Friday 14 December 2012
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
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
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…
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
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)