Download - Duke of Edinburgh Managers Handbook
BSIX MANAGER’S HANDBOOK
Essential guide for running the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award
April 2015 – March 2016
Physical: 1 hour a week Any activity which makes you feel healthier.
You don't need to be super fit or Olympic
standard to achieve this section
Skill: 1 hour a week You can choose almost any hobby or activity you
can think of and focus on getting better at it.
Ideas Individual / Team sports
Martial arts
Dance
Fitness / GYM
Trampolining
Something else:
Ideas Performance / Creative arts
Music
Games & sports
Life skills
Media & communication
Something else:
Volunteering: 1 hour a week Your chance to make a difference,
In your community or to the environment.
Ideas Sports Ambassador
Community action and raising awareness:
Working with the environment or animals:
Helping a charity or community organisation:
Peer Mentoring:
Something else:
Expedition: Highs, Lows, Laughs Memories… You’ll experience
them all and you plan, train for and complete
your adventurous camping trip.
Now the Adventure begins…
They decide!
Students create their own programme by
picking…
ONE activity from each of the following sections.
Participants should identify an assessor for each activity (eg, football coach, drum teacher)
who can monitor their progress and write a very brief report at the end of it. If an obvious
assessor isn’t available for the section, consider how a DofE leader or member of staff can act
in this role.
Timescales
Volunteering Physical Skills Expedition
3 months 3 months 3 months Plan, train for and undertake a 2 day, 1 night expedition. All participants must undertake a further 3 months in the
Volunteering, Physical or Skills sections.
Engagement of initial Award participants:
Sign up for all interested in doing the award—First week of Autumn Term (Sep)
First meeting of interested students —Second week of term (Sep)
Students enrolled onto programme— Third week of term
Secondary student engagement — Freshers Fair (2nd Week Sep)
Second meeting of interested students— Week following freshers Fair
Note: To increase reach of interest, get info attached to staff bulletin and have ‘All Staff’ Mailout
authorised—Mainly aimed at tutors.
Weekly Consultation
Set a meeting for once a week to liaise with the participants, this will be for the purpose
of helping them find their places in each activity—Attempt to get the first set of
participants enrolled onto their activities by mid Oct. This gives them enough time to
finish before the year end deadline. 31st March
Meeting time should be during a morning break to avoid conflict with teaching
timetable.
Take this time to check up on any external places participants will be doing their
activities (call or email). Uphold college safeguarding policies
This is also a networking opportunity for participants to share ideas, get feedback from
each persons experiences and know who they’ll possibly be on the expeditions with.
Additional Involvement
Staff assistance
At the beginning of the Autumn term (August) ask staff if there is anyone willing to get involved with
supporting the DofE, then also find out if they are qualified or if they’re willing to get qualified.
Send a brief description of the DofE project in the email to ensure that staff understand what is
involved.
Tutors:
Once the list of participants involved with the award has been established, contact their tutors to
guarantee that they’re aware that their tutees are taking part. Some more detailed information may
need to be given to the tutor’s so they understand the workload that will be required from their tutee.
Once the date’s for the DofE timeline for the year has been cemented into the academic calendar,
share this with the tutors so that they know which dates you may require more time from the students
(this should avoid/minimise conflict and disruption with the learners timetable).
Additional tutor assistance:
Encourage tutors of DofE participants to remind their students to attend the weekly consultation and
check up on their progress. This could help the students work towards completing their Physical and
Skill.
This tutor help will be useful when chasing up students for info and eDofE uploads.
Parents:
Arrange a meeting for parents to discuss the award so as to inform them and enable them to ask any
questions that they may have, meet fellow parents and voice any concerns. Invite Operations Officer to
the meeting, have all necessary information to hand. Arrange this meeting once the participation group
has been secured. Having parents on board with the project could mean encouragement from home
for students to complete the award.
Note: Prices for staff training will be covered later in this handbook
Costs
Expedition:
The prices below are based on 10 students attending each session with ‘No Limits’ - DofE
recognised AAP.
Included in the prices shown are: Staff (supervisor and assessor), equipment, planning &
payment of campsite for BRONZE expeditions.
2 days—Training = £960
2 days—Practice = £960
2 days—Final Assessment = £960
Note: Training and practice expedition prices can be excluded if done in-house.
All Expedition training and provision can be provided without AAPs – staff training is available to provide this. Having staff trained to provide the expedition entirely is the most cost effective way of delivering DofE in the long term.
Other AAPs’ costs will vary, depending on location, levels of support, etc. Please browse www.DofE.org/AAP to find the best value.
For over night stay, the college requires that two staff be present, preferably one male and one female.
Cost of Participant place:
For both Bronze and Silver awards, the cost is £17 per place—subject to increase yearly.
Students MUST pay for their place 7 days after signing their initial enrolment form.
