Thank you for Nurture programme donation

We are delighted to have received a £10,000 funding boost to support and grow our Nurture programme for young people with complex or profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).

Thanks to the Movement for Good Awards, part of Benefact Group, we have received this generous donation towards our highly personalised programme which benefits students’ communication, social interaction, independence and wellbeing.

The Nurture programme aims to maximise skills for students’ adult lives, including moving into supported living, and increased community participation in social mobility.

Nurture programme lead Bev Simmonds said: “We are so thrilled for the expansion of Nurture to be going ahead, knowing we will be able to broaden the range of students we can support in a personal and individual way.

“The expansion to Nurture offers us a dynamic teaching space where students can develop their communication, social and independence skills.”

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive at Benefact Group, said: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good Awards.

“Benefact Group is a family of award-winning specialist financial services companies and the third largest corporate donor to charity in the UK.

“Owned by a charity ourselves, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do.”

Support to communicate and make choices

Our Nurture programme has already seen students graduate from College having made incredible progress towards greater independence and communication.

For example, ‘Student A’ who is non-verbal. Through the curriculum, the Nurture team used a range of communication approaches, eye gaze technology and physiotherapy to ensure that he was in control of his choices. As his confidence in his learning grew, he joined our Student Council helping to raise awareness of accessibility around College. He is now able to communicate meaningful decisions about his life, and can confidently express his needs and wishes.

Recognising STAR garden winners

Congratulations to STAR garden winners

We were delighted to team up with Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing (STAR) to recognise gardeners who have brought colour and wildlife to their plots, patios and planters.

We partner with STAR Housing every year to host a gardening competition. This event celebrates the incredible efforts of STAR Housing customers who transform their gardens into stunning havens. The competition features four categories: Best Garden, Best Communal Garden, Best Container, and Best Wildlife and Produce, with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes awarded in each category.

Our Commercial Development Manager Pete Evans was honoured to be part of a panel of judges visiting some of the housing group’s best cared for gardens. He was then invited to present winners with vouchers and a rose at a special ceremony at Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

Green-fingered Pete oversees the running of our commercial Marketplace which includes a well-stocked garden centre. He visited homes in Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth areas to choose winners in categories: Best Garden, Best Container, Best Wildlife and Produce and Best Communal Garden.

Winners presentation at Shrewsbury Football Club

Winners were invited to STAR’s Annual General Meeting at Shrewsbury Football Club, where they were presented with their prizes. Pete gifted each of the talented gardeners with a rose, kindly donated by David Austin Roses – as Derwen College is one of the company’s exclusive stockist partners.

Best Garden went to Christine and Roy Garrard whose garden was described by judges as “extremely well structured, varied, planted and pruned garden with some beautiful mature trees, a clear love and understanding of plants and how to encourage them to thrive. All beautifully compartmentalised and presented an absolute joy to visit.”

The award for Best Container went to Sylvena Wellings who has created an amazing array of tubs and planters of all kinds.

“I loved the use of the colourful swing bins. Sylvena had grown many of the plants herself.”

Best Wildlife & Produce award went to Gillian Gregory who has grown a myriad of vegetables which she enjoys sharing with the community.

“Gillian has made the very most of the small amount of protection she has using a small wall mounted plastic greenhouse. A very well stocked, fruitful corner of the world.”

The Best Communal Garden award went to Unicorn Road, in Oswestry, where the whole community had brought their own ideas in pots and other containers to this communal area to express themselves and join in.

“They have turned what could have been quite a bland area into a lovely space. Even clever, energy saving lighting had been installed. There were flowers, herbs, fruit trees and some ripening blueberries. Well done folks, a real tonic!” said judge Pete.

We are proud to be part of the community and to partner with local and national businesses to support both students and customers. Well done to all the nominees and winners.

A blooming beautiful partnership

Congratulations to Aico and our Horticulture team for working together on a flower bed project which has won an Oswestry in Bloom Award.

Aico, in Oswestry, has been recognised as Best Commercial Premises at the annual Oswestry in Bloom awards ceremony.

