Validated Self Evaluation
“How Good is our Third Sector
Organisation?”
January 2016
Contents
1. Introduction
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Background to report
Organisational Summary
Current Environment
Indicators and method
2. Framework questions?
2.1 Impact on the organisations we work with
2.2 Delivering services
3. Conclusion
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
Capacity for Improvement
INSIGHT
Capacity
Summary
4. Appendices
Appendix 1: Example of Local Authority Statistical Report.
Contact
Barry Fisher
Director – DofE Scotland
T: 0131 343 0920
E: barry.fisher@dofe.org
January 2016
1. Introduction
1.1 Background to Validated Self Evaluation (VSE)
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) Scotland was last ‘reviewed’ by HMIe in June 2009, a report which provided strategic
impetus to the development of the programme particularly within local authorities. In March 2014, DofE Scotland was
invited by Education Scotland to become a ‘pilot’ organisation as part of the creation of a new inspection framework – “How
Good is our Third Sector Organisation”(HGIOTSO) and contributed with national colleagues in shaping this document to its
current iteration.
DofE Scotland welcomes the opportunity to engage in this VSE as a positive way to demonstrate key recent achievements
and reflect on areas for development ahead of its next strategic period (2016 – 2020). The DofE welcomes the development
of the HGIOTSO framework as a way to communicate consistently with stakeholders, at national and local level, against a
common set of indicators.
Initially, as part of the pilot, a range of indicators were selected to be included in the Evaluation, however through this
process it was discovered that little learning was being gained and that a more focussed set of fewer indicators would be a
more useful way to proceed.
The engagement with this process was more time consuming than first anticipated and bringing the report to its conclusion
has taken longer, owing to changing priorities across the Charity. Nonetheless this report has provided a focus for key areas
for action for the organisation to ensure that it continues to provide an effective range of services to the DofE network of
licensed organisations.
1.2 Organisational Summary
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, established in 1956, is a Charity which seeks to develop life and works skills in young people
through a programme of personal development.
The DofE is a balanced programme of activities that develops the whole person – mind, body and soul – in an environment
of social interaction and team working. Young people are able to journey through three levels of programmes to achieve a
Bronze, Silver or Gold Award.
Taking part in DofE programmes build confidence and develops self-belief. It requires persistence, commitment and has a
lasting impact on the attitudes and outlook of all young people who do their DofE. Participation in the programme is
available to young people aged 14 to 24.
•
Our Vision: To reach more young people from diverse backgrounds and equip them as individuals to succeed in life
•
Our Mission: To inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their
Achievements.
The DofE charity strives to achieve its mission through personal development programmes and the assessment and
presentation of Awards.
All DofE programmes are driven by the following ten guiding principles;
•
•
•
•
Non Competitive
Achievable by All
Voluntary
Personal Development
January 2016
•
•
•
•
•
•
Personalised
Balanced
Progressive
Achievement Focused
Demand Commitment
Enjoyable
DofE Programmes are personalised to the individual but are based on a structure that has remained relatively unchanged
for over 60 years. The programme requires young people to choose activities that seeks to encourage them to engage in
volunteering, undertake a sport of fitness activity, develop a new interest or skill and undertake an adventurous journey as
a group challenge. Most activities require young people to undertake an activity which requires at least 1 hour of
commitment per week, although most undertake significantly more.
DofE Programme Summary
As DofE programmes asks young people to undertake a minimum number of hours of activity therefore a full understanding
of the extent of DofE activity can only be estimated on this minimum – in 2014-15 young people undertook at least 2.3
Million hours of activity through the programme including 367k Hours of volunteering.
DofE programmes are delivered under licence through a range of organisations. In Scotland there are 75 organisations that
hold a DofE License these include;
•
•
•
•
32 Scottish Local Authorities – (Operating Authorities)
30 Schools (Directly Licensed Centres)
5 National Voluntary Organisations (National Operating Authorities)
8 Other (including Napier University, Kibble Education Centre, The Good Shepherd Centre).
These 75 Organisations currently support 893 DofE ‘Centres’ who have 3,855 leaders that support 43,000 participants.
