If you lead STEM in a school, the new DfE Enrichment Framework hands you an unusual gift: STEM is the only domain the department names inside its five-category shorthand. That makes the enrichment framework STEM question easy to plan around. This post maps each Hyett Education workshop to Benchmark 2 and Benchmark 6, and shows where a single day fits in a wider offer. For the full framework overview, start with our pillar guide to the DfE Enrichment Framework.
Where does STEM sit in the enrichment framework?
STEM sits inside Benchmark 2, the benchmark for a broad and well-rounded offer across five categories. The fifth category is named verbatim as "wider life and future skills, including digital literacy, STEM clubs, cooking, managing finances and enterprise". STEM is the single domain the DfE names directly in its five-category shorthand, and its own examples include STEM clubs, robotics, coding clubs, national STEM competitions and science-centre visits (DfE, 2026).
The other four Benchmark 2 categories are civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoors and adventure; and sport and physical activity. A school is meant to offer breadth across all five. STEM workshops give you a strong presence in the fifth without displacing the others.
Does the framework name STEM clubs specifically?
Yes. The framework names STEM clubs in the exact wording of category five, and lists robotics, Coding Club, national STEM competitions, employer-led masterclasses and science-centre visits as worked examples of a broad enrichment offer (DfE, 2026). This is the only curriculum-adjacent subject area called out by name in the benchmark text, which is why a planned STEM offer reads so cleanly against the framework.
The framework is non-statutory guidance, so STEM clubs are an explicit example of good practice, not a requirement. The value is that the department’s own language gives you a ready-made way to describe what you already run.
Which STEM activities count as enrichment under Benchmark 2?
Hands-on, purposeful STEM activities count: robotics, coding, drones, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, electronics, early engineering and design technology all map to the "wider life and future skills" category. Each of our ten live workshops maps to that category and to the Benchmark 6 partner types of STEM ambassadors, science centres and employers:
- Robotics and coding: wider life and future skills (STEM clubs, robotics), an external STEM provider with links to STEM ambassadors.
- Drone coding: wider life and future skills (digital literacy, STEM), an external provider building employer-relevant skills.
- AI and machine learning: wider life and future skills (digital literacy, STEM), an external provider building employer-relevant skills.
- Cybersecurity and cryptography: wider life and future skills (digital literacy, STEM), an external provider building employer-relevant skills.
- Intermediate coding and programming: wider life and future skills (STEM clubs, Coding Club), an external provider with links to STEM ambassadors.
- Electricity and circuits: wider life and future skills (STEM), science-centre-style hands-on delivery.
- Early engineering: wider life and future skills (STEM, enterprise), a hands-on STEM partner.
- 3D design and CAD printing: wider life and future skills (digital literacy, STEM), an external provider building employer-relevant skills.
- Stop-motion animation: wider life and future skills (digital literacy, arts), an external provider with an arts and culture crossover.
- Advanced Python robotics: wider life and future skills (STEM, national competitions), employer-led masterclass style.
Schools often combine drones, AI and robotics across a multi-day booking for an employer-led masterclass feel. Every one of these is a hands-on STEM workshop delivered by instructors, not a worksheet. To match a workshop to a year group and check capacities, the instant quote tool sets it out by key stage.
How does Benchmark 6 partnership work for STEM?
Benchmark 6 asks for an offer that works in partnership, and it names science centres, STEM ambassadors, employers, further and higher education, and museums as partner types. A paid external STEM provider is a legitimate Benchmark 6 partner: the framework explicitly supports a mix of free, subsidised and paid activities, describing enrichment as "a common entitlement for all, not just those who can afford to pay" (DfE, 2026).
This is where an external workshop earns its place. We bring the kit, the subject specialists and the employer-relevant context most schools cannot resource in-house for a one-off, and we have delivered this partnership at scale: more than 3,000 workshops across 1,190 schools since 2018, including 711 funded sessions for 588 schools through Royal Air Force and EKO routes. Pricing starts from £597 per day as a floor, with the right figure set by year groups, pupil numbers and travel.
Is a single workshop day enough on its own?
No, and we would not claim it is. Benchmark 2 references weekly STEM clubs as well as broader activities, so the most honest position is that a workshop day is the high-impact anchor or launch event inside a wider offer, not the whole programme. A day creates the spark; a club, a competition entry or a follow-up sequence sustains it.
In practice, schools use a Hyett day to launch a STEM club, mark British Science Week, or give a whole year group a shared inspiring experience the regular timetable cannot. That is the "purposeful and varied" pattern Ofsted will look at under Personal Development from September 2026, having regard to the enrichment framework where applicable. It is something Ofsted considers, not a compliance requirement, because the framework is non-statutory. For how Ofsted weighs enrichment, read how Ofsted will look at enrichment from September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does STEM sit in the DfE Enrichment Framework?
STEM sits in Benchmark 2, in the fifth category, "wider life and future skills, including digital literacy, STEM clubs, cooking, managing finances and enterprise". It is the only domain the DfE names directly in its five-category shorthand.
Does the enrichment framework name STEM clubs specifically?
Yes. The framework names STEM clubs in the wording of category five and lists robotics, Coding Club, national STEM competitions and science-centre visits as examples. It is non-statutory guidance, so these are examples of good practice rather than requirements.
Can a paid STEM workshop count towards the enrichment framework?
Yes. The framework supports a mix of free, subsidised and paid activities and names external providers, employers and science centres as legitimate Benchmark 6 partners. A paid workshop counts as part of a broad offer; it is not the whole offer on its own.
Which Hyett workshops map to Benchmark 2?
All ten do, under "wider life and future skills": robotics, drones, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity, coding, electricity, early engineering, 3D and CAD, stop-motion, and combined days. Each pairs hands-on STEM with employer-relevant context.
Build your STEM offer around a high-impact anchor
The simplest way to act on Benchmark 2 is to plan one strong, purposeful STEM event and let it anchor a wider offer of clubs, competitions and follow-up work. To see what that looks like, browse our hands-on STEM workshops, read how STEM clubs compare with after-school childcare for the club side, or get an instant quote for your year groups. The framework is published in full on GOV.UK.
