Friday 7 December 2012

7th December 2012


Mail Out Time, Mistletoe and Wine
Welcome to a festive edition of your favourite network update. From now on, all our mail outs will be archived on our swish new blog: http://dofelondonmailout.blogspot.co.uk/. Any feedback on how to improve this site will be welcomed. As usual, please send us any info you want sharing with the wider network and we will include it in the next mail out. Please also note that we will now be sharing our updates with our wider contact list, which includes anyone who signs up to updates via our website.

This is the last from us until the New Year so may I take this opportunity to wish you season’s greetings and all the best for 2013.  Please read on for lots of useful information, opportunities, updates and events. 

London Region Office closure
Please note that the regional office will close at 5pm on Friday 21st December and reopen on Wednesday 2nd January at 9am. 

Support our Troops!
London Region staff members Kirsty and Jo are taking part in the London to Paris bike ride in May to raise money for DofE participants with additional support needs and who may be disadvantaged. You can find out more about the bike ride and how to sponsor out brave staff members by emailing them at Jo.Amand@DofE.org or Kirsty.Young@DofE.org. Kirsty’s JustGiving page can be found here and Jo’s is here. Dig deep people!

Win an iPhone
Keep an “i” on our Facebook page – we will soon be launching an exciting competition in which you can win an iPhone 4S. Siri-ously!

Vacancies
·         DofE Coordinator (Maternity Cover) HAFAD, Hammersmith and Fulham. The deadline for applications is Monday 10th December. Please see here for a full job description and how to apply.  

Further details and job descriptions for the following roles can be viewed here: http://www.latestvacancies.com/DofE/

·         Operations Officer, South West. The deadline for applications is Monday 17th December 2012 at 12 noon. First interviews will take place on Wednesday 9th January 2013 and second interviews will take place on Thursday 17th January 2013 at the South West Regional Office.

·         Part Time Administration Assistant, South West. The deadline for applications is Monday 17th December 2012 at 12 noon. First interviews will take place on Thursday 10th January 2013 at the South West Regional Office.

To apply for either position, please email your CV along with a detailed statement which outlines your suitability for the position to Julie.Cooper@DofE.org

EAAS
From today onwards we will no longer accept partially completed EAAS applications.  Applications should include a fully completed EAAS form with all signatures and endorsements, photo image and all required pre-course learning papers.  We will shortly be returning incomplete papers to assessors pending accreditation so that this can be resolved by the individual. 

Please be aware that as the Expedition season has closed that the processing of EAAS forms is on standby for the time being and will reconvene at the end of January. Please be sure to inform any leaders in your network who are undergoing the accreditation process.  

Expeditions Required
The London Borough of Sutton has a new co-ordinator who is looking to refresh her experience working with and leading groups at Bronze level.  Steph has undergone her BEL training and has spent weekends out walking with groups around the country and would like to join an expedition or day walk as a volunteer to boost her experience. Please contact Sarah Alderman at Sarah.Alderman@sutton.gov.uk or on 020 8404 1989.

Two participants from Sutton also seek qualifying Expeditions, one Bronze and one Silver. If there are any available Expeditions early next season that either participant could join, please contact Sarah with the above details.

AAPs
Please be aware that the following organisations are no longer licensed as AAPs.

·         Atlantic Whale Foundation (residential)
·         Creative International Adventures (expedition)
·         Isis Canoe Club (expedition)
·         Purple Mountain (expedition)
·         Walk Rock (expedition)

Litter L
The Lee Parish Council would like to bring to your attention the large amount of litter being left around their area in The Chilterns by groups of young people allegedly involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. They have received a number of complaints about this from local people. If you have had any expeditions running in this area – or any other area – please make sure participants are properly trained on the Countryside Code and how to dispose of their waste.

Press Releases
If your group has been up to anything exciting that you would like to share with your local press, or even something that would attract the attention of regional or national press, please let us know and we can assist publicising this via our contacts and through our social media sites. Please email jack.kirby@dofe.org for further details.

