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!