The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Congratulations to Andy Burnham on becoming Prime Minister. Young people today face a range of challenges, from poor wellbeing and rising numbers not in education and employment to concerns about social isolation. High-quality enrichment has an important role to play in addressing all of them. Enrichment opportunities like DofE gives young people somewhere to go, something to do, and the chance to build confidence, develop new skills and connect with others in the real world. As the Prime Minister has set out his ambition to deliver opportunity to every postcode and help more young people into work, enrichment can be a powerful part of that mission. It helps young people develop the skills, resilience and sense of belonging they need to thrive at school, at work and in their communities. Every young person should have access to these opportunities, regardless of their background or where they live. We look forward to working with the Prime Minister and his Government to expand access to enrichment, build a stronger sense of common purpose and ensure young people's voices are heard in the decisions that affect their lives.

Last night in the House of Commons we celebrated 70 years of transforming young people's lives through DofE 🎉 Former Youth Ambassador Scarlett joined HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Bronze Award holder Louise Minchin, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth, Stephanie Peacock MP at the Palace of Westminster to mark 70 years of the DofE and the incredible impact the Award has made on young people’s lives. . Scarlett shared her inspiring story during a panel discussion on why DofE remains as relevant as ever. Through the challenges of her Bronze and Silver Awards, Scarlett developed the confidence to advocate for herself, overcome personal barriers and discover what she could achieve. Over the past 70 years, DofE has helped millions of young people build the skills, confidence and resilience needed to thrive. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us 💜

*Content warning: The following post refers to the death of a young person* Remembering Umar Dumbuya 💜 We are deeply saddened by the death of Umar, a student from London, who drowned while taking part in a DofE expedition in Wales last week. From the tributes shared by those who knew and loved him, it’s clear that Umar was an exceptional young person and a much-valued friend. College staff have spoken of his dedication, kindness, dependability and care for others, and of the contribution he made in supporting and promoting DofE within the college. We send our sincere and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, fellow students and college staff. We will continue to do everything we can to support them at this unimaginably difficult time. The safety and wellbeing of young people taking part in DofE remains our absolute priority. We continue to support the college and the relevant authorities as they work to understand what happened. Our thoughts continue to be with everyone affected by this tragedy. Read more on our website: bit.ly/4vdPVkB

Heatwaves on expeditions ⚠️ With temperatures set to rise this weekend, save these top tips for keeping young people safe in the heat when out on expedition 👇

*Content warning: The following statement refers to the death of a young person* We are deeply saddened to confirm that on Tuesday evening a young person drowned while on a DofE expedition in Powys, Wales. Our thoughts are with the young person’s family, together with all those who were taking part. We will do everything we can to support them at this terrible time. DofE is liaising closely with the young person’s college and relevant authorities to understand how this tragic incident happened. The safety and wellbeing of young people taking part in the Award remains our absolute priority. Read the statement on DofE.org: dofe.org/thelatest/stat…

The Met Office has issued a red warning for extreme heat in parts of Central and Southern England and Wales with the most severe conditions forecast for Wednesday and Thursday this week ⚠️ We know many expeditions and other outdoor DofE activities will be scheduled, and we are urging all Licensed Organisations and Approved Activity Providers to make health, wellbeing and safety of young people, leaders and volunteers their first priority when reviewing planned activity. We encourage all Licensed Organisations and Approved Activity Providers to carefully consider the implications of any weather warnings issued in their area, including whether it is appropriate to proceed with, modify, or postpone any planned activity in the coming days. Where activity does proceed, LOs and AAPs should satisfy themselves that their risk assessments and safety arrangements are sufficient given the forecast conditions. A reminder that the DofE programme’s flexibility allows young people to complete their expeditions at a later date. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our Customer Support Team here: bit.ly/3BOOh2Z

Some lessons can't be learned in a classroom 🥾🗻 The government's new enrichment framework gives schools and colleges the tools to deliver a wide range of high-quality enrichment offers from music groups and engineering clubs to debating societies and football clubs. The guidance comes alongside £132.5M investment which will fund new activities and programmes delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision – so no matter your background, you get the chance to thrive. Find out more: gov.uk/government/new…

@UKPowerNetworks Well done everyone, and thank you for all your support!

