear benchmarks against which schools and colleges can evaluate their own offer and improve provision. Ambassadors have been appointed as experts within their areas, using their expertise to help develop and expand opportunities for young people.

The £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme will work with approximately 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the enrichment framework. This is alongside a variety of governmental programmes, including 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.

This Government is committed to providing young people more things to do outside school. Working with local authorities, charities and others, we aim to halve the gap in participation between disadvantaged young people and their peers.

We are deploying £132.5 million from dormant assets through Every Child Can to expand enriching activities.

We are investing £22.5 million into our Enrichment Expansion Programme to join up activities delivered both in and out of school.

The department’s guidance does not prescribe how school attendance rewards and incentives are applied. Decisions about their operation are generally matters for individual schools, reflecting their circumstances and the needs of their pupils.

Where schools choose to link attendance to access to particular activities, we would expect them to do so carefully, proportionately and without discrimination. They should consider reward systems that are inclusive and appropriate for all pupils including those with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

We’re working closely across government to expand access to meaningful and enriching activities as we know that strong offline connections between young people are essential to supporting their wellbeing and their development.

In December 2025, DCMS published ‘Youth Matters’, a ten-year cross Government Strategy to ensure every young person across the country has someone who cares, something to do and somewhere to go. It includes a clear ambition to half the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers. It is funded by over £500 million from DCMS, which includes funding for youth spaces where young people can come together, enriching opportunities inside and outside of school, as well as for social action projects which young people can deliver in their communities.

We are working closely with Other Government Departments to ensure the successful delivery and accountability of the National Youth Strategy, which will include assessing the impact of our funded programmes.