Expeditions - changes since May 1, brought by the corona

IMPORTANT: All options involving physical contact of participants are currently valid only if their implementation does not contradict any valid security measures and regulations of the government and other relevant institutions, such as the prohibition of association over a certain number of people. It is also necessary that the participants, their legal guardians (for participants under 18 years of age) and the management of the local DofE Centre agree to the organisation of the expedition and their participation in it (the consent of the MC management is not required in the case of expeditions organised by the National Centre). You can always consult with your Regional Manager and Leader.

 

It remains valid for the successful completion of expeditions 15 international conditions, with the following modifications. The adjustments are valid for the time being until the end of 2020:

• The number of team members is 4 - 7 people (8 for the pair activity)
  • However, care must be taken to ensure that each member is involved as much as possible in the preparation and execution of team tasks.
• Condition No 5: The requirement to complete a training expedition is removed.
  • A training expedition is considered to be completed if the team, after completing the expedition training, meets all the conditions proving its readiness for a live expedition - see point 1(b).
• Condition 7: The expedition can take place in a familiar (urban) environment
  • Due to the risks associated with travelling by public transport, it is possible to undertake the expedition in the vicinity of the school / group members' place of residence or overnight stay.
• Condition 12: Overnight accommodation can be adapted to the environment in which the expedition takes place 
  • It is thus possible to spend the night in the school yard, in the school gym or with the permission of the owner in the garden or on the property (trainer, participants).
• It is not necessary to enter the expedition into ORB several months in advance, two weeks is sufficient (for the insurance of participants).

 

1. Changes in the organisation of expeditions at the DofE Local Centre

Not only in response to the crisis situation, we have decided to simplify the entire dispatch system as much as possible. Below you will find several variants of the expedition training organization and details on the possibility of skipping a training expedition.

a) Online expedition training

The aim of this measure is to give you more flexibility and reduce the time demands placed on expedition trainers. You are free to use this facility and the materials you have prepared after the emergency is over.

• We have prepared for you Expedition Training Manualwhich covers all 12 chapters of the training. It contains many links to training videos or articles, tips for activities and suggestions for video sessions.
• You also have at your disposal Expedition guide for participants, which contains, in addition to a comprehensive theory, also space for practical expedition planning.

b) Skipping a training expedition

The primary objective of expedition training and training expeditions is to prepare for a live expedition. In case you are working with a proficient group (some members have extensive outdoor experience, participants have already completed lower levels, etc.), it is possible to cancel the training expedition. This can be done even if the participants would find it very difficult to complete the level due to the interruption of the training.

However, several conditions must be met:

• Notify your regional manager
• Fill conditions for the assessment of readiness for sharp dispatch
• Create a training expedition in ORB. Use the last day of the expeditionary training as the date and include information in the note about not holding it due to exceptional measures.

We strongly advise you to keep a close eye on your group during a sharp expedition and to consider carefully whether to let the group travel independently. In the event of missing a training expedition, we recommend that a trainer or assessor is present with the group at all times. Supervision should not interfere with the group's processes except when there is imminent danger or high material damage.

c) Expedition training combined with a training expedition

As another option, we want to introduce you to an experiential concept of expedition training, which will fulfill all the conditions and bring the participants together as a team.

The main elements of the combination of expeditionary training with a training expedition are as follows:

• Expedition training will take place continuously in a time block corresponding to the length of the targeted effort (bronze 6 hours, silver 7 hours, gold 8 hours) and
• The training will cover all the main objectives of the training expedition and at the end of the training the participants will have met conditions for the assessment of readiness for sharp dispatch
• Participants will practice the individual blocks in an experiential way (strengthening the ability to listen to each other and communicate, to solve problems and work in a team)
• Emphasis is also placed on the acquisition of necessary skills such as map orientation, first aid training or dealing with crisis situations.
• The training site may be the schoolyard or any other area near the school or just outside of town that is suitable for this purpose
• After the training it is obligatory to spend the night outside (except at bronze level where it is only recommended)
• We are preparing a thorough methodology which will be available in mid-May

d) No change option

Of course, the "classic expeditions" option is also perfectly fine, i.e. the way you have been organising training and expeditions so far. Take the above as an effort to accommodate you and offer you more options and tools. If you are happy with the way you have expeditions set up at your MC and you have the space to organize them in this way before the end of the calendar year, you don't have to change anything. Just remember to exercise extra caution and hygiene.