The range of current centres is provided in the table below;
January 2016
Centre Type
a. Secondary School
b. Academy School
c. Independent School
d. Youth Centre/Club
e. Open DofE Centre
f. National Voluntary Org.
g. Community Based Org.
h. Special Schools / ASN
i. FE College
k. University/Higher Education
College
l. Pupil Referral Unit
m. YOT/YJT
n. Youth Offenders Institution
o. Prison
p. Secure Units/JCC
q. Virtual Centre
r. Employment Training Scheme
s. Business
t. Other
Total
Num ber of
Centres
328
4
46
54
98
142
54
38
6
%
39.23%
0.48%
5.50%
6.46%
11.72%
16.99%
6.46%
4.55%
0.72%
5
0.60%
13
1.56%
10
1.20%
4
0.48%
3
0.36%
4
0.48%
11
1.32%
7
0.84%
5
0.60%
4
0.48%
836 100.00%
DofE Centres, June 2015
All Licensed organisations have a “DofE Manager” who is the key contact for the DofE within their organisation. This
manager is responsible for the operational aspect of programme delivery although the license itself is normally signed by
the most senior official e.g. Director of Education/Head teacher/CEO.
DofE Scotland currently has 11 Members of staff, of which 2 are currently externally funded on short term contracts.
Management Structure: June 2015
For the purposes of management the DofE has 3 Regional Operational areas in Scotland – East, West and North. Each
Operations Officer Managers a portfolio of organisations within each geographic area providing programme advice, support,
quality assurance and an extensive programme of training to support leaders at a local level.
January 2016
The Development Officer/Centre Co-ordinator Posts are funded for specific areas of development work, currently this
includes development within HE and FE, and specific activity in the North East of Scotland where participation was lower
than the Scottish average.
DofE programmes are now recorded, managed and evidenced on the online achievement platform – eDoFE. First launched
in September 2009 this bespoke system now has well over 1,000,000 accounts registered with around 210,000 being added
each year. This has been a significant financial investment for the Charity but its introduction has also significantly changed
the experience for participants, leaders and those that manage the programme.
The scale of reliable management information from this system has had a profound effect on the DofE Charity both in terms
of its understanding of key issues but also in its ability to report and communicate effectively the scale and reach of the
programme at national and local level.
Screenshot – eDofE
eDofE is the only way to record DofE programmes and is the central communication conduit between leaders, participants,
licensed organisations and the DofE charity.
1.3 Current Environment
The DofE has 75 organisations with a license to operate the DofE programme. 71% of all activity is from the 32 Local
Authorities. The focus of this VSE is around the work with these organisations.
Participation in DofE programmes has nearly doubled since the last HMIe review in 2009. Since then the greatest increase
in participation has been identified within the number of DofE groups in secondary schools. In 2009, 66% of all schools had
an active DofE centre – in 2015 this had increased to 93%. Curriculum for Excellence (with its focus on widening
opportunities for achievement) provided a significant opportunity to restate the role and contribution of DofE within
Schools, however in the last year this rate of growth has noticeably slowed. Many DofE Managers believe that this slow
growth can be attributed to the introduction to the new National exams.
January 2016
Whilst there are a considerable number of schools delivering the DofE programme, community based groups, either
supported by local authorities or by voluntary organisations, remain an important element of the network of centres and
ensure that young people can engage in the programme in a variety of settings.
In Local Authorities DofE is managed largely within the CLD service, which can sit within Education, Housing, Communities
or Economic Re-generation departments. Over the last 3 years there has been consistent re-organisation of services and
associated reduction in budgets which has affected the capacity for the Local Authority to support and manage DofE
activity. In general there is no lack of will to support growth and participation, but the capacity of authorities to support has
come into sharp focus with the financial challenges faced by local government, although the application of resources is
unique to each authority.
An active DofE group within a school does not represent any sense of the scale of activity and there are significant
differences between schools with participation ranging from 7 pupils in one school to those with over 200. The DofE has
identified this as the ‘Achievement Gap’ and is seeking to work with authorities to;
•
•
Reach those learning communities with no DofE activity
Work with Councils to increase participation within existing groups where participation is low.
The DofE has worked closely with Local Authority partners to develop meaningful benchmarking data to address these gaps
in provision – see appendix 1: example of Statistical report for Scottish Local Authority.
