Do your DofE
Find out how to begin, what needs to be done and how to achieve an Award.
The Award can now be started at:
- Bronze: the beginning of the school year in which you turn 14 – usually Yr 9
- Silver: the beginning of the school year in which you turn 15 – usually Yr 10
- Gold: your 16th birthday, although expedition training may be able to be completed before in order to join a Yr11 practice expedition once 16 is reached.
Direct entry to Silver or Gold is possible at the appropriate age. You’d do 6 months more on one of the longer sections than someone who had achieved the level below.
Enrolments, started elsewhere, can be transferred into a new Centre to continue. Please make sure eDofE sections are up to date though before changing!
Two levels can be worked on at the same time so long as the same section at the level below has been finished.
How do I get started with Dorset Council?
First stop is to find your nearest DofE centre. It may be in your school, college, university, youth group or company.
Or, you may want to join our Virtual Centre – Dorset Open Award Centre. With a Virtual Centre you don’t usually need to attend any meetings until you are doing your Expedition.
You can choose what you want to do and when you want to do it. Bear in mind that there might be organisational parameters to taking part, which you’ll need to clarify with the Centre leader. This is a chance for you to gain new experiences, give yourself an edge over the competition and develop yourself in ways that employers and universities are hungry for.
What’s it all about?
You design your own programme and do an activity for each section, regularly over the agreed time period, for an average of at least an hour a week. You have until your 25th birthday to achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. These are the timescales
Why should I do DofE?
The United Learning Trust showed that UK employers valued the DofE the most after national qualifications – even more than work experience. It’s also a great way to boost your confidence, learn leadership skills and most importantly, it’s a lot of fun.
The activities
These are detailed for each section on the programme ideas sheet. Please adhere to the lists carefully as mistakes can be costly in terms of both time and money! This is why checking them out with your leader by sending plans to be approved on eDofE is so important.
Volunteering
A chance to help your community, from coaching or teaching, to fundraising for a charity – you can make a difference to an individual or group. See suggestions on our Volunteering for Participants page.
Physical
Sport, dance, martial arts, even the gym, anything that will get you active and improve your fitness. Find out more here.
Skills
Learn a new skill or develop existing talents. Use your driving lessons or make some music; the sky’s the limit. Find out more here.
Expedition
There are always three stages to your Expedition: Training; Practice, and then a qualifying adventurous journey under assessment in the UK or abroad with other participants in a team. Expeditions must be undertaken with your Centre or an Approved Activity Provider or Dorset Council. Find out more here. Expeditions incur an additional cost.
See the DofE opportunity finder for information on all of the Expeditions available nationally.
Residential (Gold only)
Take part in a shared residential activity away from home with peers who you don’t know and don’t know each other, working at the same level of responsibility towards the same objectives.
There are specific criteria you must fulfil, see the guide here, but the opportunities are wide ranging in all respects, including cost. Dorset offers unique Residentials at the Ancient Technology Centre in Cranborne and at Leeson House, Langton Matravers.
The DofE Opportunity Finder continuously lists many more DofE residentials, where opportunities can be filtered as you wish to cost, area, type etc . Potential choices must be agreed by the County Manager and this is the application form
Once you’ve found your Centre or decide to join Dorset Open Award Centre
Complete the online enrolment form.
Your application to enrol will be forwarded to the Centre that you have chosen and the coordinator will contact you to discuss joining them.
It is important to confirm exactly what monies are expected by the Centre, and when, in order to complete enrolment. All of the Centres have to pay their own costs associated with siting and administering a DofE group which might be levied against the Pack or as a yearly sub. There will be expedition costs.
The DofE endeavours to keep your costs down so the current *Welcome Pack, which includes the Award’s participation fee, is £25.50 for the Bronze Award, £25.50 for Silver and £32.50 for Gold. There are are additional costs for activities and Dorset Council (as the Licensed Organisation) adds a small fee to cover your support, certificate and badge, administration costs etc.
The total Dorset Council enrolment fee from April 1 2023 to Mar 31 2024 which includes the *Welcome Pack, is £41 for Bronze/Silver; £51 for Gold.
What happens once the initial fees have been paid?
You will receive an automated email confirming how to download the DofE App andlogin details to your new online account. This video explains how to use the DofE App. You can still log in on a computer via eDofE
Once you have registered personal details on eDofE you will receive a Welcome Pack and DofE family discount card in the post.
Submit your plans before starting on eDofE,. to be approved. It is easy to make sectional mistakes and waste time on activities which won’t count or don’t fit into the right section.
Once everything is agreed and in place, you’re ready to start your adventure.
Log and evidence your progress on eDofE
Keep in touch and look out for emails that could go into spam.
Here you will find FAQs on eDofE
At the finish of your commitment, you’ll need an assessor report. Best submitted online or upload a picture of a written or emailed report using the Assessor Card from your Welcome Pack. (Digital copies of Assessor cards).
When you achieve your Award you’ll receive a badge and certificate.
REMINDER!! Good luck and have fun!
Help. We work closely with the John Thornton Young Achiever’s Foundation to support young people enrolled through Dorset Council to achieve more than family funds could usually support. Here is the form to apply on. Applications must be accompanied by a supporting statement from a DofE leader and sent to the DofE Award Manager: Outdoor Education, Dorset Council, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset. DT11XJ or scanned to dofe@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
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