Please enjoy your winter-holiday-break time and see you in 2013!

Wednesday 28 November 2012

22nd November 2012


Who’s Got Mailout Fever?
We do! The half term break has caused a delay in your favourite internal update as many of the office staff took part in Residentials, but rest assured, the below information is as up to the minute and exciting as usual. You can find out more about the Residentials below. As ever, please email us with anything you want sharing with the rest of the London region and we’ll stick it in a future update.

Please note that with the busy half term, staff being away from the office and illness we have a bit of a backlog with regional admin.  Thank you for your patience whilst we get back up to speed with this. 

Peter Fleet – Commonwealth Youth Worker 2012
On Thursday 8th, Peter was awarded Commonwealth Youth Worker 2012 by the National Youth Agency and the Commonwealth Secretariat in recognition of his work in London and overseas. Congratulations to Peter!  You can read all about it here

Digital Residential
Nine participants from across London took part in the Digital Residential in Brighton this half term, which was a great success and was positively received by participants. The group were met by several expert guest speakers and took part in filmmaking, interviewing and creating digital content. The event culminated in a flashmob on Brighton Pier which you can view here.

If you have participants you feel would enjoy a residential of this nature, please let us know and we can consider future events.  

New Leaders in Gambia
Also during half term New Leaders Programme participants went on their Residential to The Gambia and took part in cultural activities, school visits and youth work training. The group will now begin their youth work placements. You can view a photo gallery of their adventure on our Facebook page here.

EAAS
Now that the Expedition season has closed, please be aware that the processing of EAAS forms is on standby for the time being and will reconvene at the end of January. If you need to check if we have received any paperwork, please contact kirsty.young@dofe.org.

Press Releases
If your group has been up to anything exciting that you would like to share with your local press, or even something that would attract the attention of regional or national press, please let us know and we can assist publicising this via our contacts and through our social media sites. Please email jack.kirby@dofe.org for further details.

DofE Marketplace
The DofE Marketplace is now live http://www.dofe.org/go/marketplace/.

This is an area on the DofE shop, currently sited within the website, where we have negotiated great deals and discounts for participants and leaders, co-ordinators and managers. These discounts include those we already know about e.g. Cotswold or Ordnance Survey, but also include new brands that may be of interest to leaders, young people, their family and friends. There are a number of interesting offers on the site so please have a browse!

eDofE
It has come to our attention that a number of leaders are frustrated with the pop up confirmation box on eDofE (are you sure these details are correct? Etc). It’s possible to turn this off for all but the most important notifications. Go to My Settings from the yellow icon list on the left side of the screen and the option to disable them is in there.

Another gentle reminder that we only require GA7 forms for participants that either a) have no eDofE account or b) have been put through Achieved Offline. The majority of participants should now simply be approved online without paperwork.

Over the last few weeks we have had an increase in enquiries regarding allocating and using participation places. Please remember if you have not allocated places, they will appear under the ‘Licenced Organisation’. We’ve put a quick guide to allocating places on eDofE Resources.

When creating a participant account DofE Manager’s and LO Administrator accounts can use places directly from the LO (section 2). If Coordinators are creating accounts, the participation places must be allocated to a centre or group.

We have also had some further queries regarding the Expedition section. All young people must add their own Expedition Aim (the team aim) and Goal (this is what an individual wants to achieve personally). This will show a participant where they need to add the details. A guide on setting Expedition Aims is also available on the eDofE Resources.

Please be aware the young person should add their aim and goal AFTER you set the details on behalf of the group. If a young person adds it before, they will be allocated 2 qualifying ventures. You will not receive an alert as the young person will only save the changes, not submit them.

