Yes, volunteering at home or for a family member is an appropriate activity for some young people and can be used for their Volunteering section. The temporary change introduced due to Covid-19 highlighted that participants could still find opportunities that mattered to them within their households. This flexibility empowers Leaders to approve meaningful opportunities to support young people with additional needs, young carers, those on probation or participants who can demonstrate that the opportunities align with the outcomes of the section. This change is to be used only in exceptional circumstances based on the needs of the individual.

In most cases, businesses cannot offer volunteering opportunities as they are not organisations established for civic benefit but for profit – it may be that this opportunity better meets the Skills section. However, we also recognise that several types of businesses can clearly demonstrate civic good and offer impactful volunteering experiences. In these circumstances, this is permissible. These businesses should be able to demonstrate that they offer volunteering opportunities in line with the outcomes of the section. Apart from expenses, the participants must not be paid and only be present in a supporting role, not part of any required staffing ratios.

We have developed a Volunteering Framework to help Leaders support participants with their choices.

Participants can start their Bronze Award in the academic year they turn 14, so some will be younger when they embark on their DofE journey. This means that if you are under 14, you will not be able to volunteer for any profit-making organisation, regardless of whether it meets the outcomes of the section. Further details can be found on the government website.

Yes. Volunteering online is different to volunteering in person, but there are many ways you can give your time and make it meaningful as well as being able to complete one of your sections. You can raise awareness online for your chosen cause or become involved in project work. You can find a range of remote volunteering ideas and opportunities on the Opportunity Finder. Just select Volunteering in the Section dropdown menu and select Distance learning/remote.

Sectional activities need to average an hour a week, with the first and last activities being the full section duration apart. At Bronze level, it is usual for activities to be weekly. For longer sections at Silver and Gold (potentially at Bronze, depending on the activity), it can help for the activity to be longer (in terms of hours per session) but less often. This can be particularly good for the Volunteering section to allow participants to take on more interesting, challenging and responsible activities. For example, in a Gold programme lasting 12 or 18 months, a participant could do one longer session (e.g., 6 hours) of volunteering per month. Please note that the activity cannot be condensed to less than one session per month.

Singing is a Skills section activity. For singing in a choir to be volunteering the participant needs to take on additional responsibilities and help organise the choir in some way, helping with events or practices for example. It could form part of a wider volunteering commitment to the church and church community under ‘serving a faith community’. You can find a list of volunteering activities ideas here.

It can be either. Sports Leadership (sports coaching) can be focused on formal training within the Skills section or could be part training and mostly practical coaching to count for the Volunteering section. It all depends on how the young person sets up their programme and what outcomes they agree with their DofE Leader.

Yes, longer-term fundraising activities can be included in the Volunteering section, provided they form part of a wider fundraising programme. Time spent doing activities such as running, baking for a weekly bake sale, or organising one-off fundraising events like a quiz night are acceptable forms of fundraising. Participants must set an appropriate goal, meet the timescales, and to ensure activities like these to meet the aims, principles and benefits of the section participants should also aim to learn about the charity and the issues or areas in which they work as part of their programme.

No, a one-off sponsored run and the training for it are considered physical activities and don’t count towards Volunteering. Spending time just getting sponsorship rarely meets the aims, principles, benefits, or time requirements of the Volunteering section. The training for a sponsored run would be better suited to the Physical section.

Due to the community focus of the Volunteering section, DofE participants can’t use this section to fundraise for their own specific DofE group or equipment (including expedition equipment) as they’ll personally benefit from their own efforts. This isn’t in-keeping with the aim of the Volunteering section. Young people can fundraise for their own DofE group or fundraise to support themselves in going on their expedition, but it can’t count for their Volunteering section. Participants can fundraise for a specific DofE centre if it’s a community charity or organisation. For instance, a DofE centre working with young people with special needs, a youth centre or Scout group. It should also be for a specific cause, for example new facilities, a new roof, extension or renovation