Coram Shakespeare Schools welcomes the Enrichment Framework, announced by the Government on the 15th June as a means to support schools in delivering broad and meaningful enrichment work.

In particular the framework's emphasis on equity and inclusion is hugely encouraging. Our work at Coram Shakespeare Schools has often highlighted what has become known as the 'enrichment gap' where young people already experiencing disadvantage, for example children looked or after and those with caring responsibilities or SEND, are less likely to access extracurricular opportunities and reap the benefits of being involved in a sports team, a choir or a volunteering programme: the social connections, the sense of belonging and the development of essential life skills.

As an educational charity which works with over 350 schools each year we are also pleased to see that the sixth benchmark explicitly recognises the power of partnership which we have seen not only in the relationships we build with schools but in the relationships we broker between schools, regional theatres and local artists and theatre-makers.

The framework builds on the excellent groundwork laid by the Enrichment for All coalition in their report last summer, and will, hopefully, replicate the success of the Gatsby benchmarks which were developed in 2014 and have set standards for careers education in schools.

Valid concerns have been shared in the sector about the feasibility of delivering enrichment programmes where funding and capacity are already stretched, and the potential extra pressure on teachers' workloads. Although the decision that enrichment provision will be looked at by Ofsted during their inspections shows a welcomed seriousness about the importance of these opportunities to school life, we understand that another priority within an already high-stakes inspection system should not be added lightly. It is vital that schools are given the funding and support they need to implement this guidance successfully.

As a next step, Coram Shakespeare Schools would like to see the 80-hour enrichment requirement for every child recommended in the original Enrichment for All report implemented too. We understand that for schools to make this happen in a meaningful way there needs to be sufficient investment (financial and cultural), time and support.

There are however brilliant success stories already emerging from schools who have made bold choices about timetabling, partnership-building and accreditation to develop and embed impactful enrichment offers. At Coram Shakespeare Schools we were particularly delighted to see Clare Mount Specialist Sports College with whom we have worked since 2015 and Surrey Square Primary School who first joined our Theatre Festival two years ago feature amongst the case studies of schools who are leading the way on enrichment. What all these settings have in common is that enrichment is not approached as a box-ticking exercise but as a fundamental part of what school looks like and a powerful driver of increased achievement, attendance and engagement.

Because of the work we do at Coram Shakespeare Schools, we see the impact of high-quality, inclusive enrichment every day. These benchmarks are an important step on the road to ensuring that everybody else sees it too.