From the sample 76% of the organisations emphasised how important it is for schools to enable life skills to be developed and indicated that a specifically designed course pursued by an applicant might make a positive difference in selecting a candidate for interview. The sample was asked what they considered to be the most important activities undertaken at school and were asked to rate them from 1-5 (1 is the highest)
What is D of E? About the Award edofe recording system Websites for information Our centre and its expectations Expeditions: Expectations and Equipment Questions?
The DofE is An internationally-recognised award that shows you have a wide range of skills. Set up by the Duke of Edinburgh to recognise the talents of young people in 1956. Each year almost 80,000 young people achieve an award but at this moment more than 275,000 young people are participating in the UK. Personal programme of activities in four sections (you choose what you do!!) You just need to be aged between 14 and 24 and can do the program at three levels: Bronze (aged 14+) Silver (aged 15+) Gold (aged 16+) which lead to a Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
Time and age requirements Minimum period of participation by: Level: Direct entrants Previous Award holders Bronze (Y9-10) Silver (Y11-13) Gold (Y12-13) 6 months 12 months 6 months 18 months 12 months This year in our centre around 70 students are registered for the Bronze award! Currently, there are 65 students doing Silver and Gold awards
What you need to do. You achieve an Award by completing a personal program of activities in four sections: Volunteering: undertaking service to individuals or the community Physical: improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities Skills: developing practical and social skills and personal interests Expedition: planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey At Gold level, you must do an additional Residential section, which involves working and staying away from home doing a shared activity More about these sections later
3 months for TWO of the sections 6 months for ONE of the sections Skills Physical Volunteering ALL of the above sections must be completed by the end of March to be able to attend the expeditions in April-June. We will now only take people on expeditions who have completed the rest of the Award. You can be enrolled now subject to approval by us. Expedition Missing or not completing the practice expedition makes it difficult to continue Training day (compulsory) Saturday March 24th 2018, 9am-3pm Kit night Monday March 26 th 2018, 6-7:30pm Practice Expedition 28-29 th April 2018 Assessed Expedition 16 th -17 th June 2018
Choosing activities There is a massive choice of activities that count towards a DofE program. Activities are placed in specific sections for a reason check carefully! You need to choose activities you are going to enjoy. Activities could be something that you are already doing or perhaps one you ve always wanted to try. An average of ONE HOUR per week for the period specified (2 hours per fortnight is ok but 6 hours in one day does not qualify as 6 weeks worth of activity) You need someone to assess you AND explain how you have made progress over the time in their assessor s report they upload onto edofe or via a written report on an assessor card. An assessor must not be a family member and of suitable position to do this. Sections must not overlap ie football coaching, football training, football appreciation! Use the helpful lists and category finder on www.dofe.org/sections
Warnings!! Volunteering Needs to be for a charity, or non-profit making organisation eg. St Giles Hospice shop, the local brownies pack. NOT SUITABLE Vets, Bridal shop, Tescos - These are businesses and are effectively making money from your volunteering. Walking your family dog is not volunteering! Physical This needs to be something where you are working towards a goal of improving your fitness, so setting goals, and the assessor is able to say how you have made progress. Assessor needs to be someone that is able to comment on this. Going to the gym or just going swimming with family aren't good enough. Support local classes! Community centres have lots of different classes, Zumba, Circuit training, Yoga, Pilates, etc.
Warnings cont. Skill Football, tennis, or anything sport wise does involve skill but if it involves some physical activity, then unfortunately it is a sport and needs to go under the physical section. Sports skills you can do: becoming a tennis umpire, or getting a qualification in refereeing and then practising this skill is ok. Getting a Sports Leaders qualification is fine too. Animal care this is not walking your dog! It CAN be taking your dog to weekly dog training classes, to improve your handling and the dog s obedience. Cooking we require you to keep a log of exactly when and what you have cooked, with a picture, recipe, method and comments, all uploaded as evidence, along with samples to bring one of us as your assessor (preferably attending a proper class is better). Asessors Not a family member your assessor should not be your mum, dad, gran, brother, uncle! They should have a position or title - Instructors, coaches etc. Teachers will need plenty of evidence for them to comment on if remote assessing. You cannot count something you would normally do in school anyway.
edofe This is how you seek approval for activities beforehand and then log evidence that you are working towards them. Your assessor reports also need to be uploaded to here when you have completed sections. The email account you put on your enrolment form will receive a username and password (which you need to change when you log on so your area is secure). Use one YOU check regularly. Queries or rejection of program plans are sent to your edofe account so you need to check it regularly we do! This is our main method of checking suitability of activities and approving their completion. Check it a week after you have done something!!
