How running the DofE benefits teachers and schools
Doing a DofE programme makes a big difference to young people — but it’s not just participants who benefit.
If you’re looking for a rewarding challenge this new school year, here’s what teachers tell us they get out of running the DofE in their schools.
“Running the DofE and setting up, managing a successful programme within the school has been hugely beneficial to my own leadership.”
Andrew Wilson – Teacher at Stewarton Academy
It’s rewarding
Helping pupils overcome barriers and reach their potential gives DofE teachers a real sense of pride when their participants persevere and achieve their Awards. When we surveyed teachers who run the DofE in 2018, 70% told us doing so had improved their job satisfaction.
It boosts your CV
From managing volunteers to helping pupils organise expeditions and other activities, running the DofE gives teachers strong leadership, coaching, communication and organisational skills that can help their careers.
Sixty-one per cent of teachers told us they’d learnt leadership skills through the DofE — and 60% said it had boosted their communications skills.
It improves teacher-pupil relationships
Working with students outside the classroom lets teachers build better working relationships with their pupils — helping them understand who they are, what they care about and what’s going on in their lives.
Three quarters of teachers said running the DofE had helped them see their students in a different light, and 78% told us it had improved pupil-teacher understanding and respect.
It connects schools with the local community
By helping participants find volunteering roles, teachers build relationships with their local community that can benefit their pupils and schools long after those students achieve their Awards.
It develops character, broadens horizons — and is open to all pupils
Two guiding principles of the DofE are personal development and achievability by all young people — meaning running it can help schools excel under Ofsted’s new inspection criteria.
Doing a DofE programme develops commitment, resilience, self-motivation, independence and responsibility. Every participant’s programme is personal to them – so they’re on a level playing field, with pupils of different abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and circumstances working and achieving together.
Eighty-one per cent of teachers said students’ willingness to push themselves out of their comfort zones made a DofE school different — and more than half said running the DofE improved the way students responded to them in lessons.
Get involved.