This spring, Garden Centre Supervisor Will Lyon and some of our Horticulture students helped to plant shrubs and flowers. Aico has worked closely with us for many years, supporting students through educational workshops and more recently, sponsoring our beekeeping programme. We’re set to continue this partnership as students return to prepare the flower beds for the winter, and plant again next year.

Lee Duffy, Aico’s Operations and Learning & Development Manager, said: “We are delighted to have won the ‘Best Commercial Premises’ award from Oswestry in Bloom. Our grounds are carefully maintained to reflect the rural setting we are proud to be part of. Partnering with Derwen College was a natural choice, given the outstanding work they do. Our commitment to developing and maintaining our grounds to such a high standard aligns with our brand image and philosophy of making a positive impact within our community.”

Will Lyon said: “Our partnership with Aico has not only benefitted Horticulture students by providing them with valuable work experience but has also contributed to Aico’s success in achieving the Best Commercial Premises award. This collaboration reflects the commitment to community engagement and the development of sustainable surroundings. This successful partnership serves as an excellent example of how businesses and educational institutions can work together to create positive impacts within the community.”

Find out more about our Horticulture pathway

Students celebrate success at Graduation

It was a proud moment for students, families and staff celebrating achievements, work and independence skills, and friendships at our 2024 Graduation Ceremony.

The day marked the successes of 35 graduates, who had all successfully completed their chosen pathway or programme increasing their abilities and confidence in preparation for adulthood.

Former students and their families from across England and Wales were welcomed to the grand occasion at the Lion Quays Hotel and Resort, near Oswestry. They were joined by community and county representatives including High Sheriff of Shropshire, Brian Welti, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, Mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Mike Isherwood, and Councillor of Selattyn & Gobowen Craig Emery. Staff, governors, and supporters also attended the momentous occasion to celebrate the inspirational achievements of students, ready to take on the next stages of their lives.

Certificates and trophies were awarded to students and supported interns from our sites in Gobowen, Telford and Walford, by High Sheriff Brian Welti and College Principal and CEO Meryl Green. Students were recognised for outstanding progress in their work, independence, sports and leisure and for kindness, consideration and resilience.

Drinks were served by the College’s Hospitality students, and entertainment provided by street dance team Derwen Dance Crew (DDC) and sign, song and dance group Derwen on Tour (DOT).

The ceremony was opened by Curriculum Manager Jennifer Fawcett-Jones, with closing speech from the College’s Chair of Governors K Kimber.

Jennifer thanked everyone involved in making the celebration of so many outstanding individual accomplishments a very special day. Before wishing graduates well in their future endeavours.

She said: “Graduates, make the most of the foundations you have built as you move onto jobs, college courses, voluntary work, supported or independent living. Whatever you are doing, these are exciting times. We wish you all the very best in your futures and we, at Derwen College, had a wonderful time with you and are honoured to be part of your story.”

Graduation special achievement winners were:

• Hospitality & food Emma Briscoe cup – Freya Oliver.
• Horticulture Frank Matthews cup – Morgan Evans.
• Retail cup – Justin Harley.
• Neil Dew Cup for Outstanding Student in Performing Arts – Megan Probyn.
• Richard Dodd Memorial Trophy for Learning for Life – Chloe Martin.
• Nurture Cup – Caitlin Hooper
• Outstanding Satellite Students (Walford) award – Dylan Estabrook.
• Outstanding Satellite Student (Telford) – Ethan Patrick.
• Supported Internship cup – Emily Patterson.
• Mary Morris Bowl for Independence (residential students) – Sophie Dempsey.
• Paddy Hughes Cup for Independence (day students) went to Elizabeth Knox.
• The Boulton Shield (leisure) – Tom Crone.
• The Susannah Ruth Trophy (sport) – Justin Harley.
• The William Chapple Cup for Kindness and Consideration for Others – Arielle Nardone.
• The Irene Gull Award for Student Voice – Lauren Twomey and Jasmine Yarsley.
• The Caitlin Kelly Spirit Award, recognising resilience – Millie Seymour Hignett & Jordan Cooke.
• Susannah Ruth Overall Outstanding Student of 2024 – Chloe Martin

Find out more about the learning opportunities for young adults with SEND

Derwen College Wins Prestigious Award for its Careers Programme

Derwen College is thrilled to have been presented with the Career Development Institute’s award for the best ‘Careers Programme in Post-16 Education’.