The recent report by Audit Scotland into Scottish Education highlighted the lack of and inconsistency in presentation of data
in wider achievement. This provides an opportunity for DofE to engage with senior officials and officers around the
potential of eDofE to provide information to report on these council wide and individual achievements.
A number of Councils have supported the development of the DofE within a range of targeted policy areas including;
•
•
•
•
•
Employability
16+ Learning Choices
Modern Apprentices
Additional Support for Learning Schools
Youth Justice
The opportunity for the DofE programme to cross these policy areas is inconsistent across the 32 council areas.
The DofE is seeking more direct relationships, through license arrangements, with a number of organisations which may
have been previously been supported by the Council, with a view to them becoming their own DofE Licensed Organisation.
Recently these have included; Colleges, Universities and community based youth work organisations (e.g. F.A.R.E).
The DofE has long been recognised as a positive way for young people to describe to employers a range of life and work
skills. Recently the DofE launched its interactive online resource – Lifezone – (http://www.dofe.org/go/lifezone/) which
aims to bring together young people, leaders and employers and support young people in presenting their attributes to a
range of employers.
A recent study by CIPD highlighted (http://www.dofe.org/cipd-survey) the worth of DofE to employers, with over a quarter
of employers stating that they are searching for the DofE on CV’s from young people. The DofE is keen to demonstrate the
potential to contributing to Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce in bridging the demand for life and work skills and the
ability for young people to present their attributes alongside any attainment that they have achieved.
“The DofE is recognised by many employers, who understand the huge amount of work that individuals put in to
achieving it. Employers tell us that there are certain skills that they look for when recruiting, such as team work,
resiliance both of which individuals desmonstrate by achieving a DofE Award. It can help young candidates stand
out to potential employers particularly when applying for entry level positions”.
Peter Cheese, Chief Executive CIPD
January 2016
The recently published OECD report entitled “Improving Schools in Scotland” also recognises the growth in DofE activity
and its potential to support interdisciplinary learning within the broader context of Curriculum for Excellence.
There are more young people wanting to undertake the DofE programme, it is estimated (by local authorities) that there are
2,000+ young people (reference Youth Work Managers Survey March 2015) that want to do the DofE but are unable to. The
challenge for the DofE is to find ways to support partners to build capacity of existing and new groups to meet this demand
and ensure that the ‘Achievement Gap’ is closed.
Whilst the policy environment in Education, Youth Work and Employability is a positive one, it is set against the significant
challenges presented by the fiscal settlements for each Scottish Local Authority.
1.4 Indicators and methodology
The licensing of organisations has been reviewed and new licensing processes, including standardised quality assurance,
have been brought in for Local Authorities, Directly Licensed Centres and National Voluntary Youth Organisations. At the
same time the DofE in Scotland has committed to ensuring that annual visits, or re-licensing meetings, are held with the
DofE license holder of the organisation.
In addition the DofE in Scotland has worked with a number of local authorities on discreet pieces of commissioned work and
direct support through the Centre Co-ordinator model (which to date has been externally funded).
DofE Scotland has decided to review this activity to ensure that the charity continues to provide effective services to its
network and that the impact ensures that the capacity of the network is enhanced. The DofE has chosen to look at 2
indicators for the purpose of this review. Evidence as part of this VSE has been sourced from DofE manager questionnaires,
internal staff survey and internal staff discussions. The recent DofE manager questionnaire was completed by 29 licenced
partners from all 3 sectors, a total of 38% of the network.
In addition direct engagement on the key questions below has taken place with six local authority DofE managers, through
telephone interviews. In each case challenge questions were provided to each of the managers to gauge impact but also
identify gaps in these areas.
Indicator
Title
Rationale
2.2
Impact on organisations that we work
with
Delivering Services
Opportunity to reflect on how the DofE captures Data on impact, an area
identified in 2009 review for development
5.1
January 2016
Key role of the DofE Charity in Scotland is its ability to provide a range of services
to its ‘network’, review to focus on areas for improvement.
2. INDICATORS
INDICATOR 2.1 – Impact on Organisations we work with
One of the most effective tools the DofE has to support organisations is the management information generated by eDofE.
The ability to run consistent, reliable and bespoke reports has helped the DofE Charity, and the wider network, to better
explain the scale of the DofE operation to maintain or gain resources in a financially challenging environment. Consistent,
reliable and trusted data has shaped a positive approach to performance management to ensure continually diminshing
resources are targeted effectively in the centres with most need.
