The people who make it possible.
Behind every student who completes a Duke of Edinburgh's Award is an assessor who believed in them, guided them and took the time to say so.
Assessors are the backbone of the programme. They are the coaches, mentors, professionals and community members who give their time to support young people through their activity sections and who, at the end of the journey, provide the formal verification that makes an award real.
At NLCS Dubai, our assessors come from all walks of life: parents and community volunteers, members of staff, sports coaches, music teachers, charity coordinators and professionals across every field our students choose to explore. What they share is a commitment to young people and a willingness to take that commitment seriously.
Observe. Encourage.
Honestly evaluate.
An assessor supports a student through one of the DofE activity sections: Volunteering, Physical or Skill. Their role is not to teach or instruct, though many do. It is to observe, encourage and honestly evaluate a student's progress against the goal they set at the start of the programme. Specifically, an assessor is asked to:
- Agree the goal
Meet with the student at the start of their section to agree and confirm their SMART goal.
- Stay in touch
Maintain regular contact throughout the programme, whether in person, by phone or by email. Monitor progress with honest, constructive feedback along the way.
- Confirm the standard
Confirm that the student has met their goal and demonstrated genuine progression.
- Sign it off
Submit a final assessor report through the student's Online Record Book (ORB) at the conclusion of the section. This is the formal record that an award has been earned.
Reliability
beats expertise
The most effective assessors are not necessarily experts in the field, though relevant experience is always welcome. What matters most is reliability, honesty and a genuine interest in the student's development.
A good assessor turns up consistently, holds the student to the goal they set and is willing to say both when a student is thriving and when they need to push harder. That honest relationship is what gives the Award its integrity and what makes it mean something to the student at the end.
Assessors do not need any formal training or DofE qualification. They simply need to know the student's chosen activity well enough to assess progress in it and be willing to engage with the process thoughtfully.
Lighter than
you'd expect
Assessors set their own level of involvement and many find the commitment lighter than they expected. At a minimum, an assessor needs to:
- Have an initial conversation with the student to agree their goal, typically 20 to 30 minutes
- Maintain periodic contact over the course of the section, which runs for a minimum of one hour per week over several months
- Complete the final ORB report, which is brief and straightforward
Many assessors are people the student already has a relationship with: a sports coach they see weekly, a music teacher they learn from regularly or a community organisation supervisor they work alongside. In these cases, the assessor role fits naturally into an existing relationship with very little additional demand.
Submitting the final report
When a student has completed their section, the assessor is asked to submit a short report through the student's Online Record Book. The student will share access to their ORB and the DofE Coordinator is always available to walk assessors through the process if needed.
The report asks assessors to confirm the student's goal, describe the progress they observed and indicate whether the student has met the standard required. It does not need to be lengthy. What matters is that it is honest and specific.
There is a student who
needs what you know.
Whether you have a skill to share, a sport you coach, a community role that could offer volunteering opportunities or simply the time and willingness to support a young person's development, we would love to hear from you.