The UKCD Awards recognise and celebrate excellence across the career development sector, both in the UK and internationally.

This award recognises the creativity and commitment that is needed to bring career management activities to life, and to inspire young people in post-16 education to think about their future careers.

At Derwen College, we use a person-centred method to support our students to reach their aspirations. As the goal for the majority of the college’s learners is employment, we build careers information and relevant, meaningful work placements into each student’s timetable. Work placements happen weekly, allowing students and employees to gain the most from partnerships and to learn industry-standard work practices.

In its application, the college demonstrated its diligence in forging partnerships with local business, and its dedication to giving students high quality, regular work placements. These work placements allow students the opportunity to gain real knowledge of the routine and expectations of work.

Figures from the college’s 2022–23 leavers show that 63% of Derwen College graduates have gone on to, or are in the process of, starting paid or voluntary employment or further training after college. Across England, less than 5% of adults with a learning disability are in paid work, meaning Derwen College far exceeds the national average.

Derwen College’s Careers Leads, Samantha Brown and Jennifer Fawcett-Jones, travelled to the Museum of Making in Derby for the official awards ceremony on 18 June.

Jennifer Fawcett-Jones, Curriculum Manager, said, “we were very proud to have been one of the short-listed companies represented at the awards. We are especially proud to have won, especially having been short-listed against two strong mainstream career development provisions.”

The Career Development Institute judges commented that, “The [college’s] approach was highly inclusive and underscored by strong ethical principles. Their innovation, particularly in establishing a partnership with an employer and constructing a replica environment, fostered a sense of confidence and preparedness among students.

“The enduring impact was evidenced by students securing employment, highlighting the efficacy of a staged approach in supporting individuals before their immersion in real-life experiences.”

We are incredibly proud of our relationship with employers in local industry, who provide students with the opportunity to experience a real vocational environment.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Cheque Presentation

Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award receives generous sponsorship.

On Tuesday, 4 June, Jenny and Graham Wynn visited Derwen College for a tour of our DofE facilities and to present the award programme with sponsorship.

Last year, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Jenny Wynn, was invited along with her husband, Graham Wynn, to present at the College’s annual Duke of Edinburgh’s Award ceremony.

During the course of the event, Jenny and Graham became aware of the support of local lodges and others who sponsor our Gold Award students. By seeing firsthand the positive impact that the programme has on the students’ confidence and wellbeing, Jenny and Graham were inspired to make a contribution through their charitable organisation, The Wynn Foundation.

The foundation has generously donated £2,700 which will sponsor three Bronze Award students each year for three years.

Tour of the DofE facilities

Following the cheque presentation, Jenny and Graham were given a tour of the College’s dedicated DofE centre by Megan and Dylan.

Both Megan and Dylan are relishing their DofE journey, and were keen to show off the facilities and share their stories with Jenny and Graham. Megan insisted on treating our guests to tea and marshmallows, prepared using a Trangia stove in true DofE style.

Derwen College’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award coordinator, Steve Evans, said,

“Working with the students week in, week out, I get to see just how much our young people develop over the course of the Award.”

“Without the support of donors like Wynn Developments nourishing the programme, the incredible growth our students experience simply would not be possible.”

Derwen Fete Extravaganza

Our Gobowen campus erupted into life over the weekend of 25–26 May as visitors poured in to experience the annual fete and dog show.

Visitors from far and wide came to support Derwen College and its students.

The event offered a bustling array of family-friendly entertainment, and raised an incredible amount of money which will be used to benefit the learners and residents of Derwen College.

The weekend’s attractions included the grand raffle, dog show, local artisanal stallholders and pet care services, games, refreshments, live music and more.