 

2. Joint expeditions - cooperation between two or more local centres

This option is not new, and some of you may already have experience with it. The principle is simple: If you don't have enough participants and/or trainers/evaluators at your Local Center, you can team up with another Local Center and plan an expedition together. For this purpose, we have recently created the so-called "expedition exchange", which is freely available to everyone under via this link.

The Expedition Exchange is always available to you. However, in the current situation we ask you to contact your regional manager if you are interested in working with another centre. They will connect you with another centre in a similar situation. This can make the whole process faster and more efficient.

Joint expeditions have their own specifics, so here are some recommendations to help you work together successfully:

1. It is important to note that the Local Centre licence does not allow you to take full responsibility for participants from another Local Centre. Each MC is therefore responsible for its own students/participants. The DofE National Centre only acts as a contact point between Local Centres.  
2. It is necessary to define which MC will carry out the expedition (hereinafter referred to as the Expedition Provider) and which MC will provide the participants (hereinafter referred to as the Sending Centre)
3. The Expedition Provider shall provide the Sending Centre with the itinerary and contact details of the trainer/responsible person
4. The Sending Centre will provide the Expedition Provider with the contact details of the person in charge of the Sending Centre and the contact details of the parents of the participants sent
5. The sending MC shall confirm in writing to the Expedition Provider that the deployed participants have successfully completed the expedition training and the training expedition.
6. The sending centre will provide the Expedition Provider with the consent of the parents/legal guardians to participate under the guidance of the Expedition Provider.
7. The expedition provider will collect health questionnaires from all participants and consent to participate from parents/legal guardians. The expedition provider undertakes to handle these documents in accordance with the GDPR law and to shred them after the expedition.
8. During the training and live expedition, the Sending Centre Leader/Coordinator must be available by telephone so that the Providing Centre Trainer can contact him/her in case there is any problem concerning the Sending Participant.
9. Ideally, in a sharp dispatch, the trainer is from the providing centre and the evaluator is from the sending centre or vice versa. In the event that this is not possible, the sending MC will consider whether they wish to have another adult present on the expedition.
10. Each centre records the dispatch individually in the ORB. In the notes to the expedition, it should be stated that the expedition was carried out in cooperation with the providing centre (indicate the name of the organisation and the total number of participants. 

 

3. Expeditions organised under the DofE Expedition Centre

Another way to manage expeditions not only this year is to use the opportunity to send participants on an expedition organized under the Expedition Center of the National Center. The purpose of these expeditions is to enable the completion of the programme by the participants of the so-called Skills for Youth virtual platform, but also to relieve the centres where for various reasons it is complicated to hold an expedition. Individuals can participate or you can send a whole team. The only restriction is the minimum age of participants, which is set at 15 years. 

Professionally trained and experienced trainers and evaluators will guide participants through training, practice and live expedition. This option is paid for participants, the entire amount of the participation fee is used to cover the costs and for the implementation of the training and expedition. All information on upcoming expeditions under the auspices of the National Centre can be found in description of expeditions organized by the Expedition Centre DofE. We would like to remind all participants to apply for a contribution from the DofE Social Fund. During expeditions organised by the DofE Expedition Centre, the National Centre takes responsibility for the participants.

This year the expeditions will take place during the summer holidays in 4 dates. In case of interest we are able to add more dates, e.g. during autumn. So far, the locations have been selected around Prague (for participants from Bohemia) and Brno (for participants from Moravia and Silesia). If we have a larger number of participants (over 20) from another location (e.g. Ostrava, Hradec Kralove), we can add a new date to that location. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your regional manager.