Charlton School

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is the world’s leading youth achievement award and is a globally recognised Award. There are three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold, which differ in terms of increasing time commitment, degree of challenge and age of entry. The benefits of achieving an Award at any level are endless. It encourages young people to push themselves to do new things, grow in confidence and develop new skills. The Award is highly valued and respected by both employers and further or higher education establishments.

We are providing the opportunity to undertake the Bronze Award to all students in Year 9. In completing the Award over the next few months, students will undertake four sections as part of their own personal and unique journey. These are Physical, Skills, Volunteering & Expedition.

Every young person’s DofE programme is personal to them – they can choose what they would like to do for their Physical, Skills and Volunteering sections, and most activities can count. We will provide guidance and support, and students can either choose to continue an activity they already do or discover something completely new.

Timescales:

Students can get started on their non-expedition sections as soon as they are registered. The school’s DofE Manager and team of DofE Leaders will be on hand to support the students throughout the award to offer advice & ensure they record their activities correctly on eDofE (the online account). Two of the sections must be completed over a three-month period and the third over a sixth month period, for one hour per week. For a list of ideas for each section please visit: www.dofe.org/do/ideas/

About the expedition

At Charlton, the expedition section is completed under the supervision and guidance of Mrs Bird, who will ensure that the expedition meets the requirements of the award. The DofE has introduced a number of flexibilities to allow expeditions to take place safely, in line with social distancing restrictions and Government guidance.

This section will involve training and a qualifying expedition, and our students will be in teams of 4 – 7. Times, dates, and locations will be confirmed later in the academic year. If it is not possible to run the Expedition section this academic year due to Covid restrictions, then students can still achieve their DofE Certificate of Achievement.

The DofE and COVID-19

Your child can still have the full DofE experience, safely and in line with Government guidance, during the COVID-19 outbreak. The motivation and focus the DofE gives, and its positive impact on mental and physical health, can play an important role in helping your child navigate our ‘new normal’, safely expanding their world and giving them skills and experiences to open doors in the future. As participants can choose and change their activities, they can pick ones that they can do while social distancing or from home. The DofE has provided useful advice and information, including activity and volunteering ideas, at dofe.org/dofewithadifference.

eDofE and the DofE app

Participants can create their DofE programme and record their progress using eDofE, the DofE’s digital system, available online at eDofE.org and through the DofE app – downloadable for free from Google Play and the App Store.

When your child enrols, we will set up their eDofE account and they will receive details of how to sign in and get started.

Signing up

The cost of taking part in the DofE is £43 per participant. This covers your child’s participation place and Welcome Pack, which will be sent to their home address and includes their personalised DofE Discount Card. This also includes a contribution to the schools DofE Licence Fee.

There will be an additional cost of £45 to take part in the Expedition section.