Despite the gloomy forecast and a brief showering of rain, Sunday’s dog show delivered on its promise to bring the pet-loving community together with a fantastic day of entertainment. The turnout was brilliant with over 60 teams of handlers and pups defying the weather to compete and show off their talents.

With the help of college staff over the weekend, and the months leading up to it everybody got involved to make the event special.

Derwen College Events Organiser and Community Fundraiser, Megan Charman, said “Watching the months of hard work pay off over the course of this weekend has been an absolute pleasure. There was a great atmosphere and it was lovely to see families take advantage of the space and facilities we have here.”

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who made the journey to join us over the weekend; your support has been incredible. The funds raised at the event will make an amazing difference towards the experiences we are able to provide for our students and residents.”

International Nurses Day

Today (10 May) is International Nurses Day.

At Derwen College, we have a small team of nurses who, over the past couple of years, have been working on an important sensory health project for our students.

The team took part in a pilot hearing project for students – ‘Hearing Checks in Residential Special Schools and Colleges’ organised by NHS England and NHS Improvements. The nurses team worked collaboratively with an external multi-disciplinary team, across health social care and education, and with parents of students involved.

The pilot highlighted a gap in services and support offered during the transition between child to adult services, which our students often fall through. Students may not have had a hearing assessment for many years.

Personalised care

Thirty-nine students participated in the original pilot and testing was personalised to each student. To aid their understanding of the testing, the nurses used social stories, desensitisation and videos. Out of those 39 students, 16 required further intervention such as earwax management, audiology/ENT referral, microsuction treatments, and two students were identified as needing hearing aids.

The gap in testing hearing was especially proven with our students with Downs Syndrome – out of 9 who took part in the pilot, 8 of them required further action to better their ear health. The National Down Syndrome Association recommends all people with Down Syndrome, must have regular hearing tests at all ages, as more likely to experience a hearing impairment at some point in their lives.

The work Derwen College nurses team did on this pilot was nominated for the Royal College of Nursing, 2023 Nursing Awards. Although the team didn’t win on this occasion, their work is recognised as vitally important to our students, and has continued.

What next for the project?

Moving away from the pilot phase, the nurses team continue to collaborate with the multi-disciplinary team. The team have also invested in hearing test equipment, which they had trialled throughout the pilot. They have been testing the hearing of all new students, and now include a hearing check as part of annual health checks at College.

Poor hearing, permanent or temporary, can have a big impact on our students’ well-being. Identifying hearing problems and enabling them to have better hearing allows our students to connect with the world, learn new things within the education setting, lead a full and healthy life, and engage socially (even if they can not engage verbally), and can reduce the frequency and intensity of behaviours of concern.

Learning maths in a Minecraft world

Learning maths in a Minecraft world

Derwen College Functional Skills Co-Ordinator Leah Bamford is making numeracy relevant and fun with the use of ‘gamification’ in maths through personalised Minecraft worlds.

For many people, maths can be a struggle. While the complexities of trigonometry are not generally a worry to most of us, meaningful everyday maths is a vital skill for living an independent life.

Students at Derwen College, who have a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), use maths in their work experience and in their Independent Living Skills (ILS) sessions. For example;

• Hospitality students count and weigh ingredients
• Performing Arts students count beats and moves
• Retail students count stock, check temperatures, use-by dates and operate the till
• Horticulture students need to measure depths and spaces and record progress.

Students learn to use money for shopping and for timekeeping. There’s just no getting away from maths!

As Functional Skills Co-Ordinator, I teach maths and English. It’s no secret that maths has not always been my favourite subject. I understand the panic that descends when your brain is bombarded with numbers rather than words. I have made it my mission to make maths fun and meaningful for our students in their Functional Skills sessions.

How we have changed the way students learn maths

We have combined numerical skills with imagination and everyday mathematical problem solving. Students taking Functional Skills maths lessons are benefitting from the ‘gamification’ of maths and solving problems on a gaming platform that they already enjoy.