Expeditions Required
There is a 14 year male participant from the London Borough of Barnet who has mild cerebral palsy, including mild learning difficulties and mild speech and language difficulties. He would like to attend a Bronze qualifying expedition with a slower paced group or those walking a shorter distance. He has completed a 5 mile walk of a practice expedition. If you have an expedition coming up and have space for this participant, please contact Hayley.Shenholds@DofE.org

There is a 22 year old male participant from the London Borough of Wandsworth who is a wheelchair user and is in need of a Silver practice and qualifying Expedition. If you have one coming up and have space for one more person, please contact Mark Chapman on mchapman@wandsworth.gov.uk

Training
All our available training is listed on our website at this location. This is often updated so please do keep an eye out for new opportunities.

The following opportunity is offered by our outdoor education consultant Alice Turner.

Countryside Leader Award
There will be a CLA course provided by Alice Turner on the following dates:

2, 18-19 Feb 2013          Lea Valley and Chilterns
Cost                             £175 per person + £35 registration fee

The assessment for this course will be as follows:
23-25 August 2013         Lea Valley and Epping Forest
Cost                             £175 per person

To book onto this course please visit http://www.countrysideleaderaward.org/course_dates/.
For more information on the CLA course please contact Alice on web@climbingcourse.co.uk.

eDofE Award Verifier Role
As mentioned at the DofE Managers conferences and written about in the DofE Magazine the Award Verifier Role is coming to eDofE on 19th April 2013. You can find out more about the role here. Please contact Peter if you need any support in this matter or speak with your nominated regional contact.

Additional Needs
There is a new page on the DofE website designed to provide resources and support for groups working with young people who have additional needs. The webpage is located on http://www.dofe.org/go/additionalneeds/.

Please check out the new pages for resources and ideas. If you have any resources to contribute, please send them through to webmaster@dofe.org.   

Final Report of the Mayor's Education Inquiry
This report was launched on 19 October and the Mayor's response has accepted all its recommendations. The media release can be read here. Chapter 3 - 'Preparing young Londoners for life and work in a global city' - should be of particular interest. The report and other documents including the Mayor's response are available to read and download from the GLA website here. Any feedback or queries will be welcome via the Inquiry's email address: educationinquiry@london.gov.uk.

Multi Faith Consultation for DofE Leaders
We are looking for Leaders from a range of faiths and communities to take part in a two day residential consultation. This residential will investigate how we can promote leadership from under-represented communities and ensure DofE programmes remain relevant to young people from diverse backgrounds.
The residential will take place Sunday 20th – Monday 21st January 2013 at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire. Food and accommodation will be provided.
Please see the flyer attached for details and with Leaders in your groups. If any Leaders are interested in attending, please contact Hayley.Shenholds@DofE.org.

Job Vacancies
DofE Richmond want a part time (3 hours per week) DofE leader, please see here for further details and how to apply – be quick, the closing date for applications is 23rd November.

Livery Schools Link
The Livery Schools Link is a fund supported by the Livery Company Golf Days and monies from City fundraising is used to establish new DofE Groups at schools and centres in London.  We are pleased to provide the report for the Livery Schools Link 2011/12, which supported three schools from the Capital to set up the DofE. Click here to read the report.

London Regional Bursary
Please note that funding for the London Regional Bursary has come to an end for this financial year. We are working towards to providing more funds for the year 2013/14. We ask that you do not send in any bursary applications until we have confirmed further funds.

And finally…
Don’t forget to follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for all the latest titbits! 

22nd October 2012


This mailout’s for you…
Here at Manager’s Mailout Towers, where each mailout is lovingly and individually handcrafted to provide you with the most important up to date and interesting information about the DofE in London, we love it when you send us stuff to include. It makes our hearts swell with pride. Please check over this bumper crop of info and send us anything you wish to be included in the next iteration. Don’t forget to cascade this email to your networks.

Due to popular demand, we are now hosting all documents relevant to the mailout on this webpage rather than as attachments. Relevant headings will link you directly to the documents.