“The Real strength is that we can use the information to quantify and measure progress. Info is invaluable, easier to
set targets. The charts and stats are really helpful to track progress……”
The circulation of statistics and the annual report is also providing a focus for increased communication with DofE groups
and help focus more clearly what development is required at a centre level.
“….we now have each centre signed up to a service level agreement, which links to the area plan. Targets will be
agreed with centres, which in turn will drive training and support as well as achieving better outcomes for
participants…..”
Having established this environment of sharing and using the management information there appears to be a real appetite
from partners to further investigate the types and depth of information available.
“There is real intent from the DofE team to support this development and haven’t had any experience of can’t yet!”
Also the annual visits and strategic meetings between the DofE staff and the local authorities were seen as an effective way
in raising awareness with the senior management teams.
“These are important in terms of visibility for DofE and buy-in from senior management. It raises awareness and is
been seen as strengthening partnership rather than an inspection process.”
Evidence of impact on performance
By being able to pinpoint and share areas for improvement and having accurate and reliable data this has helped increase
the number of completions across Scotland significantly, over a 5 year period the overall completion rate has increased
from 32% to 47%.
“eDofE has increased our completions.”
January 2016
Since 2009-10 the overall increase in DofE Awards completed was 65%
There was significant rise of DofE Award enrolments over the same period, although there was a slight reduction in 201415.
Since 2009-10 the increase in DofE Award enrolments was 37%
There has been information at a strategic and operational level that has helped this drive for increasing completions. For
managers they have access to centre information and completion rates below. This information has been useful in sharing
practice across centres.
“sharing good practice allows for general improvement of quality through consistency of approach.”
April 2013 - March 2014
Centre Name
Bronze
Created
Completed
No of Awards
No of Awards
Silver
Gold
Total
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Total
Completion
rate
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Open Award
Centre
11
1
23
22
12
1
12
1
1
5
50
17
10
1
14
3
3
7
3
3
30
Bridge of Don Academy
6
Bucksburn Academy
7
3
8%
60%
43%
43%
At a centre level leaders can see which young people have sections to complete and evidence to add.
Samuel
Smith
Gold 2014
Anna
Smith
Gold 2014
January 2016
10/09/2014
10/09/2014
10/09/2014
View
20/10/2014
01/09/2014
01/05/2014
01/09/2014
View
09/06/2015
How has this helped promote inclusion, equality and fairness?
The performance management information has also helped to refocus attention on equity. In Renfrewshire it;
“has helped direct work with low income families and this is now a KPI for DofE work. We are now actively looking
at each of the participants and their barriers to participation or completions.”
Also in Renfrewshire the annual statistics enable the Manager to provide information for a successful council funding
application tripling the DofE resource in 2016/17.
example of SIMD report to local authority
In Aberdeenshire this gave the manager;
“further data and evidence to challenging schools on the equity of their DofE.”
Also in The Royal High School (City of Edinburgh) the senior management team are ensuring that at least 25% of all DofE
participants come from the lowest 30% SIMD. Partners did see a gap in the lack of recording of sectional completions.
There were consistent concerns about the cost of delivering the programme in some areas (particularly schools). A number
of centres had opted for a model of delivery which involved outsourcing which has caused financial barriers to some young
people. DofE Scotland has set aside a budget to provide free participation places (£17) to young people where cost is a
barrier. This year the Charity has set aside 500 free places for allocation with the charity covering the full cost from funded
sources. Also the Charity has ensured that more of the operations teams’ capacity is spent on direct work with centres.
Each of the Operation Officers has identified and is working with 10 centres with whom to provide direct support as well as
capacity building activities.
Also there were concerns from the network that due to CfE and the DofE’s apparent focus on schools, that work with young
people who are most disadvantaged are being marginalised at a national level. Also there has been a suggestion that the
Charity needs to develop further resources on “Developing the Young Workforce” and within the Health and wellbeing
agenda that will help strengthen this area of work. DofE Scotland has continued to revise briefing papers to take into
account the DYW area of work however it is recognised that more resources are needed to ensure DofE managers and
coordinators have appropriate and impactful material to support requests at a local level..
http://www.dofe.info/go/sempres/.
