Duke of Edinburgh scheme

[Welshmum2010]

Is anyone else’s child doing this ? I had always thought this was a sort of charity thing and was to encourage kids who wouldn’t have much oppertunity to be outside or do sports and activities. Turns out the cost makes it the opposite. It’s cost £100s for camping fees, registration and equipment. Also the sports element needs to be something that can be measured so there’s a cost for sports clubs. In my daughters school all the kids (as far as I can tell) are the ones who are already sporty or do other activities out of school. It’s a real shame as I thought it would be helping those who can’t afford these experiences usually.

Ds first chose of sport was karting but that would have run to more than £1000 so he was swiftly told to choose something reasonable.

@CarpetKnees surely years of school is getting a child out of their "comfort zone".
I just think it's the camping/expedition bit I find confusing.
The volunteering and being part of the community I understand the point of - the going on a random hike and having to camp I just find a strange requirement 🤷
@Pascha so if it's not the same as Scouts how is it done through the scouts? What activities are the Scouts who aren't doing DofE doing while the DofE ones are being done?

@Needmorelego the area Scouting organisation runs its own separate DofE section. Ds1s group consists of around 30 kids from an area covering two towns and several villages. His own scout group is not involved except his leader as support for his chosen activities.
The bonus of this way is that area scouts have lots of resources and people willing to supervise and advise.

@Pascha oh that makes sense.

@Needmorelego
The point about the hike and camping in planning and organisation. Sorting out what kit you need, how are you going to share out communal kit like tents, cooking stuff and food, finding your way and not getting lost.
Lots of skills involved if it's done properly

But they could get all those skills from organising a local festival or something?
I just think it's actually very off putting to those who aren't "outdoorsy".
But ... it's not compulsory and to be honest it's not even on the radar of many teens.

My eldest DD has just completed her Gold DofE. After bronze I didn’t think she would want to carry on but she did. She started volunteering two years ago and still does it even though she doesn’t have to. She really enjoys it and the volunteering job def helped with her getting a Saturday job. The expeditions improved her confidence and resilience. As to cost, I agree it isn’t cheap. But we borrowed what gear we could and the only thing we splurged on were some decent walking boots which have lasted all three expeditions. Loads of students try bronze which is great but not many finish through to Gold and I do think cost plays a part. Just to add she did bronze and silver through school and Gold independently. The last one was 50% cheaper by not doing it through school! Seems as though some schools add a mark up and keep the extra.

@Needmorelego

A festival isn't an expedition though is it.
If you don't want to do one fair enough.

But DoE is what it is. It's back to putting yourself out of your comfort zone. It's only a few days

And organising a festival is a whole different ball game, a lot more time consuming, would involve a lot of red tape, and probably incur a lot of cost.

I found it was significantly cheaper doing it through scouts / explorers than through school as the scouts had all the camping tents, stoves, navigation stuff etc anyway and also had the volunteers for the expedition whereas the school runs the expedition through an external party.

Mine wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to organise a local festival. The expeditions are totally up my kids street though. It's their favourite part, the final expedition is the cherry on the cake at the end, reward for the hard parts. Ds is not a natural volunteer and found it quite hard at first learning to self motivate but he's really come into his own this year and getting to hike and camp in a group away from adults and making their own plans has been great for his self confidence and resilience.

And organising a festival is a whole different ball game, a lot more time consuming, would involve a lot of red tape, and probably incur a lot of cost.

And probably a lot of things that u-18yos cannot legally do. Getting licences, insurance etc.

@HonoriaBulstrode One teacher has it as part of their job description and organises parent volunteers. Local college did it that way and ran 6 - 8 groups of pupils for gold award exhibitions. Some of the pupils had not done bronze or silver.

A festival was just a suggestion.
Maybe just a church fête then?
But if it's about learning new skills and gaining confidence - fête or hike... they are both likely to be something new for teenagers.

@Ted27 but it's not "just a few days" though is it?
Doesn't it take a couple of years to complete?

@Needmorelego

The expedition is only a few days.

Yes but it surely takes lots of planning and seems to be where the expenses come in (buying/hiring equipment).
Whenever there's a thread on here about DofE it always seems to be about this expedition part - like it's the main thing you have to do as part if it. But now you are saying that bit is just a few days?
I probably sound like a broken record saying this but if a teen is into this type of stuff wouldn't they join the scouts or similar?

