WHAT’S INCLUDED
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN YOUR DofE PROGRAMME
DofE FOR SCHOOLS AND GROUPS
Our DofE programmes are designed to make organising expeditions as straightforward as possible for schools.
Depending on your requirements, we can provide:
✓ Experienced DofE instructors and supervisors
✓ DofE assessors for all groups
✓ Expedition Course Director for every expedition
✓ 24-hour participant support during expeditions
✓ Dedicated office support before, during and after expeditions
✓ Route planning and expedition preparation
✓ Risk assessments and operating procedures
✓ Medical and consent documentation
✓ High-quality equipment
✓ Equipment lists and kit guidance
✓ Emergency and safety equipment
✓ Expedition trackers
✓ Campsite organisation (including camp fees)
✓ Professional school resources
✓ Tips for Success document
We can provide the whole DofE expedition programme or just the elements your school needs.
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✓ Bespoke DofE Programme: This may include a comprehensive package of training, practiceand qualifyingexpeditions. Or elements of the above to suit your needs. No two schools are the same. Some schools want a complete DofE expedition package from training through to the qualifying expedition. Others already have some elements in place and need support with specific parts of the programme. We can tailor our service accordingly. Learn more.
✓ Expert supervision: All our instructors hold Mountain Training Qualifications, are highly experienced DofE trainers, supervisors and Accredited Assessors. They are also all first aid trained and DBS checked. Many of our staff, including our company directors, have decades of experience running DofE expeditions.We maintain strong participant-to-instructor ratios.
✓ Support for DofE Coordinators and School Staff: We work closely with DofE Coordinators and school staff to help reduce their workload and make the process of booking, organising and running a DofE expedition easy.
✓ Accredited Assessors: Gold standard assessors are available for all our Qualifying expeditions.
✓ Course Director for every expedition: Every Learn Outdoors expedition has a dedicated Course Director overseeing the programme. The Course Director provides overall oversight of:
Instructor teams
Participants
Safety frameworks
Expedition logistics
Operational planning
Communication
The delivery of the expedition
This additional level of management means there is always someone responsible for the bigger picture. It gives schools confidence that their expedition is being actively managed from start to finish.
✓ 24-hour support: We provide 24 hour support during expeditions.
✓Campsites organised by us: We will organise and book campsites unless your school chooses to sort this. Camp fees and per participant DofE fees paid for by Learn Outdoors (these will be accounted for in your price, learn more about our prices).
✓ Quality Training and route planning days: We can help with all the pre-expedition preparation which we can deliver at your school/venue.
✓ Dedicated Office Team: You have access to our dedicated office team before, during and after your expedition. You have a team behind you throughout the process, not just instructors on the ground.
✓ Shadowing opportunities: We offer the chance for school staff new to DofE to gain experience through shadowing opportunities with other Learn Outdoors’ clients to see how expeditions are run and to understand what the expedition process is like.
✓ Tracker Technology: We use use tracker technology to back up our supervision of groups, helping to increase the safety of our expeditions.
✓ Risk Assessments: Learn Outdoors maintains regularly reviewed:
Risk assessments
Operating procedures
Safety policies
Emergency procedures
You will receive these in a single comprehensive document. We also collect information needed to help us safely deliver the programme, including appropriate participant medical and consent information. View our Privacy Policy here.
SAFETY COMES FIRST
Learn Outdoors is an AALA licence holder and is registered as a DofE Approved Activity Provider (AAP) for expeditions.
Our provision is checked annually, and we are proud of the excellent feedback we receive year after year.
The safety and wellbeing of participants is at the heart of every Learn Outdoors expedition.
We have an excellent safety record and robust safety systems designed to support participants, instructors and schools.
Our programmes are supported by appropriate:
✓ Risk assessments
✓ Operating procedures
✓ Emergency procedures
✓ Safety frameworks
✓ Instructor training
✓ Expedition management system
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Our activities are appropriately insured through ‘Activities Industry Mutual’ who are specialists in the outdoor sector.
Learn Outdoors holds £10,000,000 of combined liability insurance cover.
We can provide further information about our insurance arrangements to schools as part of the planning process.
EQUIPMENT
Knowing what to take on a DofE expedition can be daunting, particularly for participants completing their first expedition.
We provide clear equipment lists and guidance so students know what they need.
Where required we can provide high quality:
✓Tents
✓Stoves (Trangias)
✓Gas
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Every expedition is supported by appropriate safety and emergency equipment.
This includes:
✓ Expedition trackers
✓ Emergency procedure cards
✓ Hi-vis vests
✓ Emergency spare clothing
✓ Emergency spare equipment (such as sleeping bags, rucksacks etc)
Safety equipment will be distributed at the start of each expedition.
Our instructors are also first-aid trained and operate within Learn Outdoors' established safety procedures.
RESOURCES FOR YOUR SCHOOL
We can provide professional videos and images and high-quality, award-specific personalised resources to help with in-school participant recruitment at no extra cost to your school.
These can give students a better understanding of what the DofE expedition involves and help your school generate interest in the programme
Chat to us about personalised resources.
We also provide a ‘Tips for Success’ pdf training booklet to all participants, our own publication designed to increase the effectiveness of expedition training.
“A LOT OF PEOPLE IN MY YEAR I’VE NEVER SPOKEN TO BEFORE MY DofE. SO IV’E GOT TO MEET NEW PEOPLE AND GET TO KNOW THEM”.
— Silver DofE Participant
DofE WITH LEARN OUTDOORS
Take a look at the videos below to explore a couple of our DofE expeditions.
LIFE, IT’S YOUR ADVENTURE!
If you want to find out more about how we can support you with your Duke of Edinburgh’s expeditions then please get in touch today.
Let's Plan Your DofE Expedition
If you're looking for an experienced DofE expedition provider for your school, we'd be happy to discuss your requirements.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Yes. We provide practical DofE expedition training covering navigation, route planning, campcraft, cooking, equipment, safety and teamwork.
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Yes. Learn Outdoors can provide practice and qualifying expeditions for Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE programmes.
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Yes. Every expedition has a dedicated Course Director overseeing instructors, participants, safety frameworks and logistics.
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We provide assessors for all groups completing qualifying expeditions.
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Yes. Learn Outdoors is an AALA licence holder.
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Yes. We can provide a complete programme covering training, practice and qualifying expeditions, or tailor our involvement around the elements your school already provides.
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Yes. Learn Outdoors is registered as a DofE Approved Activity Provider.
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Yes. Our dedicated office team supports schools before, during and after expeditions. We can assist with your whole expedition programme or with specific bits you need additional support with.
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We will provide equipment guidance and kit lists and can supply certain expedition equipment (tents, stoves and gas) where required (please see our equipped expedition prices for details).
We will always provide appropriate emergency back-up kit, such as fleeces, waterproofs, sleeping bags, rucksacks, etc.
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At Learn Outdoors safety is our first priority. We maintain regularly reviewed risk assessments, operating procedures, safety policies and emergency procedures and will provide relevant documentation to schools.
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Yes. Professional personalised resources and videos to support in-school participant recruitment are available on request.