Notification Form
Use this form for notifying all Duke of Edinburgh’s Award practice and qualifying expeditions. Even if you can’t complete all of the required information now, please submit your form so that the process of approving your expedition and sourcing an Assessor can commence.
We will generate a unique Suffolk issued expedition notification number to be added to the expedition section on eDofE. Within a short period of submitting this form, your expedition number should be viewable under the Expedition Finder section of this website.
What is the notification form for?
This form must be used to notify Suffolk Scouts that you are organising either an unaccompanied DofE practice or a qualifying expedition. This will also serve as the notification required for the DofE. You must also complete a copy of the new Nights Away Notification and send it to your Scout DLV / Responsible Team Lead. An unaccompanied expedition is one where remote supervision is used at any point; that is, all final practices and qualifying expeditions. Any training where remote supervision is used must also be notified.
Who needs to be notified?
- County Expedition Team Lead / Administrator – [email protected]
- Your Scout District Lead Volunteer
- The DofE Expedition Co‑ordinator (Wild Country only)
Notifications and route details are submitted to your DLV, the County Expedition Team Lead and the accredited assessor for this expedition to:
- Confirm that your proposals, if followed, comply with the Expedition section requirements.
- Provide advice based on local knowledge of the area to assist with the planning of the expedition.
What information do you need to provide?
At least 4 weeks before your expedition
- A copy of this notification form per team, fully completed and endorsed by your DofE Leader/Supervisor.
- A copy of the route outlines (electronic GPX files or A4 tracing paper with a separate tracing for each day) from a 1:50,000 OS map, showing the start, camp sites, finish, bad‑weather alternate routes, escape routes and direction of travel.
At least 2 weeks before your expedition
- Route cards with grid references, daily distances and timings, details of exploratory work, camp‑site locations, bad‑weather alternative routes and escape routes (compass bearings are required for Silver and Gold).
- Notes on the team’s goal for the expedition.
- A list of personal and team equipment to be carried, including details of meals and supplies.
For qualifying expeditions where you have arranged your own assessment with an Accredited and Registered Scout Assessor, send this form to Ralph Hansby (County Expedition Team Lead) and to your Assessor. If you are paying a commercial organisation or freelance instructor to supervise or assess your teams, you must ensure they meet the Scouts POR requirements.
What happens once you have submitted your form?
The County Expedition Team Lead will review the information provided to assess its suitability as a DofE practice or qualifying expedition. If the expedition is suitable, the Expedition Team Lead will issue approved qualifying expeditions with a Notification Reference Number to be entered on each participant’s eDofE expedition pages/Keeping Track booklet.
If you have requested assessment by the Assessor Network and we are able to provide this, you will be notified of your allocated Assessor, and they will contact the team and/or Expedition Supervisor directly. A charge will be made to each DofE team for assessment by the Assessor Network, reflecting the time involved and ensuring consistency. Please see the DofE website for current costs. Suffolk Scouts must agree with the assessor the rate of pay per day and this must be paid directly to the Assessor.
If you require a variation to any of the Expedition requirements, contact the County Expedition Team Lead or County Advisor for DofE to discuss any variations (request form available via the DofE resource zone).
What else do you need to know?
The expedition team will be notified of any access issues or other sensitive local issues known to the DofE, but teams should always negotiate their own access and camp sites. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award cannot accept responsibility for supervision of participants. The suitability of the route depends on experience, training, equipment, physical fitness and weather conditions. Approval of the route does not remove the duty of the Operating Authority and its representatives (Scouts) to monitor participants’ safety.
Access to private land: Unless a statutory right of access exists, consent of landowners or their agents must be obtained before entering private land. In Scotland, teams should notify landowners of their intention to camp. Maintaining positive relationships with landowners is important.
Note: All copies of this form should be securely deleted or destroyed at the commencement of the following expedition season unless there are still outstanding issues relating to the sign‑off of the participants’ Expedition Section.