The walking part of the expedition is just a few days. There is a longer period of planning the route and what you will take with you. Sensible people also do some walking before the actual expedition to make sure their boots are broken in. Mine did practise expeditions, I cant remember if they were compulsory or not.

They need a good pair of walking shoes. Most other things can be borrowed or shared with their group to cut costs. Some schools outsource the expedition and then it can be expensive. And some parents pay for expensive expeditions if their children dont like the idea of that bit so some expeditions can be taken overseas.

You dont have to be into that sort of thing to do DofE - most people will be outside their comfort zone on at least one of the sections.

@anyolddinosaur I think it just sounds a very expensive way of getting someone "out their comfort zone" so will be completely unattainable for many teens 🙁

@Needmorelego Some people choose to spend a lot of money. It does not have to be expensive and it can be very beneficial for your teenager. But it isnt compulsory to do it.

I hate to see people put off by suggestions that it's "expensive" because it did a lot for my teenager - it doesnt have to be expensive and there is help with the costs for those who most need it.

Dd is now on silver (final expedition in July) and it has been a commitment but has learned some useful things from it so it has been worth the £400 or so cost.
Most importantly committing to six months of volunteering on a Saturday morning which she really enjoyed. It's taught her to be more organised too.

She's enjoyed the expeditions as likes camping anyway.

They should definitely offer hardship funds for those who can't afford it.

We've been very lucky that the school has run it themselves so I think we've only paid about £100 - had to buy hiking boots but the school lent the kids tents and cooking equipment to share.

My daughter is currently doing Gold through cadets and loving it. Doing her bronze and silver have helped teach her teamwork, planning, resilience and given her more confidence. Doing it through cadets has meant the cost is kept very low and we’ve hardly had to buy any equipment just clothing, sleeping bag and good walking boots which will last anyway. Most of the cost has been to cover transport and camping fees. Tents, kit bags, cooking equipment is just reused by the next group. She’s had a lot of fun, met new friends, learnt new skills, how to plan and gather evidence, and to read and navigate with a map! She’s loved the volunteering too and there is plenty of opportunity to do this with all the events that cadets are asked to help out with.
I am very grateful to the adult volunteers at her unit who run the scheme and give up their time to help the cadets from all different backgrounds. It doesn’t suit everyone but personally our experience has been great.

@Needmorelego - both of my DC found that the expedition element really stretched them. It starts months before the actual expedition with menu planning, learning to pitch a tent, use the stoves, get kit lists together without spending £££, coordinating who would bring and carry what equipment, first aid, map reading skills.

Then on the expedition they are ‘tech free’ for several days and navigating independently as a group. Learning how to get on with others for an extended period, put up with the moaners, the bossy ones, the ones that didn’t really do enough training beforehand… Looking after each other, encouraging those that are struggling, not letting the team down. Having to solve their own problems as they go along.

It’s a tough couple of days and they learn a lot. Yes, teenagers could probably gain these skills elsewhere but the expedition has been a ‘tried and tested’ element of DofE for many, many years.

My son is doing Bronze through Scouts at the moment. All we have paid so far is the DofE £28 fee plus I think £10 for food etc for the expedition. Plus we had to buy him some gear but a decent rucksack, hiking boots and sleeping bag will be useful (and he’s already used them again for scouts stuff). It’s not been very well organised compared to how it is for his friends doing it through school, but then again, a lot cheaper and actually it’s making him take responsibility for organising himself a bit. He’s doing a sport which has free local training for teens at the moment for his physical, and an after school club for his skill. Volunteering is the only problem right now as he’ll need to do that for six months as he can’t do either of the others for six months, and he’s not started it yet. He’d like to volunteer at parkrun but he runs it every week and so can’t get his hour of volunteering in as well. He’d like to help with cubs but that clashes with the sports club. That finishes next month though so he may just have to start with cubs in September.

If your DC joins Scouts or Guides they have this equipment and you can do the expedition with them. Sport just needs to be a regular commitment. Park Run is absolutely free for DC and is run every week. You could get someone there to sign it off for your DC. Skills don't have to cost much either. My Foster Son learned to play chess as his skill. He did his DofE during COVID and he had arranged to help out at volunteering for disability cricket every Saturday but this was cancelled and he had to do socially isolated litter picking in the community and DH had to follow him around making a video of him doing it each week and the huge pile of litter he had at the end.