how important is DofE?

[DorothyL]

To give context -dd in year 10, quite academic, on course to get very good results at gcse. Plays two instruments and part of an orchestra inside and outside of school.

She could do DofE in the next 12 months but is quite reluctant - how much should I push her to do it?

DD is doing it through explorer scouts.

TBH it hasn't changed too much so far of what she has done. She was already doing voluntary work, has started playing netball and I am currently benefiting as her new skill is cooking a family meal once a week.

We haven't got to the expedition bit yet - that's in the next few months.

We have a couple of students a year completing bronze/silver with physical disabilities. There are adjustments made to the requirements. Discuss with the provider.

I don't think DoE is important for UCAS/CV's at all. The question should be how effective is DoE in motivating some young people who are unwilling to try new activities or volunteer.Use DoE as a method for developing some skills but there are other ways to achieve similar skills.

My DD had peer mentoring experience and regular exercise through a sport she liked so the DoE would not have benefitted her.On the other hand DSD was unkeen to volunteer for anything that didn't directly benefit her so DoE at least made her aware of volunteering.She did it reluctantly (only because friends did) so not sure it achieved the impact it should have.

DSD was told from an early age the need to get outside activities (with formal passes) for Uni applications however having now gone through the UCAS process she is shocked that Unis focus on her academics, not her Grade 4 piano:)

If you have a child with limited skills outside academics then its sensible to help develop other skilks. DoE could be that vehicle but a local activity/volunteering could also achieve the same result.
It is now very common and if the format/time invested works for your child then great but don't do it to tick a box.I think its better to focus on the individual development needs and match it according.

I agree DoFE is useful to get kids outside of their comfort zone, and to encourage them to continue with things like exercise or learning skills or volunteering that they might otherwise give up when GCSEs and A-levels loom. Certainly kept me swimming regularly.

My school encouraged it, but being a boarding school most people started Bronze just to get a weekend away from school. About 20 started Gold, but five of us decided we didn't want to be with the pervy teacher who ran it and joined the council-run trip instead. Which got discussed at many interviews until I was in my late 20s.

Gold also requires at least a week doing something away from home, which is also a useful experience. I ended up spending the whole summer after school doing youth work, and most holidays over my first two years at uni. Which likewise came up in interviews, for what I'd learnt about leadership and teamwork and Dealing with Difficult Situations.

Also if you've never been camping or hiking, you don't know if this will be the start of a great passion in your life!

Let me put it this way, i know not one person who's life has been affected by not doing it.
At school it was shoved down our throats as being really important for university applications, career etc, and i didnt do it, and guess what, the rest of my peers have not romped ahead of me career wise!
Waste of time, but i will add that getting a part time job and or voluteering long term will be much more helpful for ucas and future career.

Waste of time, but i will add that getting a part time job and or voluteering long term will be much more helpful for ucas and future career.

So your logic goes:
volunteering = good
DofE, which is volunteering and beyond = waste of time

I'd never even heard of DofE until I was at sixth form college. I didn't bother. Got a part time job instead!

Surely if she's already doing extra curricular activities, and she's academic, and she's not overly keen on doing DofE, then that's enough?

there are quite a lot of allowances which can be made for disabilities, depending on which level. DD did bronze carrying just a day bag for eg, and had someone walking with her for both bronze and silver. Gold has been trickier to manage, as she's had to carry a full rucksack, and can't have an extra person, it all has to be managed within her walking group. So they are GPS tracking her, and she needs to phone in once a day and confirm all is OK, that kind of thing.

But, there are lots of things which can be done, but needs to be dealt with at a local and county level (DDs scheme organiser has to get permission from his DofE boss for her adjustments).

I think it depends on how well universities and employers understand DofE. Doing DofE shows that the individual has taken it upon themselves to do something extra. It is easy to sign up to DofE, to actually complete even the Bronze award shows commitment and dedication. The point is that it is down to the individual to sort everything out. If you have to push them to sign up they probably won't complete it!