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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

DofE expedition with a broken arm?

17 replies

Lemoncurd · 19/06/2017 23:10

Is it possible? Can't find anything on the DofE site.

Have just found out that DD has a small fracture to her (non dominant) arm. She has her bronze expedition this weekend. She has been given a sling and told to take painkillers (she won't) and told it would heal itself. Have been given a fracture clinic appointment, but not until next week.

Raised it with the doctor, who thought the walking wouldn't be an issue, but it would be too painful to carry a rucksack over the distance.
The injury happened at the weekend, but she carried her school bag around all day today so she thinks she would be able to carry provisions for each day if we could arrange transport for the rest of her kit. Seems such a shame for her to lose out when she has done everything else towards the award.

OP posts:

olympicsrock · 19/06/2017 23:17

It's a bad idea. She should wait til her arm has mended then do it properly.

DancingLedge · 19/06/2017 23:23

Not really fair on the others in the team.

DancingLedge · 19/06/2017 23:26

Determined kids will do a lot with a broken bone. One of mine seriously wanted to continue playing rugby!

Being a grownup you will of course not be swayed by arguments that they should be allowed to do activities with a broken bone that could ultimately affect how that bone heals. Which they will have to live with for years.

Wolfiefan · 19/06/2017 23:30

Contact the school or the D of E approved company arranging the trip. May be possible. Shame to miss out. It would not be a case of do it in a month or two. Depends whose running it.
Not sure if gear could be transported. But carrying any rucksack with a sling? Putting up tent etc? And what if she fell?

katonic · 19/06/2017 23:33

It's a bad idea, as an assessor I would be checking that each team member was completing the expedition independently, so no external transport of kit allowed. If her kit was redistributed to the rest of her team and she just carried a small amount then possibly, but it's not really fair on the others. She'll also struggle with making camp and her sleep might be affected on hard ground with a broken arm. I'd say it's a massive shame but she would have to see when the next bronze qualifying expedition is so she can do it when she's healed.

Syc4moreTrees · 19/06/2017 23:37

Bronze DofE is basically just walking a couple of miles on paths so should be fine :)

PerspicaciaTick · 19/06/2017 23:46

It depends. What level is it? Is it a practice session or an assessed expedition? Are they camping or youth hostelling? What are they expected to carry each day, is it just day packs or full kit?

Floggingmolly · 19/06/2017 23:53

It's slightly more than that actually, Syc

hellsbells99 · 20/06/2017 00:06

My friend's DS did this last year. He was allowed to just use a day sack and carry provisions he needed during the day. The rest of his gear was transported to the camp. You need to contact his DofE leader. My DD was also allowed to carry a reduced load due to a physical condition.

senua · 20/06/2017 10:30

They can do DofE with disabilities so they might be able to with minor injuries
But:
What's the worst that could happen. You have to make the adult decision for your DD. It's your call, not hers.
It also depends on the local organiser - they are human, and some are more adaptable than others.
Ask your DD to think of others - is she being fair on the organiser or her teammates?
You don't have to have the Bronze to continue to Silver.

Syc4moreTrees · 20/06/2017 10:38

flogging I think it's a three hour walk for two days with an overnight camp on paths that the kids know. It's not really mountaineering. My DS did it with his little scout troop last year and they just had a walk about the forest.

RedHelenB · 20/06/2017 11:51

Kit can be carried in the van under certain circumstances so contact the d of e leader and talk it through with them. Hope she managed to do it!

whojamaflip · 20/06/2017 12:05

My Ds did his bronze earlier this year with a broken thumb! I left it up to school and the assessor to make the final call - they were happy to let him carry on but warned me that I needed to be on standby should he need collected early.

iirc there was one with a broken arm on the silver expedition and their kit was transported to camp for them - think they said it was an allowance made for a physical impairment so she was allowed to complete the walk with just a day sack.

Syc4moreTrees · 20/06/2017 15:05

If you think about it they'll only really have day packs anyway for such a short trip, and the others in the group could probably split the tent parts and cooking stuff between their bags pretty easily. I think when I did my bronze we had a group of 7 and all carried a tent pole each Much different for our three man gold expedition with full packs

I say since its a minor break there really shouldn't be much issue, just maybe strap it tightly to avoid any painful knocks?

lalaloopyhead · 20/06/2017 15:11

My DD did a training weekend (real expedition in a couple of weeks) and it was definitely more than a couple of miles on a path! They had to plan their own route, and although they used footpaths this was over fields etc. They walked 10 miles on the first day and 12 miles on the second and had to carry all their provisions and equipment, including their tents, stoves, emergency shelter, first aid kit etc crammed into fairly sizeable rucksacks.

I think any of her group would have struggled to carry any more, but maybe their is special provision for those unable to carry their own equipment. I would speak to school to see if they can accommodate.

WhatHaveIFound · 20/06/2017 15:56

On her training weekend DD walked 11 miles the first day and 6 on the second day so not an easy task with a fractured arm. However one of the girls on her team was unable to carry her rucksack so another girl carried two on the second day.

I would check with the school to see if her gear (apart from a day pack) would be transferred for her.

Original poster

Lemoncurd · 20/06/2017 23:40

I haven't had any response from the school myself (sent a message to the co-ordinator yesterday) but my daughter has said that the expedition organisers are happy for her to take part and that her main bag would go in a van with the leader's equipment.

She has camped/hiked/cooked on trangias etc many times and is pretty independent, experienced and knows what to expect, so I do think the impact on the others would be minimal. We had a chat about which things she might struggle with, if/how they could be mitigated and what she could do to help others in the group out instead.

I was being a bit over dramatic using the term 'broken arm', the fracture is small and right at the top of the bone.

We do trust her to make a balanced decision so if the expedition leaders are happy for her to take part then we are prepared to support her.

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