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:

E: Jack.Kirby@DofE.org

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.

Final Thing

… It’s an experience of a lifetime!!

Enjoy it...