January 2016
KEY STRENGTHS
1. Use of data to target participation and completion
2. Increased use of SIMD data to ensure that provision is equitable at centre and authority level.
KEY ACTIONS
1. Review annual statistical report with network to ensure information is impactful and
relevant.
2. Increase training for local authority staff on reporting suite to increase capacity for data
analysis at local level
3. Work closely with network to ensure that any financial barriers to participation are removed
4. Review of policy briefings to ensure that policy connections to DofE can be made more easily
at local authority level.
January 2016
INDICATOR 5.1 Delivering services
The Landscape of DofE Management within the network is constantly changing, this has required DofE Scotland to react and
change its approach and structure over the past 12 months. In some areas the focus has been about looking to grow and
develop the programme and structure, however in other areas there has been a focus on maintaining provision during
recruitment freezes and staff redundancies.
DofE Scotland see the opportunity to use the annual meeting to engage in discussions about future planning and proofing of
the DofE Management function rather than reacting to changes or redundancies. This regular dialogue has ensured the
strategic and operational issues can be raised, aired and acted upon.
“DofE Managers meeting important and e-surveys/consultation valued.”
“From my experience you are a listening organisation in Scotland.”
DofE managers are certainly aware, for the most part, of the services DofE Scotland offers as part of the licence.
“Services that you provide are clearly communicated,”
Less than 5% of partners being unaware of one of the many services DofE Scotland offers. However 15% of partners were
not aware of our free participation place offer or the support provided for joint funding applications. There is still a
challenge with getting information directly to leaders and coordinators through the DofE manager with distribution of
information being inconsistent. This has been mitigated, to an extent, by utilising the News functionality within eDofE,
which enabled the DofE Charity to communicate directly with Leaders and Co-ordinators. The following ‘screenshot’ is an
example of an eNewsletter sent direct to coordinators, this is received by 900 volunteers across Scotland with a consistent
open rate of 30%.
SCOTLAND CO-ORDINATORS' NEWSLETTER
Your source for Scottish resources to help you deliver DofE programmes
Hello and welcome to the last edition of the newsletter this year.
In this issue you can find our top tips for fundraising, personalise
DofE Brand Centre items and help participants find careers
information on the LifeZone.
Donate now
Top Tips for Fundraising
We know that raising money for your DofE group’s activities can be challenging. Many groups across the
country fundraise for everything from expedition kit to transport for a group volunteering activity. We want
to help you out with this and so we’re sharing our top 10 fundraising ideas for your DofE group. Click on
'Read more' for our top tips.
Read more
January 2016
Share
Have you visited the LifeZone yet?
Funding opportunities
The DofE’s careers inspiration site is nearing its
first birthday and we want to make sure you, and
the rest of your network, have had a chance to
explore what it has to offer.
We’ve pulled together the latest funding
opportunities from across Scotland for you.
Highlights this month are Galaxy Hot Chocolate
fund and Agar Trust.
Read more
Read more
Share
Share
Leaders eNewsletter example
The most dynamic changes have happened in the last 12 months with the initiation of a number of commissioned pieces of
work from local authorities to DofE Scotland. Initially the development of this was ‘organic’ and developed out of informal
discussions or annual visits. However there are now a number of documents and processes which better explain the range
and level of support that can be provided. In each case DofE Scotland looks to engage in a frank and open discussion to
ensure that any potential commissioned work is identifiable and measurable.
In Fife, DofE Scotland provides development and capacity building within the Council to support their DofE development
plan. During the past nine months, the East Operations Officer has established the DofE in six new centres and provided
training and example structures. Support extends to six existing centres through training, restructuring and expedition
delivery.
In Falkirk DofE Scotland provides a transitional service to maintain delivery and increase quality and completions. Over the
past six months the East Operations Officer has actioned a backlog of enrolments and approvals, particularly within the
secondary schools. DofE Scotland maintains purchasing and enrolment processes within centres and provides training and
troubleshooting to Leaders. The Operations Officer has also led development planning within the Licensed Organisation.
The impact over a 6 month period has been extremely positive with an 87% increase in participation compared to the same
period in 2014.
