Certificates

Certificates of Achievement will be based on the sections being approved by a participant’s DofE Leader. So, if the participant goes on to complete their remaining sections, each section will still be quality checked by a trained Award Verifier – although the expectation is that the programme requirements will have been met. Even if a participant receives the Certificate of Achievement, an Award Verifier can still query a completed section and may require changes to be made before the section(s) can be completed and their Award achieved.

Our research showed that for many DofE groups, the Certificate of Achievement was no longer relevant now that there are no Covid19 restrictions in place. However, it also showed that the Certificate of Achievement was especially popular with those who work with young people experiencing marginalisation and Leaders appreciated having an additional way to recognise achievement outside of the sectional certificate and full Award. It’s clear that different forms of recognition work for different young people and different centres. We’re providing the option, so Leaders can make the decision that is right for their young people. The Certificate of Achievement is therefore only visible on a participant’s profile if a Leader chooses to send it to them on eDofE.

The price of the welcome pack still has the cost built in for a participants full Award certificate and their choice of badge or brooch and as a result is not being reduced. DofE Leaders should still organise presentation events where these are presented as they provide an opportunity for participants to come together and celebrate their achievements with family, friends and those who have supported them throughout their Award journey.

Presentation events are essential to celebrate the achievements of participants and share this moment with those who have supported them throughout their Award journey. It is also part of each organisation’s licence agreement with DofE, that appropriate ceremonies are arranged. During the research of this project participants stressed that they still wanted to receive paper certificates as the primary method of celebrating their achievements, but a digital certificate would be helpful in order to keep track of their achievements and include in their CV, UCAS or job applications.

Leaders will now be able to download complete versions of their participants’ sectional certificates and Certificates of Achievement. This will mean they don’t need to be printed onto the certificate paper that was purchased through DofE Essentials and instead can be printed themselves. We would recommend printing these certificates directly onto a plain white A4 160-180gsm card.

In Northern Ireland, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award enables young people who complete the programme to have a choice of Award certification: a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Certificate, a Gaisce –The President’s Award certificate or an International Award Certificate. At the beginning of your Award journey, you will have been given the option on eDofE as to which Award certification you wish to receive, and this can be viewed in your eDofE profile settings. If you wish to change which certificates are available to you then you can change your Award type in your settings.