At College, our maths lessons have been given an engaging and relevant twist thanks to our personalised Minecraft world. Instead of using a pre-created world from the Minecraft Education library, I created ‘Derwen-craft’ – an online Minecraft world which even features a replica of our Functional Skills Centre, The Bradbury.

The ‘Derwen-craft’ world features maths problems that I created. As the students progressed, they asked if they could design some tasks and that has developed into devising maths problems to test each other. Performing Arts student, Megan and Retail student, Justin, are among the students who enjoy weekly maths sessions in the Minecraft world of ‘Derwen-craft’. Meg has built a virtual holiday home and rents out a speedboat. She is learning money skills, map scaling, and how to work out the cost of her boat trips using contextual maths problems. Justin has used his maths skills to design and create an impressive giant rollercoaster, which is currently 225 metres long. He is also designing a house and creating maths problems for other students to locate and work out.

What do our students think about learning maths this way?

Justin enjoys maths and is also a keen gamer. He says: “These sessions have really helped me. I have to calculate problems, but in an interesting way.”

Meg said: “I love maths now. I like building things. We are learning maths but can be creative too. The only rules are don’t kill villagers or destroy other people’s buildings. All’s fair in maths and Minecraft!”

Curriculum manager, Jennifer Fawcett-Jones, is a keen advocate for teaching creatively. She says: “Teachers at Derwen College are always looking for ways to make learning meaningful and engaging. It’s great to see students enjoying maths so much because of the creative and relevant way that it is delivered.”

She added, “using Minecraft, Leah has created a world where maths is disguised in colour, creativity and competition. This is a world where solving maths problems is not intimidating. It can be personalised and brought to life to have great cognitive value and help develop social skills. And let’s not forget, it’s great fun too!”

How else do our students learn?

At Derwen College, students aged 16–25, work and/or learn independence skills to support them in adulthood. Most students learn functional skills which are embedded into their vocational pathways. Where it is appropriate, some students receive dedicated additional timetabled functional skills sessions. These offer extra learning and sometimes accreditation, in maths and English.

Derwen College has a commercial ‘Marketplace,’ which is open to the public. Here, students work in the:

• Garden Centre and Gift Shop
• The Orangery Restaurant
• Walled Garden Café
• The Vintage Advantage charity shop
• Hotel 751 training hotel.

As they become more confident in their abilities, many students progress to external work placements in the community, at local and national businesses. Maths is, of course, important in everything they do.

World Book Day fun

What a day we had on Friday for World Book Day!

World Book Day is such an important day to celebrate reading (and writing!) for pleasure. Functional Skills coordinator Leah Bamford organised activities galore to make reading and storytelling accessible and exciting. We encouraged students to develop their skills and promote a life-long habit that improves wellbeing and supports skills for employment.

Learners from different pathways across college were invited to participate in World Book Day activities. Many students and members of staff came in fancy dress and brought their favourite book with them to show us.

Students were asked to use their imagination and creativity to ‘Make a Story’ in small groups. They were then able to bring their story to life with the use of our green screen, some digital magic, and imaginative backdrops based on their story content.

Local poet and author Jan Hedger, who is an industry champion at College, came in to judge the ‘Make a Story’ competition, and our ever popular ‘Design your Own Book Cover’ competition. Watch this space to find out our winners, soon!

Caitlin’s sparkly birthday

Today was Caitlin’s 21st birthday, and the team in Nurture celebrated in style.

The theme was sparkly, and Caitlin and friends enjoyed having glitzy hair and nails, as well as some well-deserved pampering and birthday cake.

Nurture students enjoyed hand massages and painted nails, while those with longer hair were offered coloured tinsel hair extensions.

Thank you to Tanya Garvin from Shropshire Hair Sparkles for joining in the fun and adding extra glitter to everyone’s tresses. Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

St David’s Day celebrations

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus (Happy St David’s Day) from all of us at College for 1 March.

Our Gobowen campus is less than three miles from the Welsh border. We are also proud to say that around one quarter of our students are Welsh (as well as many staff). With this in mind, there are Welsh activities going on through March.

25% of students are from Wales