Archives for November 2019

This week is Learning Disability Work Week and we’re celebrating the industry experts who voluntarily offer their time and experience to Derwen College, allowing us to support our students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) into work.

The College has a number of Industry Champions – business leaders who offer advice, support and training to staff and students in Retail, Hospitality, Horticulture and Creative Arts.

Neil Bevan of Oswestry-based graphic design and marketing business Hunter Bevan Branding, Graphic Design and Marketing is one of the College’s most recently appointed Industry Champions.

He says:
“Engagement as an Industry Champion may include commenting on the curriculum, talking positively about the college’s work at business networking events, supporting events, sharing news on social media, or judging skill competitions.
“This benefits the students’ experience by exposing them to ‘real-life’ business people, working in sectors such as creative, or hospitality and catering, to give them feedback on ‘real-world’ scenarios to support their learning, and, ultimately, supported employment for some students. I am always impressed by the enthusiasm, friendliness, and potential of the students I meet on my visits (as well as the commitment and enthusiasm of the staff).”

Llanfyllin Spar owner Mark Prust supports retail staff and students as well as offering valuable external work placements to students.

He says:
“I was surprised but pleased to be asked to contribute my retail experience to enhance the work done at Derwen College. I hope to be as pro-active as possible in helping out with discovering and understanding latest innovations.
“At Spar we are continuously looking at the latest technology and training for till systems, stock-taking and health and safety which is information that we can share with college staff and students.
“We enjoy having students working here along with learning support assistant Julie Bryan. We have not had to adapt the way we work around them, they have fitted in seamlessly and are a pleasure to work with.”

Derwen College is urging everyone to make Christmas more magical for children with communication difficulties by learning festive Makaton sign language at a workshop at Oswestry Library on Thursday, 21st November.

A trained tutor from our officially ‘Makaton friendly’ college will be running the two-hour Signing for Santa workshop at the library from 2.30-4.30pm.

Senior Makaton Tutor and Derwen College Head of Speech and Language Therapy Julie Hawkins will be leading the workshop which will teach Christmassy signs, symbols and songs to enable festive helpers to communicate with youngsters with learning difficulties and disabilities. The course costs just £10.

The idea for Makaton’s Santa Signing Workshop originally came about through a partnership between The Makaton Charity and Weardale Railway, in Co Durham.

Julie Hawkins explained: “A few years ago, The Makaton Charity developed Makaton signs and symbols to support Santa on the Weardale Polar Express. A mum filmed Santa signing to three-year-old Betsy – a little girl with Down’s Syndrome – which made her Christmas magical. The video went viral, with more than 50,000 views. From there two Makaton tutors developed a Makaton Workshop to teach Santas to sign. We were really pleased to run our first workshop in 2017.”

Makaton is a language programme using signs and symbols to help people to communicate. It is designed to support spoken language and the signs and symbols are used with speech.

Senior Makaton tutor Julie Hawkins said: “Makaton is become more widely known and used in specialist and mainstream educational settings and on television. Children’s television presenter Justin Fletcher, aka Mr Tumble, uses Makaton signs and symbols to support speech, and we’ve even seen celebrities on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing signing ‘thank you’ to viewers. Derwen was also proud to see Makaton founder Margaret Walker receive a Special Recognition Award at the Pride of Britain Awards 2019.”

“We believe that by learning a few simple signs, every Father and Mother Christmas and would-be elf could communicate effectively with all children ensuring that the grotto experience is truly special for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. The workshops are great fun and offer a bit of extra help for grotto staff, making sure that Father Christmas is never lost for words.”

Derwen College launches the Agnes Hunt Village appeal on 7^th November, and the request for stories from people who have lived in the life-changing bungalows over the decades has uncovered many fascinating stories.

On 7^th November, former residents, businesses and community are invited to find out more about the Agnes Hunt Village, in Gobowen – its history, its present and its future.

Through a £1 million pound Derwen College Charity appeal, the bungalows will be updated to create an ideal stepping stone for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to gain independent living skills. With the hope that they will move on to future employment and supported living.

The village of 28 bungalows was the vision of Dames Agnes Hunt who founded Derwen College. Building of the village did not start until 1952, four years after her death in 1948 – it was to be her final legacy.

Guests at the launch on Thursday will include people with fond memories of living and growing up in the Dame Agnes Hunt Village, including Bob Hardy. Bob, who now lives in Pant, grew up in Bungalow Number 12 with his mother and father Eunice and Jack Hardy and brothers David and Andrew.

“We lived at Number 12,” remembers Bob. “My dad came to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital for treatment after being invalided out of RAF. Eventually we moved into the bungalows and he worked at the hospital in Splints and Appliances. My mum nursed at both the Derwen and the hospital.”

Bob’s parents remained living in the bungalows until his dad passed away in 1974 . His mum Eunice moved to Oswestry soon after. Eunice died in 2011 at the age of 84.

Bob and his brothers all still live locally and have fond recollections of their childhood.

“I have happy memories of growing up in the Agnes Hunt Village. There were a lot of families with children mainly with parents working at the Derwen or the Orthopaedic Hospital,” he says.

“There were many people who suffered debilitating conditions or disability. We all played together and helped each other out. We played football and cricket on the lawn in the middle of the cul-de-sac. There was only one tree there at the time so it was perfect for sports. I remember a gardener called Ivor who would cut the grass perfectly for cricket.

“We knew everybody and used to play and cycle around the Derwen and follow the path through the field to fish in the brook. We used to get wheels from the old wheelchairs to make our go-karts.”

The family remains connected with the RJAH Hospital and Derwen.

Bob is particularly proud that his wife Glenna, a Specialist Nurse Practitioner for Arthroplasty at the hospital, was the first to receive the Dame Agnes Hunt Nursing Medal. She was presented with the inaugural Dame Agnes Hunt Nursing Medal by HRH Princess Alexandra during an official Royal visit in 2017.

Bob’s brothers, children and nephews continue the tradition with many family members still working at the Orthopaedic Hospital as nurses, pharmacist and admin, says Bob.

“All three of us have been closely linked to Derwen and the Orthopedic Hospital, and it’s lovely to see that link with Agnes Hunt carry on to the next generation.”

For more information regarding the Agnes Hunt Village Project and the launch on Thursday, 7th November visit www.agneshuntappeal.co.uk email fundraiser Anna Evans on anna.evans@derwen.ac.uk or telephone 01691 661234.