To be frustrated by DofE requirements

[Frenchcremefraiche]

My daughter has just turned 15 and is trying to complete (well, START tbh!) her Bronze DofE.

On paper it's fine: learn something and do some volunteering.

In reality it's really, really hard! All suggestions appreciated!

There are so many exclusions to the skill requirement. She doesnt get home from school until 6 which limits evenings. Not that there are many lessons/groups after school anyway. Then there are so few activities that count as a skill on the weekend. Anything vaguely "sporty" doesnt count as a skill even if it's something she's never done before and is going to classes to learn it (eg ice skating). She's been doing online guitar lessons but because she started those before DofE, they dont count. There is a minimum hours requirement and Ive found a few in person classes but they arent long enough. It needs to be something in person because it needs to be signed off so teaching herself or doing something at home wont count.

Then volunteering, because of her age, very few places can help. Any informal groups that are willing to take her want a parent present because they cant take responsibility for her / arent DBS checked etc which I get but obviously she doesnt want me hanging about. It has to be a regular thing so she cant organise eg an afternoon litter pick. Plus she needs someone to sign it off anyway. She looked at helping at a local beaver/scout group but one said no and the other has her ex boyfriend helping so she said no. In her naive 15year old way she wont help at brownies because they are "sexist".

Any suggestions on what she can do? She's on the verge of having to quit because she cant meet the requirements.

Tbf, no one here (and possibly even the OP) doesn't know the exact conversation that took place.

Is the daughter continuing with playing the guitar or is she just hoping she can use something she's previously done?

There was a referencto made earlier to the school saying that time spent already doing something doesn't count, which sounds to me more like the daughter was hoping to count the time she's already spent learning it rather than wanting to continue with it.

Some people just look for easy options/answers and given her reluctance to consider any of the volunteering suggestions too, I'd say the problem is more likely to.be with the family than the centre.

@Frenchcremefraiche Im not sure what type school your daughter is at but my eldest did reading to the Yr R and Yr 1 children at her all through school. Might that be an option?

Clearly, she has not double checked the actual DofE website - its very very clear there that online stuff does count, that ongoing lessons to meet a new goal would count..

I suggest you both look at the website together, then approach whoever is running this and find out why on earth they're spouting total shite about it!

I agree! Honestly if participants are busy and have long school days and other activities then the scheme is probably not for them. My own dc were already of the mindset; fit, enjoyed learning new skills and already did dog walking for the local rescue centre and it gave them lots of opportunities to do new things. Plus they were seasoned campers so the expeditions were hard but enjoyable.

A pp mentioned cost, our gold expeditions were £90. Shop around as a local school's equivalent (a trip to Europe) was £800. Not fair!

My DD is volunteering in the school library. She is doing horse riding and dog training for her skill/physical activity. All are being signed off by different teachers at her school.

My daughter was permitted to use piano as her skill and has been learning for years. She just had to improve.

This may have already been mentioned but I'd recommend volunteering at your local parkrun there's regular parkrun on Saturdays and many junior parkruns on Sunday mornings. Our local parkrun always has lots of DofE volunteers and there are many different roles to try.

It’s a shame she has discounted brownies. We’ve had some lovely young people come through the group I volunteer at who have stayed on to do their leadership qualifications etc. I volunteer at both scouts and girl guides and have found girl guiding to be the more inclusive and I know we cover diversity and human rights far more than we do at scouts.

I say this mainly because the board of trustees and the management at my scout group are full of very privileged white men and tbh if it wasn’t for my children attending I’d have jacked in the volunteering as watching them pat each other on the back makes my skin crawl. They don’t interact with the children at all and just urgh. When I made a suggestion about trying to get vulnerable children to join as they would love it one of them scoffed. Just gross.

Are you sure guitar doesn’t count? DD did piano for her DofE, and she was already learning piano before she started DofE.

For volunteering for bronze she did writing letters to elderly people living on their own which was done through an organisation, and for gold she did litter picking which she did through a local organisation. (Her skill at gold was learning to drive, so that’s no use to you sorry)

Skill- cooking at home- take pics- teacher signs it off.
volunteer- can she help out with younger children at school eg maths club etc

Tell her that Brownies aren’t sexist. The Guiding movement was given the opportunity to admit boys, but decided not to because there are, both in this country and around the world, girls who would not be allowed, for religious or cultural reasons, to join a mixed sex group. So they are actually putting the needs of girls first. If she’s still bothered, she can volunteer at Cubs-the Scouting movement went mixed sex at the same time.Largely due to plummeting rolls.