2013 dates for DofE Manager’s diary
We are pleased to confirm the dates for our DofE managers’ meetings in the new year. These meetings will be hosted for LO’s from the same sectoral provision and are for the named DofE Manager only. For Licensed Organisations that do not fall into these specific categories we will advise of planned meetings in due course.
 
Monday 14th January – Local Authority Operating Authorities
Wednesday 13th March – State Secondary Schools and Academy Directly Licensed Centres
Thursday 14th March – Independent School Directly Licensed Centres
23rd and 24th April – Local Authority Operating Authorities

Additional Needs
There is a new page on the DofE website designed to provide resources and support for groups working with young people who have additional needs. The webpage is located at http://www.dofe.org/go/additionalneeds.

Please check out the new pages for resources and ideas. If you have any resources to contribute, please send them through to webmaster@dofe.org.

Fantastic opportunity for participants!
Capital & Counties Properties, a valued supporting partner of the DofE, are offering a career day for DofE participants.  This will take place on Tuesday 6th November, 9.00am to 12.30pm in Central London

They are inviting young people into the business to spend a morning with staff practising interview skills, helping create CVs and giving career advice.  The day is offered to individuals not in education, employment or training although can include those who are in the last years of education and preparing for the workplace.

If you have any participants that are aged 16-20 years old who would be interested in this fantastic opportunity please contact Jo on Jo.Amand@DofE.org for further information.

Climbing Courses
Sports England and Plas y Brenin (PYB) have launched some new indoor-outdoor climbing courses for young people from the London and South East area.  There are 6 courses being advertised - please see http://www.thebmc.co.uk/ready-to-rock-london for more information.  

There is also funding available to set up a youth climbing project for those from a disadvantaged background or those with special education needs. This is to include a twelve week one hour climbing session followed by a weekend trip away to PYB. If you are interested in learning more, contact Elizabeth Holley at elizabeth@thebmc.co.uk.

Volunteering Awards
If you know an amazing young volunteer who has made a real difference to your life or someone else’s, you can now nominate them for the V Inspired National Awards.  I know there are many DofE participants volunteering out there and it would be great if their hard work and effort.  Nominations are free and close on 2 November 2012. 

Gold Approvals
A friendly reminder: please do not send Gold Forms (GA7s) to the office if a participant has completed their Award on eDofE. We only need paperwork for those who have completed using an old Record Book or those you have put through ‘Achieved Offline’. Sending in forms for those who have completed online can be confusing for the admin team and can cause errors, such as two badges being sent out for the same participant. Please don’t take advantage of this!

Countryside Leader Award
The Countryside Leader Award (CLA) is for adults who wish to lead walks and camping expeditions in non-remote, lowland countryside. This corresponds with the recommended DofE Bronze and Silver expedition terrain.
The award is designed for people who already have considerable experience working with young people.  There will be a CLA course provided by Alice Turner on the following dates:

18th – 19th  February 2013:          Lea Valley and Chilterns
Cost:                                        £175 per person + £35 registration fee

The assessment for this course will be:
23rd – 25th August 2013:              Lea Valley and Epping Forest
Cost:                                        £175 per person

To book onto this course please visit http://www.countrysideleaderaward.org/course_dates/ or for more information on the CLA course please contact Alice on web@climbingcourse.co.uk  

Please ensure that delegates undergoing Expedition Assessor training are using the new EAAS delegate form, now including section E: safeguarding checks. Please download the form from the website by clicking the titled link.

Expeditions Required
There is a 14 year male participant from the London Borough of Barnet who has mild cerebral palsy, including mild learning difficulties and mild speech and language difficulties. He would like to attend a Bronze qualifying expedition with a slower paced group or those walking a shorter distance. He has completed a 5 mile walk of a practice expedition. If you have an expedition coming up and have space for this participant, please contact Hayley.Shenholds@DofE.org.

There is a 22 year old male participant from the London Borough of Wandsworth who is a wheelchair user and is in need of a Silver practice and qualifying Expedition. If you have one coming up and have space for one more person, please contact Mark Chapman on mchapman@wandsworth.gov.uk.

