DofE for parents: how to save money and help your child succeed
As a parent, you may be wondering: what are the important things to be aware of for your child’s DofE Award? From how much the Award is going to cost you, to knowing what you can do to help them make the most of their experience — there’s a number of things you should know before your child embarks on their DofE journey.
As a parent, helping to pick the right activities for your children will ensure they get the most out of the Award. It’s also helpful to know that you can use your child’s DofE Card to save money in a range of retailers!
Money
How much will DofE cost?
There is a fixed cost of signing your child up for DofE, which is £22 for Bronze and Silver, and £29 for Gold. Whilst many of the costs associated with DofE can be avoided — as I’ll discuss below — the sign-up fee is mandatory.
This is because the sign-up fee funds the Welcome Packs, which every DofE participant receives at the start of their Award. The pack includes five elements: information for participants, information for parents and carers, the participant’s DofE Card (more detail on that below), Assessor’s Report cards, and an expedition kit guide.
The other aspect of a DofE Award that may cost money is activities required for the Award’s sections. Every Award consists of a Skill, Physical, Volunteering, and Expedition section (and Residential for Gold), each of which may incur some costs. However, in almost all cases, these costs can be avoided — or at the very least minimised — without having an impact on your child’s experience.
Find high-quality free activities
Volunteering is the simplest section to do for free, for obvious reasons. You could tutor, help at a charity shop, or join a regular campaign group, to name a few. For more inspiration, read my post on 7 simple Volunteering ideas anyone can sign up for.
Physical has a huge range of free activities — you don’t have to pay for tennis lessons if you don’t want to. You could go on regular walks or runs and keep track of your progress with a fitness app such as Strava, or alternatively you could do one hour of yoga every week, using guided lessons on YouTube.
Skills can be completed for free in a variety of ways. You could join an after-school chess club, learn to improve your drawing, or start a blog (like this one!). Or, if you’re already taking music lessons or even learning to drive, these are approved activities that can count too — remember, there is no problem with using activities you were already doing before DofE
Expedition, unfortunately, is unlikely to be possible to do for free. Most participants will do the Expedition section through their school, as this allows group of friends to stay together. However, if you are searching for an expedition provider on more of a budget, use DofE’s Opportunity Finder to find the best option for you (but bear in mind, the minimum you can expect to pay for a 1-night Bronze expedition is £60).
Residential (Gold only) will normally incur fees for non-volunteering based camps. If you want to spend 5 days learning to mountaineer, or how to survive in the wild, you can expect to pay a standard price for a children’s residential camp. If, however, you are happy to make your Residential section volunteering based, there are a number of free opportunities, such as with YHA, Revitalise, or SENSE
Save cash with DofE-exclusive discounts
DofE is a great way to save money in a wide range of industries and sectors. From discounts at outdoor retail shops to cheaper car insurance to 10% of days out, make sure you take full advantage of the DofE-exclusive discounts your child receives when starting their Award.
For a full rundown of where and how you can save money with DofE, read my post, The complete guide to saving money with DofE.
The Award
Picking the right activities makes a big difference
1. Do any of the activities your child’s already doing qualify?
The first thing to point out is that there is no requirement to start new activities for your DofE Award. If you are already playing football on Sundays, taking music lessons on Tuesdays, and tutoring a student at school on Thursdays at lunch, you don’t need to start anything new.
So, before your child signs up to something for 6 months (or longer), evaluate the activities they’re already doing, and see if any of them qualify.
2. Don’t panic if your child has an idea that’s not on DofE’s ‘Activity Lists’
Say your child has discovered the wonderful sport of Pickleball (a growing sport best described as miniature tennis) and would like to get lessons which would count as their Physical section, but is disheartened to see that it is not on DofE’s pre-approved ‘Activity Lists’.
Don’t worry! DofE have a list of preapproved activities for each section (you can find them in my post on DofE resources and downloads), but it’s important to remember that they are just suggestions, and not a comprehensive list. In working out if something qualifies, use common sense. For the Volunteering, is your child giving up their time for a real cause? For Skills, is your child regularly working towards improving at a recognised skill? For the Physical, is your child engaging in a sport or activity that would be considered exercise?
3. If your child decides to change activities later on, they can
Whilst they will likely have to start the section from the beginning again, participants are allowed to switch activities if they choose. It’s much better to try something, find out you don’t enjoy it after a few weeks, and then switch to something else, than to spend months and months doing an activity you hate.
I know many people who continued with activities they started for their DofE, even after completing the Award. If you can help your child to find activities they enjoy and find rewarding, they will get that so much more out of the Award.
Make the most of the Expedition
1. Missing an expedition isn’t the end of the world
If your child misses an expedition due to illness, or can’t make it due to dates clashing, there’s no denying it’s a pain. However, it’s not the end of the world. Whilst they may no longer be able to to do the Expedition with their friends, there are other solutions.
Firstly, speak to the school and check if they run multiple expedition dates. My school, for example, ran Bronze expeditions at two separate dates, and some people were able to switch due to clashes with other commitments. Failing this, you can use one of the many Approved Activity Providers (AAPs) to complete your expedition independently. You can use DofE’s Opportunity Finder to find an AAP that suits your dates and location.
2. They’ll enjoy the Expedition much more with food they love
Having food that they’ll want to eat is just as important as bringing food that’s suitable for an expedition. As a parent you know what your children will want to eat just as well as they do (if not better!), so it’s definitely worth having a discussion with them about the food they intend to bring.
Food on DofE is a huge topic, with discussions involving what types of food are permitted, and debates over hot vs cold, heavy vs light, simple vs more complex. Read my page on Food for a full breakdown of the best foods to bring, or, if you want a simple decision-free solution, check out my complete Meal Plans, with options for Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
3. Make sure their gear is waterproofed and rucksack is packed properly
It’s important that a DofE rucksack is organised and packed appropriately, and even more important that everything is kept waterproof — if your child gets heavily rained on, a wet sleeping bag is the last thing they’ll want to have to deal with at the end of the day. Read my post on waterproofing on DofE to learn how to make sure everything stays dry.
A well-organised, well-fitted rucksack will also allow your child to hike more comfortably, reducing the chance of blisters, as well as allowing for quicker access the items they need more quickly, such as snacks or waterproofs. If you want to find out which rucksack I used (and loved!) on all my DofE Expeditions, and how to pack a DofE rucksack for maximum comfort and efficiency, check out my post How to pack a DofE rucksack.
Use DofE to make their CV and Personal Statement stand out
DofE is a brilliant qualification and can really make a CV or Personal Statement stand out. From developing perseverance, learning to work as a team, and improving organisation, to increasing self-awareness and honing problem-solving skills, DofE will help your child to display their aptitude in a range of transferrable skills.
I’d highly recommend reading my post on how to Use DofE to make your CV and Personal Statement shine for further details, such how I included DofE in my actual Personal Statement that was submitted to UCAS.