To think D of E is a massive swindle

[DofEswindle]

Namechanged in case DD sees this!

She's doing Duke of Edinburgh Bronze with the school for the bargain (hah!) price of £250. I thought everything would be included for that money but we've now been told they need to get a rucksack liner ("no bin bags!") and fancy Wayfarer meal sachets ("no pot noodles!") as well as being told we can hire sleeping mats, sleeping bags etc. if we don't have them.

It just feels like a massive cash-in by the company organising it and Go Outdoors etc to make as much money as they can from gullible parents (me). I assumed the kids would meal plan together and work out what supplies to bring but they've all been told to get special sachets of ready meals at £4.50 each ("no pot noodles" but they are basically posh pot noodles).

Surely D of E should be about teamwork and loving the outdoors not sending your mum to spend a fortune in a camping shop? We're not on benefits so couldn't claim any help from school but £250 is an awful lot of money to spend a night in a field.

Sorry but it’s amazing my kids have gained so much from the skills, volunteering and physical sections as well as the adventure ! Loads of bits on eBay or ask last years cohort to borrow stuff !

Yanbu !

Do you know anyone whose dc did it last year? I bet there are loads of second hand bargains to be had. When I did an ultra race with v specific kit requirements there were people selling it all as a job lot as one of those things you only really do once.

That seems pricey. I paid £45 for my child's night in a field! School provided tents and rucksacks, stoves. We supplied everything else. Which was fine as we're quite outdoorsy anyway, so had walking boots, sleeping bag, mat etc. What is the £250 actually for?

it’s amazing my kids have gained so much from the skills, volunteering and physical sections as well as the adventure

I know, the idea is great and I really want her to do it but the money required just seems ridiculous. And also unnecessary, sleeping in a field is pretty cheap!

What is the £250 actually for?

Very good question! Maybe I should ask the school

Ours wasnt that exoensive. It was run by teacher volunteers and there was some equipment available.

But the wayfarer meal sachets did raise an eyebrow for me too. What is wrong with a pot noodle.

My DS has just done it and part of the prep was meal planning as a team. There were definitely some pot noodles!
We were told to get rucksack liners, etc, but loads had plastic bags, etc and didn't fail.
We paid around £250 and I thought the whole experience was really well run and my DS enjoyed it a lot.
Not enough to do silver though, the big bag almost crushed him.

I bought rubble bags for dd instead of rucksack liners, the school said no bin bags but rubble bags were fine. The school provided the tent, rucksack and stove. Food wise they planned it themselves, dd took pasta and loads of snacks. We luckily had most things on the list and bought the rest in Mountain Warehouse who always have a sale on, plus the DofE discount.

My £45 got mini bus travel to and from the route they took. There were teacher volunteers (who O obviously thanked profusely for giving up their weekend to sleep in a field!). We supplied all snacks and food. Pot noodles were definitely consumed!

The government has spent so long running down teachers and teaching that few are willing and have the energy to give up their evenings and weekends for things like DofE any more. £250 is not an unreasonable amount to charge for a private company to run the expedition section of DofE.

It's is horribly expensive I agree. But the proper sachet meals are great, much more filling than a pot noodle and the packet are robust. Don't skimp on food.

Gosh that's terrible about posh noodles & rucksack liners.
DS is doing silver for about £70, teachers volunteering time to support which is amazing.

Actually you're reminding me I want to get some gifts for the teachers.

One thing with pot noodles is they are not v calorific and secondly they are almost impossible to eat if you don’t have hot water. The expedition meals do mix up with no hot water- they’re not delicious but they are at least edible if for some reason you can’t boil water.

Best high calorie expedition foods that are palatable and light and non perishable- Bombay mix and banana chips.

Local Indian shop or world food aisle at supermarket. You can get various curry type things in a sachet, foil packet for about a quid and they taste so much better.

I feel your pain and in the same boat. £295 to join the scheme. PLUS
£65 for 55l rucksack
£70 for walking boots
£40 for waterproof trousers
£11 for walking socks
£8 for head torch
£18 for mat under sleeping bag
£4 whistle
£1 for 2x long matches
We already had sleeping bag, waterproof jacket, warm clothes.

School has dozens of children on the scheme each year and I emailed to asked the school or PTA could hire/lend equipment to reduce costs and make more accessible to more children. No reply.

The overnight challenge is next week, but DC now decided that not going as… “not feeling it”. Great!

Ours cost similar, but we were able to borrow equipment from school and DC1 ate pasta and sweets!

I didn't think you had to pay to do it? Maybe for the costs of the expedition part. A sturdy binbag was always recommended in scouts and guides as an excellent waterproof rucsac liner. I think it is outrageous to expect children to buy expensive foods. I would ignore that and get cheap noodles and other food that you feel like it's only for 2 or 3 days they can go back to organic vegetables once they are home again. It is seeming to discriminate against people when the whole point and purpose of the award is to challenge people to better themselves and get out into the countryside, not be forced to spend money!

Ahh thanks for the tips! I will deffo invest in some rubble sacks and curry packets! I love banana chips but DD sadly not keen.

Mine all did via scouts & did all meal planning etc themselves, lots of stuff was provided by scout group & other stuff passed down by families who were done. It was substantially cheaper than our schools offering which was similar to yours & kids got sonmich more out of it than being spoon fed by school group

Pot noodles would not be accepted on DS's DoE, not even ultra posh ones. DS bought a huge bag of pasta yesterday. He may bring a salt sachet. He's got 2 days of porridge & lunch on 2nd & 3rd day will be cereal bars.

Fairly sure the nutritional content of expedition meals Vs pot noodles are different.

Are they camping in a field or at a camp site? How are they getting to/from their start and finish points? Is the school buying in expedition trainers? Contribution to tents, stoves, emergency kit, fuel for stoves?

Bin bags are no good as rucksack liners as they rip extremely easily. It's good they've told you that.

That seems excessive.

We paid £50 for bronze and £55 for silver.

At least you can afford it OP. I couldn't and therefore DS didn't do it. People were aghast! And I mean aghast that I had failed him so. He's fine. At university. Volunteers in youth work. He's done ok without it!

Guess the school are buying in external providers for the expedition. £250 will go towards paying for qualified and experienced outdoor professionals to train and supervise the young people 24 hrs a day during their training, practice and qualifying expeditions. The usual fee for a freelance outdoor instructor for D of E is £160 per day plus about £30 for each overnight responsibility. Very few schools have staff with the required qualifications to run it ‘in house’. Part of the money will go towards replacing the group kit. There is not enough nutrition in a pot noodle to sustain a person doing a hike. They don’t want them to feel miserable and get cold over night. It is also a condition if D of E that they prepare a substantial meal. Those wayfarer meals are the minimum in this respect.