In order to ensure that the high quality, standards and values of the Award are maintained, the participants must be able to submit evidence to demonstrate that they are regularly completing each section and for the total required time.

The participant does this by logging their progress on the Online Record Book (ORB). At the end of the required duration of each section they will ask each adult (Assessor) that oversees each activity to fill in and sign the relevant form in order to confirm that they have completed each of their sections. This only needs to be done after they have completed the minimum number of months, not every time they attend their chosen activity for each section.

Some activities, such as attending a gym or going swimming, may not have an adult present each time, or will have different adults present, so a regular Assessor will not be possible. In this instance they can discuss with their Award Leader how they are going to record the above and get their sections signed off at the end of the required period.

Taking part in the Award is a rewarding and enjoyable experience that will involve your child undertaking a variety of activities. The ethos of the Award is that these activities take place within the participant’s own time and where possible in their local community. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation licenses appropriate organisations to deliver the Award through a robust quality assurance process. This means that Friends of Nature, Cyprus and its staff possess the appropriate skills, qualifications and background to deliver the Award as well as to work with young people.

However, in the course of working towards their Award program your child will probably take part in 
activities that are not directly under the control of our Award staff. In this instance you should be aware that the responsibility for ensuring the safety of such activities rests with yourself rather than the Award Leader. While most of these organisations and schools will have their own policies in place to protect your child, we would advise that you satisfy yourself that they are suitable in the same way that you would treat any activity that your child takes part in. For example, if your child chooses to coach younger children at a local sports club for their Service section of their Award, then it is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that this is a safe and appropriate organisation.

We would therefore recommend that you discuss with your child which activities they will be completing for each of their sections of the Award and which organisations they will be using to complete these activities.

The Adventurous Journey (“AJ”) section is a unique opportunity for your child to experience self-reliance and team work in an outdoors environment. Participants will have to attend training sessions, run by their assigned Award Leaders, to ensure that have the necessary skills and knowledge for their journey. Training sessions include classroom and or outdoor based learning as well as a practice journey which needs to be passed before taking part in their qualifying journey.

For the qualifying AJ of all Award levels, the participants must complete a self-sufficient and self-reliant journey. This means that the participant will walk with remote adult supervision, on an agreed route, while carrying all the equipment and food that they will need for the duration of their journey. Adult leaders will monitor the progress of the groups by meeting them at various points.

The participants will be in a group of between four and seven young people. They must work together as a team, take responsibility for their equipment, actions and discussions as well as dealing with any situation that may arises along the way.