Apr - Nov 2014
Enrolments
Licenced
Organisations
Local Authorities
Falkirk Council
Bronz
e
Silve
r
Gol
d
124
46
12
Apr - Nov 2015
Enrolments
Grand
Total
182
Bronz
e
Silve
r
Gol
d
204
122
16
Grand
Total
342
Differen
ce
%
Difference
160
+87.91%
In relation to additional services, Managers confirmed the excellent level of support and provision that the DofE Scotland
office provided.
“The standard licence service is more than we get from any other of our partner organisations…. nothing is too
much trouble for the staff in the office.”
One manager identified access to DofE Scotland standard reporting template to ensure consistency when running real time
reports.
January 2016
“Password protected access to management tools might bring greater consistency of reporting across Scotland in a
considered and thought through way.”
Feedback in reviewing services
The success and quality of the work can be confirmed by both Falkirk and Fife Council extending these commissions for
another 12 and 24 months respectively. The availability of the management information to track improvements in key
areas (indicated in 2.1) such as growth, leaders trained, completion, and penetration into SIMD area enable DofE Scotland
to feedback to partners at regular intervals and evaluate if progress is being made.
This reporting of quantitative data alongside outcome evidence of learning for young people was particularly useful when
working with other external funders to report progress e.g. ScottishPower Foundation supporting development within
Glasgow City Council.
One partner felt DofE Scotland could strengthen evidence on quality with more regular ‘customer satisfaction surveys’ with
young people undertaking the programme at all levels. However one partner did note that there should be caution about
the volume of communication directly with young people which may promote ‘feedback fatigue”.
KEY STRENGTHS
1. Close engagement with local authority network partners
2. Flexible approach to partnership to match operational need
KEY ACTIONS
1. Develop models of commissioning for dissemination across the network, but particularly with
License Holders.
2. Review DofE Managers annual survey, reduce scope and target feedback on specific rather
than all services
3. Co-produce development plan with each local authority areas to highlight priorities and areas
with future funding requirements.
January 2016
3. Conclusion
3.1 Capacity for Improvement
The DofE Scotland team is ambitious, has a good range of relevant skills within staff members and has a positive approach
to performance management to achieve the strategic objectives of the organisation. The staff team is supported and
advised by representatives of the Scottish Advisory Committee whose diversity in backgrounds represents the diversity of
the network that are delivering DofE programmes.
The regional operations structure enables the DofE Charity to work more closely with its network of licensed organisations,
and centres, and better understand the challenges and opportunities that are faced at operational level and strategic level.
This increased level of engagement ensures that the DofE can react more quickly to the needs of its network members than
previously and make decisions that better reflect the issues of delivery.
The skills mix of the staff team reflects the needs of the network and includes community development, youth work,
management development, IT support, event management and data analysis.
The DofE License model has worked well since its inception in 1956 however the significant financial challenges placed on all
licensed organisations, but particularly local authorities, has meant that the ability for Councils to support the delivery of
DofE is changing. The DofE has been able to engage in discussions with local authorities about the scope of support that the
DofE in Scotland can deliver and has, recently, signed contracts to deliver Administration and Development support with
Local Authorities, in addition to the Licence arrangements.
The Policy environment in Scotland remains relatively positive towards building an environment in which DofE programmes
can flourish particularly, but not exclusively. The key policy areas include;
•
•
•
•
Curriculum for Excellence
Developing Scotland Young Workforce
National Youth Work Strategy
GIRFEC
Despite a clear focus within this policy the DofE has recognised two potential areas in which the capacity for the DofE to
improve may be hindered from the external environment.
3.2 INSIGHT
The DofE is not a programme that can be levelled onto the SCQF owing to the nature of its approach to personal
development, also it is not a learning outcome based programme. INSIGHT – the benchmarking tool for secondary schools –
reports only on those programmes that are within scope of the SCQF – to that end DofE activity within schools is not
recorded in this nationally recognised tool.
A number of schools and Directors of Education have questioned this with DofE Scotland and some senior staff have
imparted to the DofE that this maybe to the detriment of the development of DofE e.g. if it is not within the nationally
recognised benchmarking tool then they will not be ‘credited’ for it. The DofE is working currently with partners in the
Awards Network to look at different ways in which Awards programme can be promoted but it remains a concern that the
benchmarking tool for Attainment may hinder the development of Achievement based programmes.
