The whole way the Org handles DofE is very participation medal, we spoonfeed it to the kids, if the wing/unit has the infrastructure they walk out with awards without having to consciously do anything for it. Which kind of defeats the point of the awards in my view.
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Thatâs definitely how it worked when I did Bronze and Silver
Physical - monthly Sqn Sports Night
Skill - leading/senior cadet
Volunteering - Cdt J/SNCO
Expedition was the only section I had to actively do something outside the Squadron 
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I recently had to point out to an OC that just âbeing a cadetâ is not volunteering. A cadet was doing DofE with their school, and had put down cadets as volunteering, which the OC signed off as their assessor. I mentioned that just being a cadet is not volunteering. They were not an NCO, did very little non-parade night stuff etc
If youâre an NCO who teaches twice a week, fair enough! That can count. But this just shouldnât have counted, yet was signed off anywayâŚ
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Thatâs the way most schools do it too. I got labelled disruptive and a trouble maker for challenging the kids school on lack of exped training as they werenât even covering using a compass 
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The HQAC Sports Officer seems to be saying this to everyone apart from the DofE staff, they appear to have a bee in their bonnet that the system in place isnât allowed and have been telling people on ATF that itâs not allowed, however nothing if the sort has been promulgated or said to the DofE staff.
To be fair DofE isnât supposed to be focussed on scoring to a standard, itâs supposed to be about improving on your own standard. So if you can do 1 press-up on week 1 being able to do 2 press-ups by week 8 is all that DofE would want to see.
To be fair thatâs the way mis organisations run it, the number of schools Iâve seen where the students arenât self sufficient is huge, I shared a campsite with one group and the staff were putting the tents up and down for them. I would say we as an organisation are far more likely to be the other way, with people making it far more t that it needs to be in order to preserve the sanctity of the award despite rules and expectations changing decades ago.
Even DofE arenât that worried about the lower levels, one of my staff phoned Windsor with a question and got the response âyeah itâs fine, itâs only bronzeâ.
So can lots of things about being a Cadet, running the canteen twice a week easily covers the 1 hour a week criteria for volunteering.
You donât need a Compass at Bronze or even Silver depending on where you go (especially considering the new rules), hell Lowland Leader doesnât include the use of a Compass
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Yes, I agree with you. There are many things. My point being though that just being a cadet is not volunteering. Itâs what they are doing that makes it the volunteering.
This OC had just signed off a cadets volunteering for school as âyes, they attend air cadet twice a weekâ etc. Nothing specific to actually volunteering!
I donât like to teach using a compass early on. Itâs really not needed in simple terrain!
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With my experience do schools DofE they probably still did more for that section than any other.
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Best effort measured against against your own performance to encourage improvement, not a competition between individuals.
Sounds like someoneâs sounding off about something they donât like instead of using official channels to promulgate an official policy change/clarification, because they donât have any authority granted to do so. Are they upset that something they see as their train set is being overseen and run by someone else?
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Are they paid staff or volunteer?
I thought sports was going anyway so this kinda comes across as an empire grab whilst their current one disintegratesâŚ.
Sympathetic if theyâre paid staff & breadline is at risk. If theyâre a volunteer then perhaps time to step back & move onto a different portfolio.
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I believe they are a volunteer and personally I agree they are probably trying to justify their existence
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Seconded this and the comments made by @daws1159
No need for compass for entry level navigation
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This is the bit that was being argued against; itâs seen too much like an assessment.
This is also the bit really grinding my gears (ignore the fact that itâs DofE or anything else) - life is full of assessments. Why wouldnât we want to teach cadets how to best mentally handle them?
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This was 2014 well before covid and relaxations. Whilst it may not be needed as they were mostly followig footpaths the school ran the grand total of zero sessions and didnât even cover the basics of understanding the map, tips on packing, cooking etc. Basically the school staff just did everything so they could promote it as a sucess for the school, kids didnât really do anything but turn up.
We at least had to plan our route and understand a map when I did my bronze as did the cadets when I was first a CI. Donât get involved with DofE this time round.
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Errrr right.
If best personal effort is an assessment then itâs probably right we stop athletics or swimming where cadets literally compete, or any sport that requires selection where theyâre compared against the performance of others and then compete against a different team where their performance will be judged to decide if they stay on the pitch.
If this is someone trying to cling to their kingdom, feeding into a logic that could be used to kill off everything is the wrong way to go about it.
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Life is both a competition and an assessment.
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GmgâŚchristmas has arrived in the vilage
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Time to burn it to the ground. Itâs the only way to avoid it now
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Building works in/around Leicester Square causing a massive choke point for all the idiots going to itâs âChristmas Marketâ.
On days like today - and everyday - I wish the Lego shop would just move. Ideally to my house. And reduce their prices by 100%.
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I keep eyeing up the titanic set.
Boss lady keeps saying no
Putting the tree up this evening, gonna have some mulled wine and a mince pie too 