Dropping out of DoE award

[EauDeChlorine]

DD signed up to do her DoE award a few months ago. Unfortunately and without going in to specifics DD now strongly feels that she wants to drop out. (Her father has since become very unwell amongst a few other things) DD suffers from anxiety and feels the DoE and the commitment it takes is too much pressure. I have today approached the school, explained and asked if DD could withdraw and if I could get some of the monies we had already paid refunded considering no activities had started yet. Unfortunately all I got from the school’s finance department was “no, we don’t refund monies that have already been paid” and then when I asked for contact details of the relevant DoE department so I could contact them directly and see if they would be prepared to help the school didn’t want to provide that information either. I don’t think this question is unreasonable bearing in mind we have paid £250 and activities don’t start until June. If DoE don’t want to arrange the refund than so be it but at least I should be able to ask them.

Any advise greatly appreciated. Thank you

How much dd is doing her DofE bronze

£20 registration and the camping trip will cost no more than £20 either

They are ripping you off

EauDeChlorine Write to the school Finance Officer, copy in the School Governor and state that you will contact DOFE HO if they do not refund the costs that have not been incurred :

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Gulliver House, Madeira Walk, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1EU
T: 01753727400

E: [email protected]

It really does depend on the school . My ds is D of E organiser / coordinator at the school he works at and he’s doing it on a shoe string as the school is not in an affluent area and they are trying to be inclusive . He has chosen local places for the training and the actual weekend which has also made it a lot cheaper . I think the whole thing will cost the participants less than £50 . His have all started their volunteering and their other activities though so that the expedition is the final part to tick off the list . The problem with giving you money back will be that they would have to charge everyone else more to cover the shortfall and that’s not really fair when your dd has just changed her mind .

Who is actually doing the expedition training - your dd must know that, or she can ask other kids. If it's someone they don't know then it's obviously an external company - ask the school manager/bursar to tell you who. If it's a teacher then they're dong it themselves and you can ask how much they have paid out so far for kit, campsite etc. Again there will be a school manager or bursar who manages admin and finance staff - go to them, then the head.

I run DofE bronze for £130. However, that is entirely dependent on volunteers and not having to pay cover for staff or bring in external staff.

They may have already incurred costs for the trip in June. Other hidden costs are expedition team training, safety kit. It all adds up!

Ok thanks. Think I may try the HT tomorrow. I’m not getting any answers from the finance department or the person who is supposed to coordinate this at school. It’s like a hot potato being passed between the finance dept and the school coordinator.

Thanks all

I'm really surprised that your DD has been signed up for months and done nothing, it is possible to complete the whole of Bronze DoE in 6 months. I suspect that at least some of the reason your DD wants to drop out is that she doesn't have a clue what she is supposed to be doing and the whole thing is hanging over her, she knows she should be doing something but doesn't know what and how.

I'd be tempted to try and arrange a meeting with the HoY who runs the scheme, not about the money (to start with...otherwise they will fob you off again) but to find out what was supposed to be happening and whether your DD has missed activities. Tell the HoY you will be contacting the DoE if you aren't satisfied with the answers.

TBH I think the kids are supposed to "run" most of it themselves. The school sort the expedition but everything else is down to the students themselves.

My dd completed her bronze D of E recently. I can't remember exactly how much I paid but it was 8n the region of £30-£40. We had the option of purchasing equipment or providing our own and the price was the same either way. The school hired what was needed and the teachers volunteered. I would ask for an explanation of what on earth all that money is going on whether she does it or not.

Blimey! We paid £20 for DS to do Bronze DoE - we have been warned that there will be equipment costs but DS and his friends between them have been able to borrow all the tents, cooking stuff etc they need and he already had the hiking clothes and boots.

That said, is the school won't refund, she still has several years left to complete - will the school allow her to defer until next year when she may feel more able to cope with it? She could go straight to Silver if she wants to stay with friends who've done Bronze this year.

Can you not try and coax her through it? Dd did her bronze award a few years ago in very challenging circumstances and actually she found the volunteering a real tonic.

