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.

She can use the guitar as her skill - it doesn’t have to be something completely new. She just needs to set a specific goal that she wants to achieve within the time period.

My daughters both already played three instruments, so had no time to be picking up new hobbies for their D of E. They were able to use their existing instruments. Dd1’s goal was to learn to play a particular, challenging piano piece and perform it at our local Eisteddfod. Dd2’s was to pass her Grade 6 oboe.

Charity shops have said no because of her age. Like you, we thought it would be really good experience for her and she was keen to get experience for work.

Rainbows are part of Brownies.

My friend and I helped out the back in a charity shop steam cleaning the clothes - is that still an option?

Or, I feel like it might be possible to volunteer at school, helping with after school clubs for little ones or on the library maybe?

It's sweet that you want to help her but really part of D. Of E is about her being mature enough to sort this stuff herself (with the teachers' advice and guidance of course - has she spoken to them?)

I'll look into that. Thank you. The problem is that we have 2 park runs. I dont drive so both are the best part of an hour away. I'll definately look into it.

I don’t see why she can’t have guitar as her skill. She can’t count the lessons taken before she started DofE but any after starting DofE would be fine.

There are a lot of online courses for the skills bit. They are quite expensive though.

Could she learn to cook a new meal every week and take photos and get a cooking teacher at school to sign it off for her?

DS1 did his DofE during Covid so face to face volunteering was out. He did online volunteering with Zooniverse. For his skills he did art, following an online course on YouTube, and got one of his teachers to verify it.

Why is she getting home so late from school?

Rather than trying to do something through an organisation, can she do something a bit more self-driven? The child of someone on our street set up a food bank donation drive - they advertised on the street WhatsApp group, collected donations, and organised a rota to drive the donations to the food bank each week. I presume the food bank signed off on it for D of E purposes.

I know you think you’ve tried to volunteer at the library but volunteering to read to kids and volunteering to help with any tasks the librarians would like help with are two different things.
I shelved books in the public library for bronze and helped in a charity op shop for silver DoE.

TBH my daughter's skill was making the occasional cake and taking a photo of it and then one of her friend's mum's filled that section in saying she did a great job and I did the same for her friend...

She did everything else by the book, I'm just saying you can be a little bendy with the rules if needed 😬

She could cycle there?

My ds is doing litter picking as volunteering. He will just go out for an hour a week by himself or with friends. Proof is pics and something like strava map my walk screen shots.

He’s doing online chess as a skill, and tennis lessons (which he’s been doing for years) as his activity.

Honestly, I thought the exact opposite to you - it seems too easy!!

The local Sea Scouts (or some such) are the same time that she does Scouts (Explorers). All the other cadets etc are too far away to be practical because I dont drive.

Volunteering - litter picking locally and keep a record, photos of when she has done it.

My daughter did cooking as her skill. I suggested it because she could do it at home and therefore fit it around other commitments. She did a photo diary of everything she cooked and then gave samples to the person who was signing it off.

What about some kind of craft - knitting, sewing crochet etc. She could then bring it into school and get her form tutor to sign it off

Regarding the volunteering she is a young leader through guiding. Those that struggled to find anything (church, mosque, park run were all popular options) did it through school. The school provided opportunities such as helping in the library, litter picking etc

Admittedly she goes to a school that is very pro D of E and they get a lot of kids through every year.

For volunteering, lots of local kids do litter picking in their local area. For skills, amongst my kids they've done learning to cook new meals touch typing, leaning to make a stop motion video, leaning to knit. All signed off by various friends.

She said it has to be weekly.

This sounds like you’re over complicating things. It seemed very straightforward for our dc. They did use existing activities but set new goals to achieve for each level of his DofE, so for example Ds already played an instrument but wanted to progress to playing in an ensemble. His teacher was help to sign that off for his skills section after he had joined the group and progressed to performance level.

He was a member of a couple of sports clubs who were happy to have his assistance with younger age groups for his volunteering. What does your dd do outside of school @Frenchcremefraiche that could be used in the same way?

What about archery? I used to be club secretary for an archery club. We had DoE kids doing archery and volunteering with beginners' courses and our maintenance days keeping the grounds tidy.

Oh and just being nosey but why does she not finish school until 6pm and what's so sexist about Brownies?

First, the guitar can definitely count. It does not need to be a brand new skill, just needs someone (the teacher?) to sign off the lesson plus practice totalling an hour.

Activity, again,if you can find a willing person to sign it off it can be anything. My young person cycled an hour a week, tracked on map my ride and provided evidence to a colleague of mine who signed it off.

Ditto community. Again, my child contacted a local litter picking group who were happy for him to do an hour a week independently and the signed it off. What does she enjoy? What is local? What could work with some creativity?

It has always been onerous. I managed about three days of it in 1985.

I accept some people love it and am sure it provides a good range of skills and experience but I genuinely don’t know of a single person who has secured some opportunity or other as a consequence of having done it. Does it make any difference at all?

What's the reasoning for being so desperate to do it? I was in the scouts and could have done it, seemed a bit pointless to be honest, I enjoyed going to clubs/activities and did a bit of volunteering, I didn't need a badge to say I did it. My husband did his, I think it was just something to do, I'm not sure he even put it on his uni application. Seems a lot of faff unless she desperately needs it to get onto a course or something? Surely just having hobbies and doing a bit of volunteering does the same thing?

Ah, we’re quite urban, 5 within 10-15 mins! But we love Dof E vols and would gladly have 5 out 6 each week. Until 18 they need to do roles in the finish area so they’re not alone, but I prefer those anyway.

My eldest learnt Finnish on Duolingo for his skill! Niche I know but he could do it in his own time. He also did an hour a week in our local charity shop for the voluntary work.