HomeAbout DofEOur strategy and impact

A man and a young girl are engaged in an archery lesson outdoors. The man, wearing a blue sweater, is demonstrating how to hold a bow while the girl, in a pink hoodie, looks excited and slightly surprised. In the background, another person is preparing to shoot an arrow. Lush greenery surrounds the scene, creating a natural setting.

Our strategy and impact

World Ready: Unlocking enrichment for every young person (2026-2031)

Our 2026-31 strategy, World Ready: Unlocking enrichment for every young person sets out to equip young people with the tools they’ll need to navigate an age of global upheaval.

Today’s young people are growing up at a time of seismic change: from geopolitical and climate instability to cost of living pressures, a broken social contract, and the dizzying pace of technological and workplace change. The experiences DofE programmes offer are more critical now than ever. They build connection and community, develop essential human skills, connect with nature, and boost resilience, adaptability, self-belief and independence.

Read our 2026-31 strategy

Our ambition

By 2031, we aim to give more than two million young people a lifechanging DofE experience and help to transform access to meaningful, high-quality enrichment activities for all young people in the UK.

Our goals

We’ll work with partners and Governments across the UK; raise vital funds to remove financial barriers for young people from low-income families; optimise our operating model to deliver the Award more efficiently; and innovate to reach more young people where they need us most.

Relevance

We'll ensure the DofE is relevant, engaging and inspiring for young people and our supporters; and we’ll advocate for all young people to have equitable access to high-quality enrichment opportunities.

Impact

We’ll maximise the impact of DofE on young people, local communities and wider society, and ensure every young person has a high-quality, personalised DofE experience, supported by a trusted, trained adult.

Access

We’ll make the DofE more widely available and accessible, increasing the number and diversity of young people who can access a DofE experience and removing financial barriers to participation.

Sustainability

We’ll ensure the DofE charity is efficient, effective and financially sustainable, and play our part in safeguarding the natural world.

World Ready strategy

Youth Without Limits strategy (2021-2026)

Our new strategy, World Ready, builds on strong foundations. Between 2021-2026 our Youth Without Limits strategy focused on expanding the DofE’s reach, supporting young people of all backgrounds, to take on their own challenges, follow their passions and discover talents they never knew they had. We made great progress including:

Five consecutive years of record-breaking participation – with over 1.6 million young people starting their DofE;
Year on year growth in participation among young people from minority ethnic backgrounds and those with disabilities;
Over 21 million volunteering hours contributed to communities by young people, representing a financial value of £130,829,797;
Improved access with over 1,000 more organisations delivering DofE across the UK, including expanding into more prisons, education and community settings;
Our first ever Impact Report showed how young people who take part in DofE report improvements in their skills development, physical activity, wellbeing and community ties;
A strengthened commitment to youth voice, with our advocacy helping elevate the importance of enrichment and non‑formal learning nationally.

Our impact

Impact report

Impact is at the heart of our charity – through DofE, we empower young people to positively impact their own lives, prospects and their broader communities.

In 2024, we published our first impact report, analysing data from 40,880 participants and using open data methodology to measure the difference taking part in the DofE makes to participants, comparing DofE data with UK-wide youth population data in some key areas.

The results are hugely encouraging, showing that young people who take part in the DofE report improvements in their wellbeing, skills development, community ties and physical activity levels.

Our Impact Report considers the difference doing DofE can make to young people across a range of key outcomes. Using an open data methodology, we’ve examined the impact DofE participation can have on young people’s social and emotional development, wellbeing and sense of belonging by comparing participant responses with data for the UK youth population as a whole in key areas. The findings from our 2024 Impact Report suggest that young people experience positive outcomes during their participation in DofE.

Annual Statistics

Our 2024-25 annual statistics reveal that more than 342,000 young people across the UK started their DofE last year. Participants gave a staggering 5.2 million hours of volunteering as part of their DofE activities, the first time the charity has reached 5 million volunteering hours and a huge jump of 10.6% on 2023-24.

Annual Report

2024-25 — the fourth year of our five-year Youth Without Limits strategy — was another year of innovation, expanding reach and young people taking up DofE in record numbers. We’re now working to reach 1.6 million young people by spring 2026.

Youth Without Limits strategy

DofE believes in young people, in their innate value and infinite potential. Our 5-year strategy is determined to celebrate and champion every young person. To provide a safe environment of support and challenge that grows as they do. We support young people of all backgrounds to take on their own challenges, follow their passions and discover talents they never knew they had.

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