Trewern Outdoor Centre are offering a Residential opportunity for Gold participants. Please see the titled link for further information.

We are looking for Leaders from a range of faiths and communities to take part in a two day residential consultation. This residential will investigate how we can promote leadership from under-represented communities and ensure DofE programmes remain relevant to young people from diverse backgrounds.
The residential will take place Sunday 20th – Monday 21st January 2013 at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire. Food and accommodation will be provided.
Please see the flyer by clicking the titled link above for details and to promote this to Leaders from your groups. If any Leaders are interested in attending, please contact Hayley.Shenholds@DofE.org.

Training Available
We are pleased to provide information on a range of courses being delivered by our Licensed Organisations as follows:

Introduction to the DofE for Leaders
Friday 16th November 2012, 10am-4pm
York House, Twickenham
£30 (Richmond leaders), £50 external applicants.

Expedition Assessor Accreditation
Thursday 17th January 2013, 1pm-6pm
Hampton School, Hampton
£30 (Richmond leaders), £50 external applicants

To attend either of these courses, please contact Rob Clark at Robert.Clark@Richmond.gov.uk.

REC Level 2 Emergency First Aid
9th-10th February 2013, 9:30pm-5pm
Somers Town Youth Club, Camden. £90 (Richmond leaders), £120 external applicants

Camden candidates should contact Dan Murray directly (Daniel.Murray@Camden.gov.uk). All other candidates please contact Robert.Clark@Richmond.gov.uk.

A full list of all courses offered by London Region Courses can be found on our web site here.  If you would like any further information or for booking details please contact Kirsty Young, Kirsty.Young@DofE.org    

All participation places need to be ordered through the online shop (ASL). You can get to the shop either through www.DofE.org, or eDofE. A ‘How to’ sheet is available at the above link.

If a school does not have a credit agreement with ASL, places can still be ordered but these will not be dispatched until payment has been received. We would recommend contact ASL directly to check if you do have this agreement in place, and to check your eDofE account is permitted to order places. Please ensure when you contact ASL you have your eDofE ID number handy as this can be added on the same day!

Vacancies
Further details and job descriptions for the following roles can be viewed here: http://www.latestvacancies.com/DofE/

Administration Assistant (Maternity Cover), Central England.
Deadline for applications is Wednesday 24th October 2012 at 12 noon.
First interviews will take place on Tuesday 30th October 2012 at the Central England Regional Office.

Commercial Manager, Windsor.
Deadline for applications is Monday 29th October 2012 at 12 noon.
First interviews will take place on Wednesday 7th November 2012 and second interviews will take place on Thursday 15th November 2012 in Windsor.

Part Time Operations & Development Officer (Tees Valley), North East Region.
Deadline for applications is Thursday 1st November 2012 at 12 noon.
First interviews will take place on Thursday 8th & Friday 9th November 2012 and second interviews will take place on Friday 16th November 2012 at the North East Regional Office.

Operations Officer (East Anglia), Central England.
Deadline for applications is Friday 2nd November 2012 at 12 noon.
First interviews will take place on Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th November 2012 and second interviews will take place in the following week if required at the Central England Regional Office.

Operations Officer (West Midlands) Central England Region
The deadline for applications is Friday 2nd November 2012 at 12 noon.
First interviews will take place on Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th November 2012 and second interviews will take place in the following week if required at the Central England Regional Office.

Please email CVs and covering letters to Julie.Cooper@DofE.org.

And Finally
Peter Fleet has been shortlisted as one of 4 finalist for the Youth Worker of the Year by the National Youth Agency. See here for more information. We’re all rooting for you Peter!         

18th September 2012


Good news everyone!
Your latest mail out is here. Please read carefully and remember to cascade this information to your network.  If there is anything you wish to be included in future mailings send it through to London@DofE.org

Quiz Night – don’t miss out!
There are still some places left for the Quiz Night this Friday – don’t miss your chance to reserve a table. It promises to be a mega fun night and we have some truly excellent prizes to win in the raffle too. Please see the attached flier and email Kirsty.Young@DofE.org to book your places.

