RSPCA becomes Approved Activity Provider for young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

The RSPCA is proud to announce that they are now an Approved Activity Provider (AAP) for the Volunteering section of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE).

The RSPCA’s scheme is accessible for all ages and can now form part of a young person’s Bronze or Silver Award. The scheme is aimed at helping young people engage with wildlife and animal welfare issues, as well as the wider work of the RSPCA. It has been designed so those taking part can undertake tasks and activities from their homes either by themselves or in a group.

There are 15 tasks to choose from, including litter picking, building a hedgehog house and making a PAWS Pack for an RSPCA pet food bank. The young people taking part will also be able to use their online and social media skills by taking part in some of the animal charity’s campaigning work.

Activity workbooks are being provided that can be downloaded from the RSPCA website and participants can pick the tasks they wish to complete to make up the number of required hours to attain their DofE Award.

They will provide evidence of their work to hand to an assessor and all of the activities have been chosen so those taking part can have the maximum amount of impact on animal welfare while volunteering remotely.

Sophie Keaveney, AAP Operations Manager at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “We are delighted that the RSPCA is now an Approved Activity Provider for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, opening the door to more fantastic opportunities for young people to gain new skills outside of the classroom. We know that many of our DofE participants are passionate about wildlife and animal welfare and it’s brilliant that they will have the chance to follow this passion through their DofE Award.

“Thanks to our network of volunteering partners, like the RSPCA, young people can find a whole range of meaningful ways to achieve their DofE. Last year, DofE volunteers gave over four million hours of their time to their communities – equivalent to over £24 million in paid hours – which is something we’re hugely proud of, and we look forward to growing further with the support of this new partnership.”

RSPCA Head of Volunteer Experience Brian Reeves said: “We’re delighted to have become an Approved Activity Provider for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. By completing their volunteering activity with the RSPCA young people will learn about animal welfare and put their new-found knowledge into practice.

“We’ve a whole workbook packed with practical actions and research tasks to pick and choose from. There’s something for everyone regardless of ability or where you live. We’re excited about our new partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which will inspire a new audience of young volunteers to make a positive difference to the welfare of animals. ”

In June this year the RSPCA celebrated its 200th birthday, marking two centuries of its work improving the lives of millions of animals through changing laws, industries and minds. Volunteers make a massive contribution to the RSPCA’s work preventing cruelty and promoting kindness to animals and the charity offers a wide range of volunteering roles across its animal and wildlife centres, as well its network of branches.

These volunteering roles include pet fosterers, who look after and care for animals until they are found permanent homes; Animal Rescue Volunteers (ARVs), who help RSPCA officers rescue and transport animals to animal centres, vets and hospitals; and Wildlife Friends who take action around their own homes to nurture wildlife by creating habitats and environments where they can thrive.

To do their DofE, young people aged 14-24 choose activities in four sections: improving a Physical and Skills activity, Volunteering for a cause of their choice, and completing a demanding Expedition. Along the way they have fun, grow in resilience and self-belief, discover new talents and passions, and learn practical skills to help them in future – while working towards a highly respected Award.

A record-breaking number of young people started their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award across the UK in 2023-24 – with more than 330,000 starting their DofE and more than 545,000 participating. Young people contributed an astonishing 4.7 million hours of volunteering as part of their DofE.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award wants to see 1.6 million young people start their DofE by Spring 2026. It has launched ambitious projects to fund schools and community organisations in the UK’s most deprived areas to start offering the DofE, to expand into more prisons and young offender institutions, and to support more young people with additional needs and disabilities to achieve their DofE Awards.

Participants can find out more about volunteering with the RSPCA and access the DofE activity workbook here: Be a Volunteer & Work in Animal Welfare | RSPCA – RSPCA – rspca.org.uk