THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD IN AUSTRALIA

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History

• The Award began in 1956 in the UK

• Become operational in Aust. in 1962

• Now operating in over 120 countries

Philosophy

• non-competitive

• voluntary

• available to all

• flexible

• balanced

• progressive

• achievement focused

• marathon not a sprint

• process not a prize

• ENJOYABLE!

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Victoria

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=NlnG-eQMmCQ

VCAL 2016 and Duke of Edinburgh Award

Purpose

▪ Students to enrol in a Bronze Duke of

Edinburgh Award to assist successful

completion of VCAL by meeting

numerous outcomes across the 4

VCAL strands.

▪ To further develop students’

employability, self-confidence,

leadership skills.

▪ To offer experiences beyond the

classroom that will further develop

students and define their pathways.4

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⚫ Self Motivation

⚫ Self Discipline

⚫ Self Confidence

⚫ Self Reliance

⚫ Perseverance

⚫ Leadership

⚫ Respect for Others

⚫ The Discovery of New Talents

⚫ The Achievement of Personal Excellence

The Awards foster and encourage

But what’s in it for me?

Personal Development & Employability Skills

• Personal attributes

• Experience

• Communication

• Critical thinking

• Community engagement

CV more likely to survive employer’s first cut

Structure

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Award Sections: The Differences

• Service Primarily for others

• Skill Primarily for self, to gain or increase

knowledge, mental rather than

physical ability. Can be for improving

practical skills

• Physical Recreation

Primarily for increased fitness: causes

increased HR, flexibility, muscle tone,

sweat. (Think sport!)

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Award Sections: The Differences

Adventurous JourneyTo encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery.

VCAL, VET and Duke of Edinburgh

Commitment

• The Bronze Award takes a minimum of 6 months to

complete.

• The skill component can be satisfied by Student’s

VET/TAFE course.

• Community service must be unpaid and benefit the

community in some way.

• Physical recreation can be any activity in which you

“sweat”.

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Integrating the VCAL Outcomes

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Duke of Edinburgh at UYSC

What have UYSC students done to meet the award

requirements?

SkillUse of student VET course, elective or skill based hobby (For

example, musical lessons, specific sport coaching)

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Phys Rec

Any sporting or physical activity meets the requirement. Some students

do not engage in any weekly physical activity and can be difficult to

motivate. Some activities I have used in VCAL include:

• Running a lunchtime sporting activity for another year level

• Lunchtime coaching for junior interschool sport

• Class competition

• Staff-student sporting competition (ultimate Frisbee is awesome)

• A weekly fitness class as a part of PDS (on or offsite)

• Daily circuit of the UYSC fitness track

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Community Service

To meet this requirement students engaged in a

12 week Community Service Program which

formed part of their PDS. Students in groups of 2-

3 attended the following venues in our local

community:

• St Josephs Primary School

• Ben’s Shed (Men's Shed)

• Belgravia Leisure

• Retirement village

• Day care centre

• Chaplaincy Outreach Centre

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Adventurous Journey

To encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery.

Depending on time and money UYSC has run either 1 x 3

night camp or 2 x 1 night camp to meet the requirements.

There are many options:

• Students can attend a Year Level Camp or ODE Camp

• Students can use external camps such as CFA, CYC,

Lord/Lady Summers, Rotary Camps etc.

• Have VCAL organise their own camp as a part of

PDS/WRS.

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Affordable Options

• Department of Education subsidised camps.

Rubicon, Bogong, Doxa and the Victorian Sailing

School. Very affordable!

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Other Options

• Camp Howqua in the Howqua Hills

near Mansfield

• State forests make great camping

spots as they are usually free or

have school group rates and allow

fires. For example: Eildon, Kurth

Kiln, Labertouche, Blue Rock Lake,

Wilson’s Prom, Upper Yarra Dam.

• Camp out at school (could be as a

part of a fundraising event like

relay for life or a movie night)

• City camp for regional schools

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Costs

• At UYSC Duke of Ed is a user pay activity

• Students need to cover the costs of camps and outings

• Enrolment fees for Bronze are $165 per student paid to Awards

Victoria, we subsidise that to $95 to make it more affordable for our

families

• Schools require a site licence to deliver the program

• We subsidise Duke of Ed by using ADVANCE, or other funding

such as Rotary, community grants etc.

• The $95 fee becomes a course payment when students enrol in

VCAL

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

pfvN6yxDN6k&t=40s

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