Digital Residential
Places are available for our exciting Digital Residential during October half term. The Residential will take place in Brighton where we’ll be upskilling participants in their use of digital and social media, introducing industry expert guests and having good times on the digital frontier! The Residential is subsidised with full board accommodation at a cost of  £40. Please see the attached flier and application form.  For further information or to book a place please email Jack.Kirby@DofE.org.  

Gold Award Forum
A final call for nominations for the Gold Award Forum. This is a fantastic opportunity for Gold participants that can count towards either their Skill or Volunteering and includes an international Residential opportunity. Please see the attached flier and application form.  For further information or to nominate a participant please email Leanne.Chapman@DofE.org

Multi Faith Consultation for DofE Leaders
We are looking for Leaders from a range of faiths and communities to take part in a two day residential consultation. This residential will investigate how we can promote leadership from under-represented communities and ensure DofE programmes remain relevant to young people from diverse backgrounds.
The residential will take place Sunday 20th – Monday 21st January 2013 at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire. Food and accommodation will be provided.
Please see the flyer attached for details and with Leaders in your groups. If any Leaders are interested in attending, please contact Hayley.Shenholds@DofE.org.

Introducing eDofE to participants?
A colleague from the eDofE Development team is looking for a group (or groups) of participants who will be using eDofE for the first time so that they can see their experiences first hand. Given the time of year, we are sure that there must be a lot of these sessions taking place. If you have any Centres that would be willing to have an observer sit quietly in the corner and chat to a few of their participants please let us knows.  Contact Jo, Jo.Amand@DofE.org, to discuss further.

Calling Musical DofE-ers
Do you have any DofE Centres that have a focus on music? We are looking for a steel band or gospel choir (or other musical performing group) that may like the opportunity to perform at forthcoming DofE National Events. Contact Jo Amand at Jo.Amand@DofE.org for further details. Also, if any of your participants have recorded any music for their Skill section and would like to be profiled on our Facebook and Twitter pages, please send links to Jack.Kirby@DofE.org.

Expedition Required
A male Silver participant from Haberdashers Askes School is in need of a qualifying Expedition. If you are able to accommodate him on an upcoming venture, please contact Sam Szlezinger on 020 7246 7528 or at sam.szlezinger@snrdenton.com

Assessor Required
Langley Park Girls’ School require an assessor for a Silver Expedition 20th-23rd September and a Bronze Expedition 13th-14th October. If you are able to help or know anyone that can, please contact Nerys Hamlett at NH@lpgs.bromley.sch.uk.

Fundraising Opportunity
Virgin Money Giving - Make your mark in 2012. Virgin Money are offering fundraisers the chance to win a £2,012 donation to their chosen charity. You just need to set up a fundraising page for any event or personal challenge happening between 1 October and 31 December 2012 and you will be automatically entered into the draw as soon as you receive your first donation. There is a draw at the end of each month, so you will be included in the draw in the month their event takes place.
Job Vacancies
Please see the job descriptions attached for the following posts with The DofE.
-       Administration and Communications Officer position based in Scotland. The deadline for applications is Friday 21st September 2012 at 12 noon. First interviews will take place on Monday 1st October in Scotland.
-       Administration and Events Officer position based in Scotland. The deadline for applications is Friday 21st September 2012 at 12 noon. First interviews will take place on Tuesday 2nd October in Scotland.
-       Client Support Officer position based in Windsor. The deadline for applications is Friday 28th September 2012 at 12 noon. First interviews will take place on Friday 5th October in Windsor.
If you are interested in any of these positions, please email your CV along with a detailed statement which outlines your suitability for the position to Fiona.Breen@DofE.org.

Thanks for reading and see you at the quiz – prepare to be befuddled by the pure skill of the Quiz Master and his sidekick!