Getting started Don t complete this until you have something organised, then submit details for approval your leader is P Withey More detailed presentations on using edofe are on our website and there are YouTube videos on the DofE Channel too.
A good example of evidence.. The minimum requirement for each section is the assessor report Usually students ask an assessor to fill out an assessor report card, photograph it and upload it, then mark it as the assessor report. It must be filled in fully and dates must match what is says on your program plan.
Your Welcome Pack This is an assessor report card
Further Information The National DofE Website www.dofe.org How to use edofe, activity details, assessor report submission and more Our school DofE Website www.arthurterry.bham.sch.uk/dofe And YouTube!
HOME Latest news (opportunities for volunteering and recent newsletters) ABOUT This presentation How to use edofe Ideas for each section THE AWARDS BRONZE AWARD Regular newsletters (also sent home by email) Consent forms/codes of conduct for expeditions ENROL NOW Deadlines, forms to complete and payment details CONTACT US Our email address and phone numbers to contact us during expeditions Coming soon: Expedition training resources
What to do now. Research ideas for volunteering, physical and skill sections Complete an enrolment form and program plan then hand this into RECEPTION Make the payment by Parent Pay If preliminary plans are approved you will be enrolled, if not, you will be contacted to amend these. Enrolments happen monthly at the end of April, May, June and July only. Your edofe account details will be sent to you when your enrolment is completed. Enter your personal details and the details for each of your sections then submit them for approval (don t expect it to be granted though you need to check!) Then you can start doing your activities! (not before!) At the end of the time period you need to ask your assessor to FULLY complete an assessor report (on the card or online) for each of the 3 sections, then you are eligible to attend the expeditions!
Warnings about assessor reports! Make sure it is FULLY filled in every part The dates MUST match what you enter on edofe and span AT LEAST the dates covering 3 or 6 months. The assessor must sign it, date it and state their position and a contact email or number. The comment should be more than a sentence and positive, and not say anything that goes against the constraints of the award (non-attendance, 6-week courses and one-off events, playing golf for skill) Take a clear photograph or scan of it to upload then check it is legible!
Mr Withey Lead Teacher Miss Oglesby DofE Manager Miss Wilson Assistant Manager Mrs Jones Administrator Licensed under BCC for over 10 years Now independent DLC as of April 2014 One of the largest centres in Birmingham with the highest completion rate in Birmingham (72%) Extensive experience of the Award at all levels and expedition locations 8 Assessors up to Gold level 2 staff with WGL awards 6 staff with LLA awards 15 staff with Outdoor First Aid qualifications
Expeditions Aim Planning, training for and completing an adventurous journey as part of a team. Compulsory elements Training day in March Practice expedition in April/May Assessed expedition in June
Expectations & Equipment Purchase Code of conduct Any breach of this and students do not pass the expedition (phones and music players, suitable food and clothing, not walking together as a group). Training is compulsory students cannot attend an expedition without it. Not successfully completing both expeditions means you cannot pass this section. Equipment can be hired for a small charge (+returnable deposit) although we prefer you to purchase your own kit if you want to continue past Bronze Ideally, you will wish to purchase some equipment for yourself (i.e. sleeping bag, rucksack etc. You definitely need waterproofs (top and trousers). You must have proper walking boots for Silver onwards. We recommend you check before buying equipment and should purchase your own stove(s) and tent(s) as a group if possible. Our kit night in March supports you in choosing the most appropriate equipment
Timescales for qualifying expeditions Level Duration Minimum hours of planned activity each day Bronze 2 days and 1 night At least 6 hours during the daytime Silver 3 days and 2 nights At least 7 hours during the daytime Gold 4 days and 3 nights At least 8 hours during the daytime
A final message 73 students enrolled on Bronze last year 68 got as far as the training in February (please don t commit unless you are sure you can do it) We will send you the first newsletter at the end of next term (July) with dates for training and expeditions. We will also let you know as parents which activities have been approved to be started (and which haven t) Students who begin the Award and then choose to withdraw at a later date can only be refunded 80 of the 110 and will remain enrolled until they are 25 We will not take students on expedition who haven t completed the rest of the award by the end of March (the 6 month activity must be started by September at the latest) We want students to do the award but they have to be engaged and committed to it throughout
Thanks for coming tonight! Please do come and chat to us if you have any questions Enrolment forms & programme planners are available at the front and also on our website