I agree with a pp that it sounds as though she's not done anything and is panicking.

At £250 it is hardly available to all and surely that goes against the spirit of D of E? Obviously with a low take up, that's exactly what happened!

However, mine did Bronze in Y10. So many do it now, it has little value except to the young person themselves. 50 years ago it was seen as exceptional, now it isn't.

If they won't refund (and it sounds as if they have contracted it out) could she still do the expedition, which is overnight then do the other parts in her own time, or not bother. The only limit seems to be to complete by 25th birthday.

DD is doing D of E through school for a similar cost. School contracts out to an external company who are professional outdoor tutors etc. Check your paperwork. For us it was emphasised that once you signed up you were fully committed for the cost and you HAD to attend the preplanned training days or you'd be disqualified. They said this several times and it was in capitals on the application form.

EauDeChlorine I wonder if you DD goes to similar school to our DS?
I ask because we paid a similar amount to you (our total might even have been slightly more...). I was totally shocked when I discovered that DN was only paying a fraction of that amount to do her DofE Bronze. The difference in cost was due to the fact that DS's school outsourced the running of the expeditions (and they did three in total including the final assessment one rather than two). Oh and they went quite far afield to do them (south coast) rather than a few miles down the road!

I am coordinating it for the 1st time this year. Because of non-school work I do at weekends (semi-pro music) I do not have the time or expertise to organise the expeditions. The school buys in all the training, suipervision and kit from a 3rd party. We have charged £170 this year which is £20 plus a bit of postage for the logbook/website and the rest goes to the external provider. I have had moans from parents that it is cheaper elsewhere, but when I ask them to come in and run it because I cannot do it all myself, they mysteriously shut up!

I had a limited number of places so they had to apply by letter or email stating an outline of what they proposed to do for physical, skills and volunteering. They started in October and some of them have completed 2 of the 3-month activities already.

The first £25 was non-refundable as I ordered logbooks and paid a deposit based on them. However, if people drop out and actually inform me, I can remove them from the external provider's books and we should not be charged for training or the expeditions. It may be worth checking that with the school.

There are a number of students higher up the school who still have parts to complete to get their bronze award. I have emailed them all today to encourage them to finish it off. However, they do have until their 25th birthday, so there is no mad rush.

Wow! Our school charged £80 for the expedition.it night have been £80 for each of the practice and actual expeditions, but even then, a long way off £250.

This is a school that completely farmed the expedition out to one of the companies that supplies the equipment and training. The kids took public transport to the expedition base, a train and bus, under their own steam.

DD1's school used to be very cheap for DofE . And then the teacher who ran it left and they have had to start using an external expedition company. It was either that or stop doing DofE at all. So we're now paying £330 for her Silver Expedition and I'm sure there will be no refunds, because they've already entered a contract with the expedition provider.

So to all those parents whose schools are offereing DofE very cheaply, it's probably because teachers are going above and beyond to run it on a voluntary basis. Be very nice to them!

My cadets pay about £10 for an expedition.I should probably hire myself out as an expedition assessor, by the sounds of it they make a fortune!

Remember that the activities do not have to be done all at once, you can do one at a time, and it is only 1 hour a week per activity.

Just posting an update. The school have requested a doctors note confirming DD suffers with anxiety so they can claim the money back from their insurance . Madness total madness.

Why is it madness , you wouldn’t just be able to call up holiday insurance and expect them to take your word that you’ve broken your leg etc they would want proof , it’s no different .

No because there are clear terms and conditions when you take out holiday insurance. An insurance company can’t just make the rules up as they go along like the school seems to do. Also plenty of kids with anxiety can go on school trips?

How is it madness? The trip is paid for. If you want to claim on insurance they are bound to want evidence.

I never said I want to claim on insurance and would understand losing the deposit as this may well be non refundable. The issue is the cost towards a trip she is not going to participate in which we paid months before the payment deadline which isn’t even due yet. At the time the payment was made there was no mention the money was not refundable. I think the NHS is busy enough dealing with sick people.