The DofE charity exists to help young people build the skills and capabilities they need to successfully navigate adult life and work – the kind of skills and qualities that you can’t learn in a textbook and exams can’t measure – but that every young person needs. This is why it’s crucial that we find robust ways to measure our impact.
What do we mean by ‘enrichment work’?
Enrichment activities and non-formal learning activities like sports, clubs, adventures away from home, volunteering, art and culture pursuits, and social action, provide opportunities for young people to develop essential personal, social and emotional skills, engage with education, build confidence and increase social interaction. However, enrichment opportunities are not spread equally across the UK.
Our 2024 Impact Report used open data methodology and examined how participating in DofE programmes impacted young people’s skills, social and emotional development, wellbeing and sense of belonging.
We analysed responses from over 4,000 DofE participants, our findings show a statistically significant positive impact on wellbeing, skills development, community ties and physical activity for young people doing their DofE.
Using best practice methodology set out in the 2021 HM Treasury Green Book, we’ve calculated that life satisfaction improvements experienced by DofE participants have estimated an average social value of £4,400 per person. In 2024-25 166,592 young people achieved their DofE Award and estimated total value of £33.4m volunteering hours given in support of others.
What we’re calling for: making the Enrichment Entitlement deliver for every young person
Now more than ever, young people need access to opportunities that help them build confidence, develop essential personal, social and emotional skills and feel excited about their futures. And while the Government’s commitment to a national enrichment entitlement is a hugely welcome step forward, after years of advocating for an Enrichment Guarantee, we know that access to enrichment is still uneven. Where a young person lives, the school they attend, or their family circumstances still shapes the opportunities available to them – and too many miss out on experiences that could be genuinely life‑changing.
Our focus now is making sure the new entitlement delivers meaningfully and equitably, with schools and colleges supported to shape quality enrichment offers in every place. That means ensuring regular access to high‑quality non‑formal learning, with targeted support for young people who face the greatest barriers. We know this approach works. Between 2021 and 2025, targeted funding enabled 462 mainstream schools to deliver DofE programmes, supporting more than 35,000 young people. Independent analysis supported by State of Life, using data from over 1,200 participants, shows improvements in life satisfaction, happiness and community connection – particularly for young people from marginalised backgrounds.
For us, enrichment means making sure young people can take part in the activities that help them grow: non‑formal learning, clubs and programmes, outdoor experiences, trips away from home, volunteering and social action. We see every day how these experiences transform young people’s confidence, wellbeing and engagement in learning. They help young people discover their strengths, feel part of something, and build the practical, work‑ready skills they need to thrive.
The Government has taken a major step by committing to an enrichment entitlement and many other policy announcements in parallel to support young people to access enriching activities and trusted adult support. Our call now is to ensure it is implemented well, resourced properly, and truly accessible so every young person benefits, not just in principle but in practice.
Making this a reality
Our work to strengthen enrichment didn’t start from nowhere. It’s been shaped through collaboration across the youth and education sectors including, before its closure in 2025, through a partnership with NCS Trust, which had a long track record of delivering high‑quality non‑formal learning for young people. Together we built on existing research, strengthened the evidence base, and contributed to the early momentum that helped shape the national conversation on enrichment.
Early in this process we brought partners and policymakers together at a Ministerial Roundtable to highlight why enrichment matters and why the sector needed better data, clearer evidence and more consistent access for young people across both formal and non‑formal settings.
In 2023, we formalised this shared agenda through the Education and Enrichment Project, which brought together research, sector expertise and insights from young people to develop a set of practical proposals aimed at widening access and strengthening quality. These included:
- Improved collaboration between schools and youth organisations to ensure more consistent access to high‑quality enrichment
- Stronger local partnerships so education, youth and community providers can coordinate offers more easily and remove barriers to participation
- Better recognition of non‑formal learning, ensuring young people’s achievements beyond the classroom are visible and valued by employers, training providers and further education institutions
- Common benchmarks for enrichment, supporting the sector to measure impact consistently, from life skills and wellbeing to social action and community engagement.
These proposals weren’t intended as a standalone blueprint. They were developed with officials, sector partners and young people to provide a shared foundation for widening access to enrichment across the country. And in many ways, this groundwork helped set the conditions for the Government’s eventual commitment to a national enrichment entitlement.
As the entitlement now moves into implementation, this body of work gives us a strong platform. It means we’re stepping into the next phase with a clear understanding of what young people need, what the evidence shows, and how the system can work together to ensure every young person benefits from high‑quality enrichment.
Why this matters, and what we keep pressing for
These developments mean enrichment is no longer treated as “nice to have”: it is named in national policy, guided by an emerging framework and benchmarks, and supported by targeted investment to build capacity in schools and communities.
Our role now is to keep making the case, alongside the Back Youth Alliance, E4A and sector allies for delivery that is:
- Meaningful (regular, high‑quality activities across the five strands)
- Equitable (targeted support where barriers are highest)
- Accountable (clear expectations and measures that track attendance, wellbeing and skills outcomes, not just inputs)
We’ll continue bringing the evidence: from our own programmes (e.g., outcomes from 35,000+ young people in 462 schools, with evaluation supported by State of Life) to wider sector research, because evidence moves policy and keeps the focus on what actually works for young people.
