Nine ways to encourage completion

They’ve done most of the hard work; now it’s time to make sure they complete their DofE and get the recognition they deserve. At this time of year, most young people are focusing on their exams, so it’s important to keep this in mind when encouraging them to complete all the sections. There are lots of reasons why young people don’t go on to achieve their Award. To help you make sure that as many as possible see their programme through to the end, we’ve pulled together our top nine tips.

– If your Licensed Organisation or centre is a school, consider hosting a DofE slot at the next parents’ evening to give updates on your students’ progress. You could also ask form tutors to help encourage completions, highlighting those who still need to submit evidence.

– Help motivate those with only one section left to complete by giving them clear steps and targets to reach to get their Award approved.

– For any participants who only need to submit evidence, you could send a letter to their parents and give guidance on how this can be done.

– It’s worth reminding participants that some activities they already do in their spare time could be used toward achieving their DofE. This will make it easier for them to prioritise their time.

– For any young people who are struggling with the motivation to complete their DofE, it’s important to regularly check in with them. Make sure they have everything they need and find out how they feel, any problems they may be facing and work out how you could solve these together.

– We’ve all done it, made the wrong choice and realised too late. But that doesn’t have to be the case for participants – if they feel they’ve selected the wrong activity, they can change once in each section at each level. However, both activities will need to be recorded in eDofE.

– If participants have missed their qualifying expedition, you can help them find another. If you don’t have another one planned for the year, there are often places available with one of our AAPs.

– Many young people complete all their sectional activities and then forget to send them for approval on eDofE. Throughout their programme, encourage young people to keep updating their eDofE account – this will make the process much easier when it comes to getting final approval for sections, as they won’t have to do it all at once.

– Some young people are put off by the thought of doing an expedition. You can help by talking to them and reassuring them. Don’t forget to remind them that by planning their own route and deciding how they want to travel, they’ll be in control and they can ensure that what they’re doing is achievable. You could also talk through the training they’ll receive and how this will support them during their expedition. Showing photos of the area and getting them to have a look on online may help to remove their fear of the unknown. You could also arrange for Award holders who have experienced the same fears but did complete their expedition to talk to the young person.