The DofE has used statistics, since its inception, to identify gaps in provision and to support licensed organisation to target
financial resource to the areas in which they will gain most benefit. The DofE was worked with licensed organisations to
provide a level of information which can be used at National Government, Local Government and Community level an
example of the latest iteration of this work is provided in Appendix 1.
January 2016
3.3 CAPACITY
The basis of all successful DofE centres is confident and enthusiastic leaders. The scale of DofE groups has changed
dramatically over recent years and there are an increasing number of school based groups where the numbers participating
are exceeding 100. The ability to support, encourage and develop this level of activity is considerable and requires a ‘team’
not just an enthusiastic individual.
The administration of a programme, at this scale, can be significant but this task can often fall on those individuals who
would normally have an ‘operational role’. It is both in the interests of DofE and the licensed organisation to ensure that
the administration of the programme is proportionate but which also protects the quality of the programme within a safe
environment. eDofE and other online systems for recording activity (e.g. EVOLVE – online resource for managing off site
excursions), provide a role here but there is no consistent process across the Country.
Leaders, whether volunteer or paid staff, should be trained appropriately but there are real pressures on training budgets
and, in particularly, technical training associated with the Expedition section. This is often seen as expensive and time
consuming without balancing this against the impact of the programme on an individual young person.
DofE Scotland will continue to build capacity of organisations to deliver their own DofE Modular Training but it has no
control over the accreditation routes for expedition leaders within a Licensed Organisation.
3.4 Summary
Recent growth in DofE has been significant but there still remain geographic areas of Scotland where routes to participation
are lacking. The DofE believes that eDofE provides the management tool to pinpoint gaps in provision, identify areas for
priority and gather evidence of how the programme is having impact on young people’s lives.
The varied mix of skills within the staff team around CLD Operational, administration, finance and communications provides
a strong foundation to address the current challenges faced in growing the programme across Scotland. The DofE in
Scotland has an ‘open mind-set’ to new ways of working and to supporting organisations at both national and local level to
support participation in a way that suits young people and their circumstances.
DofE remains a programme that is popular and important for employers who are looking for ways to ‘accredit’ work and life
skills, and there is growing evidence around how it is perceived by employers beyond the anecdotes. Growth in
participation is driven by both the need to satisfy demand and to ensure that all young people have an equal opportunity to
participate in a programme that can have a real impact on the life chances of young people.
The changing nature of local government will, inevitably, change the interaction between DofE Scotland and its partners.
DofE Scotland needs to react to these changes and be flexible in its approach to licensing, commissioning of services and
development projects to maintain the current momentum of growth in participation.
January 2016
Appendix 1
South Ayrshire Council
The following group information is categorised and presented as it is recorded on the eDofE system for the
period 1st April 2014 – 31st March 2015. Please contact the DofE Scotland Office to request amendments or
corrections to this data.
Centre Type
Secondary School
Youth Centre/Club
Special Schools / ASN
Pupil Referral Unit
YOT/YJT
Virtual Centre
Business
Total
All Local Authority Secondary Schools offer DofE
January 2016
No of Centres
9
8
3
1
1
1
1
24
Centre Type %
38%
33%
13%
4%
4%
4%
4%
100%
Conversion Rate Percentage
2012 - 2013
2013 - 2014
2014 - 2015
3 Yr. Average
Bronze
43%
50%
70%
54%
Silver
58%
69%
73%
67%
Gold
30%
42%
47%
40%
Contribution to Local Authority
Value of DofE Leaders’
contributions to their
community:
Value of participants’
contributions to their
community through the
Volunteering section:
12,959 hrs
£49,115*
85,694 hrs
£856,940**
Leader to Participant Ratio
Local Authority Av.
1:16
Scotland Av.
1:11
Additional New Entrants needed to reach:
-439
12
New Entrants
Scottish LA Average
New Entrants
Sector Leader
Additional Awards Gained needed to reach:
Suggested
Milestones for
South Ayrshire
Awards Gained
Scottish LA Average
Awards Gained
Sector Leader
-363
0
Based on population size for your Local Authority area
Explanation: * Based on national minimum wage for a 16 year (£3.79 per hr) old multiplied by the number of volunteered hours.
**Based on average hourly rate for a youth worker (£10.00 per hr) multiplied by the number of volunteered hours
January 2016