🚶👑 We walked the walk and talked the talk at this year’s Royal Ramble, with our biggest year yet! 800 employees took part in the 20-mile walk, raising £135,000 for The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (@DofE) – and there wasn’t a Lime Bike in sight! This year we headed east, starting at Olympic Park in Stratford, making our way into Central London before looping back to the starting point. The money raised from this challenge could help give more than 4,000 young people, from all walks of life, the opportunity to start their life changing DofE journey. Watch a snippet from the day, below ⬇️

Equitable access to high-quality enrichment opportunities isn’t a nice to have – it's fundamental to young people's health and success. The Government’s new Enrichment Framework for Schools and Colleges in England is a major step forward, at a time of growing concern about time spent online and with more than 1 million young people not in education, employment or training. The DofE framework aligns closely with the five categories of enrichment set out in the benchmarks and we’ll support our education partners to build on their existing offers and deliver quality, meaningful enrichment opportunities. Read more 👉 dofe.org/news/enrichmen…

We welcome the Government’s investment in enrichment expansion for young people 🤝 We’ve been calling for every young person to have access to enrichment activities such as sport, the arts and volunteering, and this is a positive step towards that. We look forward to supporting Government and our partners across England to make sure high-quality enrichment is easily accessible for all young people, particularly those who are currently missing out.

It was great to host a youth voice focus group and roundtable today with @UniofBath to inform a project we’re collaborating on around enrichment and Not in Education, Employment or Training. Huge thanks to @Catch22 for hosting us and to all the young people and attendees who took part in these important discussions.

Great to see the announcement of a £20m investment from @DCMS and philanthropists to support a new youth opportunity programme with @KingsTrust 👏 The focus on expanding access to trusted adults, skills and work opportunities is a positive step in the #NationalYouthStrategy.

It is great to see Youth and Civil Society Minister @Steph_Peacock sign the #iWill movement's 'The Power of Youth Charter' to give young people the opportunity to shape how Government programmes are designed and measured. Our 2024 Youth Voices report called for a Youth Pledge to introduce a clear process for putting youth voice representation at all levels of policy and decision-making, especially on issues that impact young people, and we urge all government departments to commit to putting young people's voices at the heart of everything they do.

I would like to congratulate the young people in Thirsk and Malton for starting their @DofE Award. A record-breaking number of young people – 589,237 – took part in a DofE last year, contributing over 6 million volunteering hours to communities across the UK. #YouthWithoutLimits

This #FridayRoundup we’re sharing some recent MP visits, where young people have showcased the impact of DofE and what it means to them🙌 Georgia Gould MP visited Westminster Academy, where young people shared how volunteering is building their confidence. Louie French MP visited Cleeve Meadow School, touring the student-run café ‘Juliets’, where many are completing their volunteering sections. Angela Rayner MP visited Droylsden Academy to chat about enrichment, with students putting their tent-building and nutritional planning skills to the test ⛺ MP’s presented schools with their Social Value certificates for the contribution their young people have made to local communities through volunteering. Well done to all the young people for this achievement! We’re working closely with MPs to make sure young people’s voices are at the centre of decision-making. #WorldReady

Things our @DofE students expected on expedition: 🥾 Walking 🗺️ Navigation 🌧️ British weather Things they didn’t expect: 📸 𝗕𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 @ollymurs 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 '𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻' 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗶𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲!

Hay fever on Expedition? It's no joke🌿 If you’re heading out on your DofE expedition during peak pollen season, itching eyes and nose sniffling can be a real challenge, with a bit of planning ahead you can make managing it easier. Swipe for tips on how to keep hay fever under wraps 👆