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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

d of e - is the practice expedition compulsory?

32 replies

SileneOliveira · 04/03/2019 17:10

I am almost at the end of my tether over my DS's silver D of E. He is so disorganised, never passes on messages, it's me who is organising the parkrun, and the volunteering - feels like me doing the sodding thing and not him.

Anyway. He has today produced a crumpled note from his bag with proposed dates for the practice expedition during the Easter holidays. One of the set of dates works for us. However, if the other set of dates is chosen, we are out of the country on holiday. DS is unable to tell me whether he will be allowed to do the final expedition in June (canoeing, not hiking) without doing the practice. There are also separate basic canoeing, water safety and first aid training sessions which he will be able to attend.

School are asking for the money - understandable - but I don't want to fork out £250 for the practice and final expedition if it won't count.

And there's no sodding way he's doing Gold unless he sorts himself out.

OP posts:
notacooldad · 05/03/2019 07:28

Gosh, canoeing for DoE? Where do you live, anyway, that can fill 3x7 hour days with canoeing, and how do they transport all the stuff & keep it dry. Never knew not-hiking was an option.
The exped can also be done on horse back or bicycle. Those with disabilities can use a wheelchair.
Canoeing expeds are quite popular using canals.
With regard t funding it depends which us running the course. Doing it through our Young Peoples Services is very cheap.

lljkk · 05/03/2019 07:21

Are the staff who run DoE going up & down in motorboats? Ours drove around constantly checking on the (hiking) expedition, and had to be able to rescue the kids obviously. Are all the canoes doubles? Do the kids have to verify they can swim 200m or further before they are allowed? Is the minimum time out of camp each day still 7 hrs? What sort of bags do they have to put their stuff in, inside the canoes? What are their strategies for what to do if all of someone's stuff goes in the water?

Sorry, am genuinely intrigued. I reckon your DS's canoeing silver is worth a heap more than my DD's hiking silver was (!)

Original poster
SileneOliveira · 04/03/2019 22:50

Have had a clarification email from school - they will put him in the practice group which fits our dates.

We're in Scotland - many of the councils have an "outdoor education" department which have minibuses, canoes, tents and so on. So the council outdoor education officer will pitch up at school with his minibus and however many canoes, drive the kids up to the Trossachs and teach them the basics. I think the real expedition is on Loch Awe, which is 30 miles long and has islands in the middle. AFAIK they are starting at one end, finishing at the other and camping on islands along the way.

For the practice and real thing then they will also drive them and the canoes up in a minibus, then leave them to it. They are having weekly meetings at school covering things like first aid and route planning.

As for the cost - we are paying for it. But obviously not the whole cost of buying a new canoe, they equipment will be used all through the year by schools and groups across the council area.

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 04/03/2019 21:59

He has to do a practice expedition at Silver level, yes.

Canoeing is quite a common method of travel for DofE expeditions. All you need is a river! Ours have done expeds on the Wye, but our Gold groups go up to Scotland. Kit is carried in a waterproof canoe barrel.

lljkk · 04/03/2019 21:42

... and who pays for the canoes!? How did they get insurance for that? At least the route finding should be kind of easy, I guess.

lljkk · 04/03/2019 21:41

Beg/ask around to find another family that can host him for the days you're supposed to be on hols & he's not on expedition, if it comes down to him having to use those dates and him missing the hols.

I would also contact the DoE leader & whimper a bit about could they try very hard to use the dates that don't conflict with your hol.

Gosh, canoeing for DoE? Where do you live, anyway, that can fill 3x7 hour days with canoeing, and how do they transport all the stuff & keep it dry. Never knew not-hiking was an option.

BackforGood · 04/03/2019 21:34

Yes, they need to log both the practice and the assessed, on the eDofE record.

I understand some dc need - ahem - some 'support' with organising themselves, but you are doing him no favours if you are virtually doing it for him. He might not get it signed off if he hasn't demonstrated that he is doing it. Silver DofE should be of quite a high standard. He will need to report on what he has done for his presentation, and some assessors do the job better than others in terms of asking questions.