The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) puts young people’s safety and care above all else.
It’s the DofE’s policy to protect all young people who take part in our activities from physical, sexual and emotional harm. We work with our Licensed Organisations (LOs) and Approved Activity Providers to make sure participants are protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation and harm.
This is true regardless of their:
- sex
- ethnicity or national origin
- sexual orientation
- disability
- religion or beliefs
- gender identity
- other protected characteristics.
When young people sign up to do their DofE, they do so with an LO. We license organisations like schools, colleges, youth organisations and local authorities to deliver DofE programmes. These organisations are responsible for safeguarding, and health and safety arrangements for their participants. They must have policies and procedures in place for this.
All DofE Leaders and Expedition Supervisors do checks and training through their LO. This is to make sure young people have access to a high-quality programme.
Your safeguarding responsibilities
When a young person does their DofE activities, they’re likely to interact with other organisations and people. This could be charity shops, music instructors, sports clubs and expedition providers.
Sometimes, participants do sections of their DofE programmes with external organisations or activity providers that are not part of their LO.
If a participant
- is under 18,
- has additional needs, or
- is a vulnerable adult
parents/carers and the participant should make sure they understand the safeguarding arrangements in place and are comfortable that the activity is appropriate and safe.
You should look into how the organisation keeps young people safe before starting an activity.
You could:
- ask to see relevant policies like a child protection or safeguarding policy, safer recruitment checks or staff code of conduct
- check that the adults running the activity are qualified
- check that the organisation has the right insurance
- ask how a concern can be reported
- check if staff or volunteers get safeguarding training
- check the arrangements for supervision during activities.
You should feel satisfied that an activity is safe for your young person before getting started.
Reporting concerns
If you or your young person have safeguarding concerns around
- bullying or harassment
- abuse or neglect
- inappropriate conduct by adults or other participants
- online safety
- sexual misconduct
- discriminatory behaviour
- offensive conduct
you should report these to the young person’s LO in the first instance. The LO handles safeguarding concerns involving their participants.
The organisations we licence must report any safeguarding concerns about DofE participation to us. However, if you’re still concerned after reporting it locally, you can email [email protected].
If a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, contact the police or emergency services on 999.
For more information on child protection, contact NSPCC’s helpline for support.
Find out more about how the DofE keeps young people safe from harm.
