Gutted...dd dropped out of d of e expedition due to depression.

29 replies

malificent7 · 10/06/2022 11:42

She was working towards her bronze d of e expedition and doing so well despite suffering anxiety and depression.
On her practice expedition she had a panic attack and her friend was horrid to her so she has refused to go on this one.

I'm gutted for her that her mental health is destroying her goals. Her therapist says she's depressed.

OP posts:

12Thorns · 13/06/2022 06:10

sickofthisnonsense · 12/06/2022 18:11

I'm a DofE supervisor so I know what time is involved.

I just don't think that it should be in schools.

The basic tenants of the expedition is minimal outside interference while on The expedition. How is camping with them and monitoring their behaviour all night minimal?
It isn't.
If they want to stay up talking and mucking about until 2am then they learn how hard it is to walk 5-6hrs the next day.
This kids doing DofE with schools around me are not being given the ideal experience. I say this having seen 100's of kids doing DofE through various providers over the last 20 years.

Barely any training, the actual expeditions heavily supervised by teachers or else not real expeditions with covid still being used as a get out.
One school has them carrying one burner cased camping stoves rather than teaching them to use trangias. They are only doing one day of walking and have no idea about the 20 conditions.
Kids come to me with silver DofE awards who can't use a compass or locate themselves on a map.
They get away with it because the supervisor can be the assessor for bronze.
Just look at other DofE threads where parents pack the bags and plan the food.
It's pointless and not what the award is about.

Did you not notice I said 3 weekends? That’s two weekends training. How can you simultaneously complain we don’t do training and we do too much?

and yes, there are outside providers. Any within 100 miles of us insist on being staffed with school staff AS WELL as paying for the outside provision

DistrictCommissioner · 16/06/2022 13:51

Thank you to school staff who give up their time for all these sorts of things - it really is appreciated.

pleased & surprised though as my DD isn’t camping & hasn’t had any of her training walks for her D of E - assumed this was across the board post Covid? It does feel like a lot less of a challenge for them the way her school is doing it.

Beamur · 16/06/2022 14:00

She can defer.
It's a positive choice sometimes to know it's not the right time to do something.
DD has recently done the expedition, she's a seasoned camper both with us and with Guides/Rangers and has bivouacked and is physically fit. She found the expedition hard going.
Her school outsource it to a private company, with one teacher overseeing the process. It was very expensive to sign up for if you have to pay for hired in assessors and leaders.

Bixlepie · 17/06/2022 15:56

Don't worry about your daughter missing/deferring this. As posters above said, if the health issue was physical, there's no way she'd be going. My ds loves all this stuff, hill walks for fun and I'm still spending every minute hoping he's ok and not lost/heat stroke /starving. There is no way I'd be happy him going if he had any health issues, mental or otherwise.

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