Students will Contribute £25 per expedition, they are likely to take their attendance on
expeditions more seriously with financial investment.
Equipment:
Participants will need to buy some of their own equipment, some will be provided by the
assessment organisation, some equipment can be borrowed from the DofE head office.
Below is a list of things students will need to buy for their expedition:
Sleeping Bag— £12.99-£100
Walking Boots—£14.99-£100
Eating utensils—£1-£5
Knives and Forks
Plates/bowls
Food—£20 (if participants are going to bring cans, advise that someone will
have to bring a can opener and remind them that they’ll have to carry it for the duration
of the walk.
Costs
Staff training:
This will be recommended if there is to be a supportive staff team in place that are from within
the college.
They will be able to train the DofE participants within the premises and take them on expeditions.
In the long run, this will cut the cost on the expedition and training mentioned earlier.
Introduction to the DofE for Leaders— £35
This course is aimed at Leaders or assistant Leaders who are new to the DofE and provides all
the necessary knowledge needed to promote the programme, manage a DofE group and support
participants in the completion of their programmes.
Expedition Assessors Accreditation Scheme—£135
All expedition Assessors who attend the course and complete the Scheme will become nationally
accredited with national recognition and transferability for assessing DofE expeditions.
Expedition Supervisor Training Scheme—£135
The Expedition Supervisor training course covers:
Understanding the role of the Expedition Supervisor, Assessor and other adults involved in the delivery of the Expedition section.
Understanding the process of remote supervision.
Understanding the importance of emergency procedures.
Understanding the duty of care held by the Supervisor.
The aforementioned info was taken from:
http://www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/takepart/notice-boards/london/training/
Note: Prices stated are for courses undertaken within the head office located in Victoria.
Other prices available at other training centres.
If you are unable to attend a formal training course, please consult the DofE Operations Officer,
who will support you to understand your role as much as possible.
Supervisor and Assessors:
Network with other institutions and this may minimise the cost of the assessment if staff from
both colleges/schools supervise and assess each others expeditions.
Meetings
Network: Hackney and Islington Region
These meetings should be attended as often as possible, make links with schools and/or
colleges nearest to Bsix as there may be opportunity to share on expedition and equipment costs
if numbers have dwindled nearer to the practice and assessment.
Annual Conference for schools and academies:
These are essential to keep up to date with anything happening within the DofE, it is also the
perfect opportunity to pose any questions or queries that have arisen during the programme to
other schools and academies from across the London region, as well as speak to DofE
Operations Officers.
Regular meeting with DofE Operations Officer:
Meetings with the DofE Operations Officer (Jack Kirby) for the region is available ONCE per
term, use these to stay on track, get any assistance needed and to help plan the journey across
the year. Also the best chance to navigate the eDofE site if unsure. Get bespoke promotional
material according to student demographic at the time.
Jack Kirby Contact Info:
Tel: 020 7630 9092
Former DofE participants (success stories):
This is a useful tool for encouraging new and continuing participants, invite these former DofE
success stories to come and speak to the year group throughout the year so as to keep them
motivated. It’s also a chance to learn about the progressive route that the students can take, and
give some inspiration for the Physical, Skill and Volunteering if some students are stuck for
creativity.
Things to remember
Student sign up:
Ideally the first participants should be within the first week of the autumn term
Have initial meeting with interested students during the second week of term
Use the Fresher's Fair as the largest captive audience.
Continue sign ups until end of the first half term.
Costs:
Staff Training £35-£135
Expeditions cost £25 per trip and participation place will cost £17
Staff involvement:
Staff mail-out to see interest at the beginning of term—August
Inform tutors of tutee participation
Meetings:
Attend as many DofE network meetings as is possible.
Organise weekly consultation with group during morning breaks.
Network with schools/colleges in the nearby region.
Things to remember
Parents:
Invite parents of participants in to discuss the award, to aid in alleviating any scepticism
that may occur.
Invite DofE Operations Officer in to have all and any information to hand for questions that
may arise.
Send parents letter’s for all expeditions that are planned— four weeks in advance for the
first, with all planned dates and then two weeks prior to each expedition after that.
Expedition:
If booking all expeditions with the AAp, have dates sent to them in second half term
to get the slots desired.
The DofE states that there must be a MINIMUM of four participants on any expedition and
a MAXIMUM of 7 in a single group.
Any incidences that happen on an expedition MUST be reported to the DofE as well as the
college
Parental consent forms MUST be signed for each expedition—AAP’s may have their own
forms to issue to participants
Deadlines:
ALL skill, physical, and volunteering data needs to be uploaded and signed off on
the eDofE website by the 31st March in order to count towards the current academic year.
Have ALL participation fees 7 days after enrolment form is signed up.
Have ALL activities (physical, skill and volunteering) of participants signed up in the
first half term started by BEGININNIG of the second half term.