Several Explorer Units across Richmond District are able to offer Explorer Scouts the opportunity to complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Explorer Scout Units are open to any Explorer Scouts across the District and in liaison with the Greater London South West Scout County Team. We hope you will find this guide useful for registering for and commencing working towards your award.

What is the DofE Award Scheme?

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a voluntary, non-competitive programme of activities for anyone aged 14-24.  It is offered at 3 levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold with each level containing four sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition, with an additional Residential section at Gold level.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a registered charity and is responsible for creating the programme and licencing youth organisations to deliver it, subject to them meeting certain standards and conditions.   The Scout Association is a major provider of the DofE Awards, which are offered on a decentralised model via local Scout Counties – in our case London South West Scout County.

If you join Explorers at the age of 14 or 15 you should be able to complete all three DofE Awards prior to reaching your eighteenth birthday, but if not then you can carry on with the scheme by joining the local Scout Network (open to those aged 18 to 25) or by taking an adult leader or helper role at a Scout Group or Explorer Unit.

The DofE Award Levels

The Bronze Award:

Volunteering/Physical/Skill: 1 x 6 months and 2 x 3 months

Expedition: Minimum of 2 days, 1 night, 6 hours planned activity each day.  In normal rural countryside familiar and local to groups

The Silver Award:

Volunteering: 6 months

Physical/Skill: 1 x 3 months and 1 x 6 months*

Expedition: Minimum of 3 days, 2 nights, 7 hours planned activity each day.  In normal rural, open countryside or forest unfamiliar to groups

The Gold Award: 

Volunteering: 12 months

Physical/Skill: 1 x 6 months and 1 x 12 months*

Expedition: Minimum of 4 days, 3 nights, 8 hours planned activity each day in wild country (remote from habitation) which is unfamiliar to groups

* assumes you completed the previous level of the Award

Registering for DofE with Scouts

The first step to registering for the DofE Award is to speak with your own Explorer Scout Leadership team.

All Explorer Scouts undertaking DofE within our County must officially register with the County Team using a central process.  Once you have been able to secured a place to carry out the DoE Award within an Explorer Unit. you will need to go the County website DofE page:  https://glswscouts.org.uk/dofe/

Look for the section called “Enrolling for the DofE with GLSW”, click on the link, which should take you to an online form that you need to complete.

You will need to meet the age requirements for each level of the award:

Bronze – year 9 or above

Silver – year 10 or above

Gold – age 16 or older

You will need to enter personal information including the Participant’s first and last names (Q1&2), date of birth (Q6) and email address (Q7).  You will also be asked for a Parent’s email address (Q10) and confirm that both Participant and Parents consent to the Participant enrolling for DofE (Q9&11).

The County Team need to know which District you belong to (Q3) and this is “Richmond upon Thames”; and which Unit you are a Member of (Q4) for example “Erik Armstrong ESU”.

Finally don’t forget to pay the registration fee.  The form includes payment details for you to make a direct bank transfer and you should email proof of payment (such as a screenshot from your electronic banking system) to the dedicated email address: dofe@glswscouts.org.uk

The Registration Fee is currently £26 for the Bronze and Silver Award and £32 for the Gold Award.

If you experience any difficulty registering with the County Team or making payment then please contact your Explorer Unit Leader

Upon receipt of your application, the County Team will register the Participant with the DofE Award Scheme, after which they should receive an email with details of how to access the online eDofE portal along with a unique eDofE membership number and temporary password, which should be used to set up their account.  Once a Participant logs onto the eDofE system for the first time and completes the account set up, they will receive a physical welcome pack through the post.

The eDofE Portal

DofE Participants use the eDofE portal to record their intended aims, track their progress against each section, upload evidence of their achievements, and communicate with their Supervisor.  The eDofE portal can be accessed at https://www.dofe.org

Completing your Award – Overview

Participants will need to complete 4 sections for the Bronze and Silver Award

• Volunteering
• Physical
• Skill
• Expedition

For Gold, there is an additional Residential section.

All DofE Participants will be assigned a Scout Leader to help guide them through the scheme

The role of DofE Leaders is to lead, guide and support Participants, agree their programme choices, sign off sections and approve eDofE evidence.

Completing your Award – Volunteering Section

For your volunteering activity you need to choose to give time to do something useful without getting paid (apart from expenses).

Many DofE Participants complete their volunteering as Young Leaders within a Scout Group, but this is not mandatory and Participants are welcome to volunteer elsewhere

Completing your Award – Physical Section

For your physical activity you need to choose any sport, dance or fitness activity, basically anything that requires a sustained level of energy and physical activity. For example, playing a sport regularly and showing personal improvement would count. However, learning to be a coach in the same sport would be a Skills section activity, whilst being a volunteer coach counts for the Volunteering section.  You can look at the DofE website for inspiration and please remember to agree your choice with your Supervisor before you start.

Examples of activities that previous Explorers have successfully undertaken include: swimming, running, kayaking, football, keep fit

Completing your Award – Skills Section

For your skills activity you need to choose an activity that will allow you to prove you have broadened your understanding and increased your expertise in your chosen skill.  You can look at the DofE website for inspiration and please remember to agree your choice with your Supervisor before you start.

Examples of skills that previous Explorers have successfully undertaken include: cooking, powerboating, music lessons, crafts, textiles.

Completing your Award – Expedition Section

For your Expedition section, you will need to plan, train for and complete a self-reliant expedition with an agreed aim with other participants. You must do the correct training for your level and mode of travel, at least one practice expedition, a qualifying expedition (the one that is assessed) and a final presentation in order to complete the section.

Your expedition must be completed by your own physical efforts with minimal external intervention and without motorised assistance. Your route should also be a continuous journey.

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