Bronze DofE £250 through school

[Allgoodfun]

DC has brought home the information to do bronze DofE, which school have offered for many years. However this year the price has suddenly rocketed from roughly £30 to £250. On top of that would be all the kit needed for the expedition - waterproofs, boots, sleeping bag etc.
Firstly, is this the normal cost now?
Secondly and more importantly to me, AIBU to think it's ruining the point of the DofE, instead of being open to everyone and so worth having on your CV, is it going to be yet another case of those who can afford it do and those who can't don't so meaningless to future employers/ universities etc?
Regular but nc incase it's only our school charging this amount

I’m not surprised it costs that much for a company to provide the training. It sounds like the previous low prices were subsided by staff giving up their own time at no cost and some LEAs covering part of the cost.

Scouts/Guides will again be no staff costs plus the accreditation will be covered by the county/national organisation and that will be paid for by the annual payments that all members of the organisations make.

If anyone thinks they can set up a company and employ people to offer DoE at less than £250 a head it looks like there would be a big market for it. Employing suitably qualified staff, doing necessary checks, getting appropriate DoE registration, including staff costs like national insurance, pensions, paying business rates, advertising, accounting costs etc and actually making a profit for your business and £250 would probably feel like the price you wanted/needed to charge.

teentimes that's a brilliant outcome for your dd.
I've been looking at it from Uni perspective as he is sure he wants to go to Uni, but that could change so it is worth looking at the other sides.
I think I'm right in saying school said there are places for 60 students to do it, but DS has the letter so can't check that.

I would suggest that you get in touch either with the D of E direct to find out if there are any award schemes being run near you or as I said before get in touch. With your local authority to see if their YPS run an open award.

It's also mostly at weekends which might cost more for staff.

I used to be a Explorer Scout leader and I was one of the ones who suggested joining up for the awards. I don't think it's cheeky - it's not like the kids can turn up for certain occasions only and get the award - if you're not an active and involved member then you won't be able to pass them as so many activities will tie into them.

I'm still volunteering for a different part of the scouting movement and I don't mind why parents send their children, it's what the kids get out of it that's the main thing.

What is mostly at weekends Wax? Most of the stuff the children do in their own time, it is only the actual expeditions that often have to happen at weekends and that accounts for 4 days max. Practice can be one or two days & the actual qualifying expedition is 2 days max at Bronze.

I can see why it's costing that amount through an outside company. My posting was more about whether this is the norm now and whether people thought it changed the whole idea behind the scheme and it's place on a CV.
It has meant that instead of him automatically applying to do it we have thought about it in this way"

Another point we have to consider, though irrelevant to my original post, is that DS is away all Easter on a school sports trip. The main expedition practice was at Easter until DS and friends pointed out that around 60 of the year group were on this trip, when they were told it would have to be the weekend after Easter then. I think that would kill them after a full on trip and no holiday time left at home over Easter.

Margo. That's 4 weekend days so far and then there is training to be done usually another 2 individual weekend days. So 6 days to pay for staff for each group.

And also Margo. I've already said I have one ds who's just finished gold and another just finished silver. I'm well aware of what the requirements are for each section thanks.

whether people thought it changed the whole idea behind the scheme

The idea that someone else should give up their spare time to facilitate your child's personal development and career prospects at minimal cost to you? Yes, it does change that. Is it a problem? No.

The same is still the same it's just that it's paid individuals that run it instead of volunteers. It's a shame that this might exclude people but unless people volunteer to do it for free (and school allows this in your case OP then the reality is that there is a greater cost involved.

I've just signed my year 9 daughter up. It cost £50 to include registeration, booklets and a compass, transport etc. Another £50 will be required when they do their expedition, kit is loaned out for free, any lost kit has to be replaced by parent. The school also employe a part-time co-ordinator on 25 hours a week. This also included presentation/award evening with refreshments, school is a state Grammar. I thought I'd was a bargain!

I don't think I said that you didn't know what the requirement for sections were Wax - not sure what that's about.

I just wasn't sure how you came to six days of weekend time that was all. For my DS at Bronze it was 2 days, as the practice was done using flexi days during the school week & DD it was 3 days, as she did one of the practice days on a school Friday and the rest was weekend time.

I appreciate that each school will do it differently, but it doesn't have to add up to 6 days - was all I was trying to say.

Our school doesn't give them time off if they can help it. Bronze all done at weekend including two training days. Silver they gave them a Friday or Monday off for either the practise or qualifying everything else must be done on weekends or during holidays. DSs Gold didn't get him any time off at all.

We are in Scotland so no campsites involved either. They wild camp but in bronze it's usually a farmer's field and he gives them a hose for water. The rest requires either carrying all your water or sterilizing it as you go.

barbarian I'm not sure if you're deliberately misinterpreting me or I'm not putting my point across very well. I ignored your first post but you're back. I'm meaning, as I've repeatedly said, that it makes it an exclusive activity for those whose parents can afford it. More so when you consider silver and gold will presumably cost more so the overall cost could come to around £1k. This to me, as I've repeatedly said, changes the way future universities and employers will look at it.
I have not once complained that I should have to pay for my DS to do something to further his prospects.

Notacooldad

It only costs £19 to register the participant. It costs an Operating Authority loads more to actually be able to run the programme and approve the kids' activities - hence why LEAs are ditching the cost, and leaving it to private providers who obviously have to recoup the cost of being an OA as well as make a profit.

Everyone seems to be ignoring that...

My DD did her bronze DofE and finished it last July. She did everything on time, but because many other kids were behind they have extended it another 6 months!
But at least we only had to paid a total of £100. We already had the kit as we regularly camp and walk.
But it really narked me that the teachers still haven't signed off her work. All because other kids were being lazy

We did have to pay quite a lot for it, but that was because it was an outside company running it. They got quite a lot for that, including the training sessions and a practice expedition (which seemed pointless as they effectively did it twice. When I did it back in the '80s we arranged our expedition, found a local farmer who let us camp in his field and found someone to check on us and sign it off. I think if you read what actually is said on the DofE literature it can be done independently its just that as it's something the school encourage its something that they organise.

This is what makes me sad billybagpuss. At Bronze it is essentially a two day walk in the countryside with an overnight in a tent and it feels like it is so over-managed sometimes. Maybe it is part of the whole health & safety thing gone a bit mad.

I’m not surprised it costs that much for a company to provide the training. It sounds like the previous low prices were subsided by staff giving up their own time at no cost and some LEAs covering part of the cost.

Me either.

As someone who ran it extra-curricular for 3 years and was an additional member of staff for another 4 years, all of our time was 'free', both on the 'teaching' side, practise expedition and real expeditions at weekends and all the admin.
It is a real eye opener to see exactly what time is 'worth' to a company charging for this (and it is almost certainly going to an outsourced company) and how much teachers often do for 'free'. Our £20 'fees' were to solely pay for the campsites...

At our school it's £200

Roly, why do they do a practise expedition out of interest? I've always found that a bit strange.
As you say it does show what teachers do for free as soon as a company prices it. Please don't think I was complaining that teachers weren't doing this, as certain pp seem to think.

As I understand it, the practice is supervised but the qualifying one isn't. It is to make sure that they know how to map read outside of the classroom, how the weight of the rucksack feels after a few hours, that they can light a trangia, raise a tent etc. They can still ask for help, whereas on the qualifier, they should do it all by themselves. The practice should set them up to succeed in the real thing.