SCDF to launch Duke of Edinburgh programme

The Saints Community Development Foundation are delighted to announce that we will be starting up our own Duke of Edinburgh programme in St Helens.

Why do DofE?

Doing their DofE is a brilliant way for your young person to discover just how much they are capable of. It gives young people the chance to make new friends, follow their passions, learn new skills and make a difference in our community. Achieving a DofE Award is a great way to impress employers too. And it helps young people to see themselves differently and gain a new level of confidence. We always say that after taking on your DofE, you know that whatever life throws at you, you’re ready to deal with it.

The DofE is non-competitive and a powerful way for every young person to build belief in themselves, whatever their background, interests and abilities.

How It Works

There are three levels of DofE Award – Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve their Award, your young person will need to complete four sections – Volunteering, Physical, Skills and the Expedition.

Young people can choose what they would like to do for the first three sections, and we will provide all the guidance and support they need. The Expedition involves spending [two/three/four] days and [one/two/three] nights in the countryside. We provide comprehensive training beforehand to ensure everyone is fully prepared and has the best possible experience.

Next step: We hope lots of our young people will take this opportunity to get involved with DofE.

Thank you for your support. We hope you’ll agree that the DofE is the perfect way for your young person to feel ready for anything.

About DofE

The DofE is non-competitive and open to all young people – it’s about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries. There are three levels of DofE programme which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award.

Through their DofE, students will make friends and memories and build traits like confidence, resilience and self-esteem, which can benefit mental health. They’ll gain skills and attributes for work and life, like problem-solving, team-working and self-motivation – and they’ll achieve an Award that’s recognised by top employers and can help them stand out when applying for University or jobs.

To achieve their Bronze Award, participants must complete four sections: Skills, Volunteering, Physical and their Expedition.

Every young person’s DofE programme is personal to them – they can choose what they’d like to do for their Skills, Volunteering and Physical sections, and most activities can count. We will provide guidance and support, and students can either choose to continue an activity they already do or discover something completely new.

Foundation Director, Steve Leonard said: “It is a great step forward for the Foundation to be involved with the Duke of Edinburgh awards and to gain a licence to deliver them. Special thanks must go the Rausing Trust who have funded the setting up and first three years of our journey. Also, a mention to Sean Atkins from the Rausing Trust who has mentored Brad Billsborough through every step of the way.”

“We are now able to launch our first Bronze awards with our volunteers in place ready to go. We have the experienced Barry Diggles on board also to make sure everything is done correctly and have recruited Holly Amadio alongside Brad to deliver the courses. Another great step taken and achieved with partner collaboration. Best of luck to our first cohort of Awardees and here’s to making the Duke of Edinburgh awards accessible to all in our Borough.”

DofE Lead, Brad Billsborough commented: “It is hugely exciting that Saints Community Development Foundation get to provide the Duke of Edinburgh opportunity to children and young people in St Helens. As completing Duke of Edinburgh myself, the Duke of Edinburgh has a long-standing reputation of the impact it has on young people’s development since its inception in 1956 and we can help bring these benefits to St Helens. As part of the DofE ‘Youth without Limits’ Strategy we are proud and excited to help tackle some of the issues that has risen off the back of the pandemic for young people, through disruption in education and social development, With providing the DofE we can help tackle issues such as rising levels of anxiety, loneliness and mental ill health across the young people of St Helens”

If you want more information about the programme, please email [email protected] and he will get back to you as soon as possible!

You can view our brand new Duke of Edinburgh website by checking our website here