Urban DofE: does such a thing exist?

Also how did she manage on her silver?

If she can’t be away from you for more than 1 day how will you manage the residential part?

This isn't true. Maybe the company you found to do it with are imposing their own rules. But you have until aged 25 to finish any section

You can't just camp in a random park or by a canal. You have to camp in a proper designated area

Why not try doing a bronze expedition
.it's just one night. My local school walks from school to the next town over fields and sleeps in a rugby club field and then walks back again. So they aren't out in the wild of nowhere.

And who is going to organise and supervise that? Who is going to stop her having any of them having a drunken dip in the canal..........?
Honestly........ joining an already organised group and trip would be so much easier.

I know you said she didnt manage to complete Bronze. Has she got Silver? Cos if not there is no way she can just jump into Gold imho.

I think she needs small goals that she can achieve independently.
Look for orienteering routes near you if that's what she is interested in - they are free & good fun. You could do them together & then progress to her doing them alone. There are some in urban areas too. Employers would be more interested in someone with a hobby that they have sustained, enjoyed & progressed in. I employee many teenagers & couldn't give a toss whether they have done DofE!

Pushing her to do DofE Gold is setting her up to fail & will just damage her confidence further as she won't be able to complete it & will be a horrible experience for her.

She needs to find what she enjoys - if that's couch to 5k, crochet, art or whatever let her find something she enjoys rather than something that 'looks good'

@paulinepolos I remember all your previous threads. I don’t know what the answer is but trying to sign your DD up for quite ambitious things she doesn’t actually want to do doesn’t solve the fundamental problem you have of an unmotivated teenager who drinks too much and seems to have a bazillion excuses about why she can’t a do stuff, all of which you seem to accept with no question. How is her life being funded beyond you providing food and board?

And a very large part of a DofE expedition is navigation, using a map and compass. Obviously walking straight along a canal wouldn't meet that criteria.

It's not just about walking for 8 hours a day for four days. It's about doing something really challenging, navigating in an unfamiliar environment and working as a team.

OP I remember your other thread.

Your (or rather your daughter’s) expedition needs to be assessed by proper DofE channels and meet specific criteria. They will have to camp / stay in safe venues (ie not along a tow path or public park). Parents (or any adult who is not one of the expedition supervisors) are not permitted at all.

Focus on building your daughters confidence in engaging with a community offering for DofE, through which she will hopefully plan and prepare for the expedition with a group, gel and trust that group.
Failing that, recognise that the point of DofE isn’t completing the award, but rather building the habit of an activity, volunteering etc - if your daughter did and enjoy that then continue that and derive satisfaction from that?

I agree with a PP that the Kings Trust might be an additional / alternative way to build skills and a network. The fixation on DofE really seems to be causing you a lot of anxiety.

Didn’t you post about this before? Wouldn’t you be better focusing on her resitting her GCSEs?

You said you live in Liverpool. There are lots of other resources out there both activity based and mental health support.

https://www.kingstrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/england/liverpool-centre

https://www.priorityouth.co.uk

https://www.ypas.org.uk/get-support-landing/

Im so shocked that a canal can count as an exhibition for d of e that I googled it...This is from the website

"The group’s team goal will guide their choice of an appropriate environment for their expedition. Whether the expedition environment is rural or urban, the environment can be made more challenging by choosing a location that is unfamiliar, more remote, and more challenging to navigate in"

The exhibition is supposed to be progressively challenging ...Surely the canal local to you, that your daughter has walked up and down does not count as unfamiliar or difficult to navigate??

IMO it would the height of irresponsibility to put other teenagers in a position where they might be having to take care of a drunk person who has smuggled booze in when they are a long way from any help.

Kings trust would be a great organisation to get involved in to help her get a job

Surely if you are concerned that she won’t be able to keep off the booze at night, it would be better if she was up a mountain where there is no alcohol.

You could become qualified as an assessor for dof e.

But you would be far better off putting your focus and energy into getting her basic qualifications and/or a job. Can she get a job where she volunteered?

It’s called giving bad advice. I’ve seen it a lot on here, pretty common.

It's called learning by doing. Or taking responsibility.

I have seen people do amazing things against all odds. You never know.

You keep asking the same thing, and don't like the answers.

1. There are adaptive dofe but you don't want to do them.

1. None of the companies offer gold dofe in an urban environment because there is no demand.

I suppose that you could contact dofe organisation and ask for help. But you need to accept that what you want isn't what dofe gold actually is

Obviously? It’s not like either of us are making her do anything. Suggesting she might be able to
organise her own expedition is a bit disingenuous though when you think she’s got no chance

Her choice isn't it?

Having seen her threads and posts, she’s clearly not going to realise that. She’d be better off focusing on her daughter and supporting her in doing something that’s suitable for her needs and ability.

Yes.

OP could learn what is required for this kind of trip. I am sure she could learn a lot about the dofe expeditions and the ideas behind them.
You can really benefit a lot from getting to know things training to lead a project like this.

It would be great wouldn't it if OP could arrange a trip that was suitable for her daughter and other girls in accordance with and approved by the organization behind it?

OP might realise that it isn't done the way she thinks - but would understand why or why not it is not a thing a for her daughter to persue.

I'm amazed that walking along a canal could even be classed as a D of E exhibition. Where is the different experiences, navigation and map skills when having a stroll along the canal?

Does your daughter actually want to do this, or is it you that wants her to do it?

You feel like completing D of E will improve her future, but what does she think? It sounds like hiking isn't for her, and thats ok...she has done amazing to do the volunteering, skill and sport, why not focus on continuing with those things, without the obsession with the Gold award? Those kind of long term commitments look good in a CV without the award