My daughter volunteered at the local library on Saturday mornings.

My son did his skill part with an online cooking company (there are lots linked on the DofE website). Each week in his own time he followed the online link and made the dish for that week, took a photo, got emailed feedback and then all signed off by them at the end of 13 weeks.

He helped at his primary school after school club for the volunteering part.

@Frenchcremefraiche

Its really hard isn’t it. I wonder if you are from the same school as my DC who is also battling to get the DofE coordinator to accept volunteering aspect.

My DC volunteered in the school MFL club, but suddenly it wasn’t going to be acceptable to the coordinator. They have until the end of this term to complete the volunteering part, the walk and camp has been completed.

I heard from a staff member that their DC was doing volunteering in the after school club in their dept and now that’s not allowed as the parent is HOD. Even though nothing to do with signing it off, that had been delegated to a colleague.

Im sure DofE out of school is easier to forfill the volunteering aspect of the award. Seems the school coordinator has a problem to me. I’ve emailed asking for clarification and got a rude response.

She definitely doesn't have to start a new skill. It sounds like the person organising it has misunderstood the requirements because it quite clearly says here https://www.dofe.org/do/your-dofe/ 'you can develop a hobby you already love', and my kids have done exactly that. Volunteering is really tricky below 16 - my DD did find a charity shop that would take them from 14 (and as a result they were inundated, as most won't!)

Our local parkruns all have DofE volunteers. I think they would struggle sometimes without them. They have to be supervised but it can be any adult and you are just told on the day that the other person is under 16 or 18. Just 8:30 to 10 ish on a Saturday or Sunday if it's a junior one.

DofE is pretty pointless these days, I would just not bother. Far too much hassle

Well, it’s completely pointless if your’re doing it for UCAS purposes. Not if it’s for self development.

Completely misses the point of the scheme...

Few things: I’m a DofE leader and know the requirements in and out.

There are a few inaccuracies in the information you have. Whether that’s because her leader is being overly strict, or because she’s misunderstood, I can’t say. But the DofE requirements are pretty clear!

First: things started before she began DofE can count. There is no requirement to start something new at all, so her online guitar lessons do count. She can put her start date back as far as the beginning of the school year in which she turned 14, so if she’s done a few months of them she may just be able to get an assessor report any time now.

Second: things don’t have to be in person at all. The young person should agree with their assessor what evidence will be required. A written log of what she’s done, photos, screenshots, etc are all acceptable as long as the assessor is happy with them. The assessor can be any adult who she’s not related to - I often suggest form tutors or a relevant teacher at school (food tech teacher if they’re learning to cook, for example) and have had over 300 Awards approved in the last few years so it’s definitely okay.

Third: litter picking is a great volunteering activity, and does not have to be an arranged activity. She can just go and do it at a time that suits her. See above for evidence etc. that would be required. Photos, a written log. Whatever the assessor will be happy with. DofE have even made a log she can use: https://www.dofe.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Activity-Log.pdf

Happy to DM if you have more questions. It’d be a real shame for her to quit if she’s keen. Sounds like her leader is just being a bit overzealous!

These may have been suggested but for skills my DCs friends are doing the following - cake baking, cooking lessons, Duolingo, training to be a referee and for volunteering, helping at sports clubs or brownies/scouts.
It isn’t that hard really, hopefully they find something they can do.

They do admit boys who say they are girls. It's not really single sex any more.

Has she contacted her local churches? They may be able to find her some volunteer work, or she may be able to accompany an adult volunteer.

My eldest DD has completed her Gold DofE this year, we felt the same at the beginning with the volunteering requirements. She settled on helping out in a local charity shop for two hours a week every Sunday and three years later has just finished there as she enjoyed it so much. Her friends have helped out at Parkrun, Brownies, after school clubs ( helping younger pupils), visited the elderly in care homes. It’s not easy but it only takes one place to say yes.
For skill she was learning piano so that worked but one of her friends approached the school chef and asked him to try her homemade food creations once a week.
It’s doable but you do have to hunt out the opportunities. Hope she finds something.

Does she even want to do it?