DofE Expedition Information

Expeditions

The Expeditions section of the DofE website contains links to various forms and guidance

Award Journal 114 contained a useful article which summarises the conditions of DofE Expeditions; DofE Summary Conditions re Expeditions

The role of the DofE Expedition Supervisor

is to be responsible for the safety and welfare of the team on behalf of the Operating Authority.

The supervisor must be a suitably experienced adult who is competent in the chosen mode of travel. The Supervisor should be familiar with the team, their individual strengths and weaknesses and their knowledge of the chosen route.

DofE guidance, contained within the Award Officers Resource Pack, is as follows:

National Governing Body Qualifications - Operating Authorities are responsible for the safety and well-being of the participants and the approval of Instructors, Supervisors and Assessors.
Operating Authorities should have activity procedures, which set out the training, experience and/or qualifications required for their Instructors, Supervisors and Assessors.

Whilst the Award does not insist on specific qualifications, it strongly recommends that, where suitable national qualifications exist (administered by national governing bodies), these should be obtained.

The following extract is from the Award Journal issue No. 101 spring 2004: Since the Walking Group Leader Award (WGL) started in 2001, 2,862 candidates have registered with the MLTUK for the scheme, and a further 284 have gone on to gain the qualification. There is, however, still some misunderstanding surrounding WGL, perhaps inhibiting Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Leaders from attending courses. This article provides clarity about the WGL and to encourage those involved in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to consider the qualification.

The Walking Group Leader (WGL) is aimed at leaders wanting to take groups into non-mountainous terrain in summer conditions. It is ideal for those wanting to supervise Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE Groups.

Training DofE Participants

Preparation involves:
• An initial briefing to decide on the Aim, the environment and the mode of travel.
• Training in the skills required for the Participants to undertake their chosen venture.
• Joint planning by members of the Team.
• Practice journeys.

Training Syllabus - There are 3 sets of syllabus notes for DofE

Common Training Syllabus for Gold (Gold Training Syllabus)
Common Training Syllabus for Silver
Common Training Syllabus for Bronze

Regardless of the level of Award (Bronze, Silver or Gold) if the expedition is taking place in an area designated as 'Wild Country', the Gold Training Syllabus should be used by those responsible for training the participants.

Within Highland Region, many DofE expeditions take place in 'Wild Country' as designated by the DofE; this means that the Gold Training Syllabus must be used.

Additional Expedition training resources which may be useful when training participants can be found here.

Practice Journey - As part of their training, Participants are required to undertake sufficient practice journeys to ensure that they have acquired a level of experience and competence to be able to complete their unaccompanied, self-reliant venture in safety.

In order that the Award Leader, Supervisor or Instructor has the opportunity to judge the Participants' levels of experience and competence, and to give them the opportunity to work together as a team, a minimum of one practice journey must be undertaken at each level of Award.

It is not appropriate for the Award to prescribe the number of other practice journeys to be undertaken in order for Participants to reach the required level of competence.

The final practice journey should be seen as the culmination of the Team’s planning and preparation. Accompanied practice journeys with the Leader, Supervisor or Instructor, before embarking on unaccompanied ventures, allow for an assessment of the Team’s abilities.

The Leader's judgement is crucial in this respect and there are no short cuts where the safety and well-being of the Participants is concerned.

Practice journeys provide an opportunity to identify areas where Participants may require more training and support before embarking on their Qualifying Venture. If such support, to remedy minor deficiencies, can be provided locally additional practice journeys may not be required.

Practice journeys should also reflect the intended Aim of the Qualifying Venture and provide an opportunity to prepare for exploratory work. The conditions should be as similar as possible to those anticipated during the Qualifying Venture, including daily hours of journeying, and should be undertaken in terrain which is equally demanding.

Practice journeys at Silver and Gold levels should include two or more full days and nights away from home.

All Participants should have an opportunity to experience unaccompanied journeying before undertaking the Qualifying Venture. Unaccompanied practice journeys must be supervised. For qualifying ventures in Wild Country at least one practice journey must be in a Wild Country environment.

Timescales for Qualifying Ventures - The speed of journeying, the distance travelled and the time spent exploring should be determined by the Team. This should be based on their experience during practice journeys in a similar environment.

Maps to be used for navigation and route planning - The 1:25 000 scale Outdoor Leisure or Explorer Maps, available for the whole of England, Scotland and Wales and parts of Northern Ireland, should be used wherever possible as it makes instruction and learning easier. They show the field boundaries, making it easier to locate precisely the footpaths, tracks and lanes used for travel in this type of country, so helping to reduce friction with landowners. Participants must also be familiar with the 1:50 000 scale Landranger Maps and/or any foreign maps of the area in which the venture is to take place.

eDofE includes a free mapping feature.

Expeditions in 'Wild Country'
If you are organising an expedition in an area designated as 'Wild Country' by DofE you need to complete and submit the expedition Green Form.

Whilst it is not necessary to obtain permission to camp on private land in Scotland, DofE still recommends that out of courtesy groups notify landowners of their intentions to camp . For further information about the Scottish Outdoor Access Code visit the following website: www.outdooraccess-scotland.com

The role of a DofE Expedition Assessor

is to ensure that the aim of the Expedtion section are met
is to ensure the conditions of the Expedtiion section are met
is to assist with the safety of the participants, by advising them on their route, equipment etc. (Responsibility for the Health and Safety of the team rests entirley with the DofE Expedition Supervisor).
is to protect the interests of the DofE.

At Bronze level the Assessor must not have been involved in the training of the DofE group. At Silver level the Assessor should be totally independent of the DofE Centre. At Gold level the Assessor must be totally independent of the DofE Centre and not associated with it in any way.

Assessment of Expeditions

Expedition Assessment fees are charged to groups who use an Expedition Area Assessor. The charge is per team, not per person or per centre. A Bronze team will pay £30, a Silver team £45 and a Gold team £60. These fees cover volunteer Assessor expenses and administration support to Expedition Assessor Networks. Further details are in current documents section.

Please note it is possible for volunteers from DofE groups to become accredited Expedition Assessors. For further details follow the link.

DofE groups working under Highland Council Operating Authority

DofE groups working under Highland Council Operating Authority have to complete Approval Forms and an Excursion Risk Assessment as well as completing the necessary DofE paperwork.

Please refer to the document DofE guidance for Off Site Excursion approval forms for further information.

Highland Council Outdoor Education team offer training opportunities relating to expeditions please see Outdoor Education webpage.