DofE London Mail Out - December 2015

We hope you're brewing plenty of mulled wine and prepping your festive playlists! In this month's update you will find all the latest information, updates and opportunities from the London region.

Assessor's Report FAQs New Assessor Reports uploaded through the DofE website will now appear in the communications tab of eDofE. Many Reports have been uploaded for participants across London; please go through and action any which you have outstanding. If they are historical, and the Award has since been removed, this alert can be deleted to remove it from your action list. These Reports are automatically marked as the Assessor Report; however, to sign off the whole section you will need to visit the participant's profile separately. Lapsed/inactive accounts You no longer have to change the status of an account when they become inactive or lapse. To re-activate the account, the person needs only to sign in using the correct username and password. If they cannot remember their password, please direct them to follow the 'Forgot your password?' link on the log in screen. Cannot approve an Award If you have an Award which you feel has met all the criteria but the approval button is still greyed out, simply hover your curser over the greyed out button and a message will appear describing what is left to complete. This is most common at Gold level when a young person has not completed their Gold notification form.  Assessor requests Southside Young Leaders Academy, a South London charity that specialise in promoting opportunities and achievements for African and Caribbean boys at risk of social & academic exclusion, are looking for an additional Leader to support a small Bronze expedition cohort. They have a great volunteer expedition Leader on board already but due to recent staff changes are in need of a new session leader - ideally for Wednesday evenings. There is also scope for this engagement to develop to working with a fresh cohort in the New Year. If you are interested, please get in touch via 020 7701 9055 or info@syla.org.uk. Bronze and Gold open expeditions 2016 We are pleased to be able to share the dates for upcoming open expeditions run by DofE London. Follow the links for more information on our Bronze and Gold ventures here.

Delivering Gold DofE programmes This half-day workshop will train Leaders in how to deliver successful Gold DofE programmes and roll them out in their school/centre. It will cover the specifics of delivering Gold DofE, such as planning, seeking funding, timetabling, using eDofE and the specifics of the Expedition and Residential sections. You should attend an Introduction to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award course OR have good knowledge of DofE programmes prior to the course. Course dates: 12th February 2016 (G3) – 1pm to 5pm. Course fee: FREE (£50 cancellation fee) Please contact London@DofE.org for a booking form. Wales expedition networks From February 1st 2016 the Brecon Beacons, Mid Wales and Snowdonia Expedition Networks will be combined into one central service run from the DofE Wales Office in Brecon. All Expedition Notification Forms (Green Forms) for any expedition going into wild country in Wales should be directed to the new centrally run service in Brecon. The new contact details are as follows: The new email is walesexpeds@DofE.org - any emails to Snowdonia@DofE.org or Breconbeacons@DofE.org will be redirected. The DofE Wales office phone number (01874 623 086) will be the main Wales Network Expedition contact number. Website: www.DofE.info/go/wea/ Wales Expedition Network Coordinator The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Market House Market Approach                                                 Brecon LD3 7DA

Opportunity Finder As part of our ongoing work into addressing the barriers to completion that prevent participants from completing their programme, we are running a trial around the Expedition section. The DofE will be contacting participants who have completed every section of their Bronze or Silver programme, apart from their Expedition section. They will be signposting them to the Opportunity Finder where open expeditions run by AAPs, Assessor Networks and LOs are currently listed. If you know of any open expeditions that are not on the Finder at this time, please contact Abigail Saunders with details in the format below: Organisation Dates If qualifying or mixed practice and qualifying Award Level Location Cost Website Contact details Any additional info

Residential resources Many of you have suggested that a resource that can be used to help participants, parents and Leaders identify residentials that could count for their DofE would be useful. The aim is to encourage better informed choices prior to the residential, rather than participants needing to justify their choices afterwards. The resource, as attached, will also be featured on the DofE resources page. Alec Dickson Trust The Alec Dickson Trust provides grants of up to £500 to individuals or groups of young people aged 30 or under to help them put ‘volunteering ideas into action and run projects that benefit the lives of others – particularly the most marginalised and disadvantaged.’ Participants can apply directly via their website:  www.alecdicksontrust.org.uk/

London Training Updates We now have confirmed dates for training courses in 2016 on our website. These dates and further information on upcoming DofE London courses can be found in pdf form here. To sign up for any of our courses, please contact London@DofE.org. Anything for next month? Do you struggle to find Assessors for expeditions? Want advice from the London network? Are you recruiting new members of staff or seeking volunteers? If so, then let us know and we will inform the network. Email Mark.Allen@DofE.org with your contribution.