Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Pastoral

Staff

Mr D Sharp – Deputy Headteacher
Ms L Jones - DofE Co-ordinator
Ms L Swaffer – Head of Year 8
Mr Jobey – Head of Year 9

Ethos

The DofE has a positive impact on young people’s lives, in terms of their personal development and employability, and on wider society, from charities gaining active and engaged volunteers to businesses hiring work-ready recruits. It offers a unique way of building up the qualities any young person will need to cope with the challenges that life will throw at them, the ability to turn negatives into positives and introduces them to experiences that can alter their life forever.

Aims

The award scheme aims to help young people to:

develop self-confidence and self-reliance
gain a sense of achievement and responsibility
discover new skills, interests and talents
develop leadership skills and abilities
discover exciting opportunities
make new friends
experience teamwork, problem-solving and decision-making
increase their motivation
enhance their self-esteem and develop communication skills

KS3 Curriculum 2021-2022

Year 8

In Year 8, all students are expected to attend the DofE short-course programme which last for 3 sessions (Tuesday or Wednesday) over 3 weeks during the school day. The students experience a range of outdoor activities to help develop their resilience, independence and instil self-belief and confidence. It will also provide the young people with an insight into the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award qualification.

Year 9

In Year 9, we offer 24 students the opportunity to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award qualification. To secure a place on the course, students are expected to complete a letter of interest and submit it to their Head of Year. This course provider is Nacro and the cost of the course is paid for by the school. This course runs for an academic year and takes place in the evening and at weekends.

The course is made up of 4 elements:

Volunteering:

This takes place in the local community usually at local parks. Students will, for example, paint and mend fences and plant shrubs.

Skills:

The skill students develop is bike maintenance. They learn to strip a bike down and rebuild it.

Physical:

For the physical section students go canoeing. They are taken to a local Water Park and they are taught how to canoe in double canoes.

Expedition:

The expedition takes place towards the end of the year and it involves orienteering and an overnight camp. The students carry all their own equipment throughout the day and cook their own food on the camping stoves. They then do a second walk the following day.

In order to achieve the Bronze Award, the students must complete a set number of hours for each section and successfully complete the expeditio