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Derwen College visit Aico’s Centre of Excellence

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Left to right: Student Matthew Stevens; Ruth Braddick, teacher at Derwen @Walford; student Josh Palmer; Dave Jennings, technical advisor at Aico; Dan Foster, learning support assistant, Derwen @Walford; Nathan Jones; Pat Jones, sales advisor, Aico.

Aico Ltd welcomed students from Derwen College’s Derwen @Walford site to their head office in Oswestry, Shropshire for a tour and practical fire safety workshop.

Students and staff from the satellite site in Baschurch, near Shrewsbury, visited Aico’s Centre of Excellence to learn more about facilities within Aico – the market leader in fire and carbon monoxide detection.

The Aico in the Community team were approached by Liam Edwards, co-crdinator at Derwen @Walford regarding the possibility of organising some sessions and Aico in the Community worked in partnership with the team at Derwen @Walford to plan the day.

Liam commented: “It was important for us to work with Aico to link the day with employability skills, as this is an essential part of the students learning at Derwen College. The students experienced a fantastic opportunity to look at various career paths and transferable skills in the workplace”.

As part of the day, Pat Jones, Sales Advisor and Louise Reid, Marketing Executive took the students around the different departments within Aico to show the different types of roles available within business environments.

Students took part in an interactive session in Aico’s Ember Place, a mock bungalow created to highlight fire and carbon monoxide risks within a home. They were shown best practice for siting of alarms in relation to these risks. The smoke chamber was also used to demonstrate how alarms react to smoke, heat and carbon monoxide, to give a real life feel to the sessions and to aid with the students learning.

Ruth Braddick, teacher at Derwen @Walford commented: “The trip to Aico was absolutely amazing, a fantastic experience for the students which gave them confidence gaining knowledge of fire awareness in the workplace and their own homes. They also gained valuable knowledge of varied employability opportunities”. “All of the Aico staff were very accommodating and friendly towards our students. We would like to say a big thank you to Aico for providing this experience and we very much look forward to working with the team again in the future.”

Award in memory of a remarkable young woman

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Kirstin Royle Trust trustee Arran Holdsworth hands over the unique oak award which will be awarded to a student who has challenged themselves through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.

Derwen College is to award a trophy to an intrepid student each year in memory of a much-loved adventurous young woman.

The Gobowen specialist college, has been given the award – which will be presented every year to a student who has challenged themselves through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme ­– by The Kirstin Royle Trust.

The Kirstin Royle Trust was set up in 1993 in memory of Kirstin who died aged 22. The trust began with the aim of providing opportunities for young people to participate in challenging activities that give them a real sense of adventure. Kirstin was a kind and compassionate teacher who loved the outdoors, so it seemed natural that the trust provided opportunities for young people to participate in activities that would otherwise be very difficult for them.

After 25 years, the charitable trust is wrapping up its activities, and wanted to leave a lasting legacy with the college in the form of an award in her name.

“We specifically chose to donate the award to Derwen College due to their involvement with the trust in the past. Derwen College students participated in residential weekends at the Raymond Priestley Centre in the Lake District where they were encouraged to challenge themselves and embrace new opportunities,” explained trustee Arran Holdsworth.

“We hope the award will be handed out for endeavour and personal achievement for a student who has stepped out of their comfort zone and achieved something they did not think would be possible for them,” he added.

Sports and Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards co-ordinator Steve Evans said that Derwen College felt privileged to be asked to award a trophy in Kirstin’s name.

“Derwen have been linking with the Kirstin Royle Trust for the last few years as the trust has been part funding the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards residential placement at Lake Coniston each summer,” he said.

“We felt very honoured to be able to accept this award from the Kirstin Royle Trust, and look forward to presenting it to one of our Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards students for exceptional commitment and hard work.”

The trust has also made a contribution to the Raymond Priestley Centre in Coniston where Derwen College students spend time as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.

Derwen College is a specialist college for young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. The college offers students the opportunity to learn new skills in real work environments and to learn life skills which will enable them to live as independently as possible. Last year, 60 learners from the college completed their D of E awards at Bronze, Silver or Gold levels.

 

Serving up professional training

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A two-course dinner made from scratch was on the menu when Derwen College students were invited on a professional catering skills workshop.

Five hospitality students from college had the opportunity to train for the day at a Whitbread-owned industry training kitchen.

Whitbread ­­­– owner of restaurant brands including Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Thyme, Cookhouse & Pub and Bar + Block ­– asked students from the Oswestry-based college to attend a bespoke catering course at its North Learning and Skills Academy in Sale, near Manchester. The students and two members of staff jumped at the chance to learn new skills in a professional environment with top class teaching chefs.

Premier Inn Regional Operations Manager Tracey Bishop invited the students on the experience, having established a close professional relationship between Derwen and the UK’s biggest hotel company Premier Inn, which is also Whitbread-owned. The partnership, which sees students undertaking work experience and paid employment at Premier Inn hotels across the UK, has also seen the creation of a Premier Inn training hotel on the college grounds; here students gain valuable first-hand experience of the hospitality industry.

Budding cooks Faye Humphries, Max Marek, William Chapple, James Ashworth and Adam Gill were given the opportunity to work with industry teachers including Craig Robinson, Lead Academy Manager who ran the day. The students prepared a Spaghetti Bolognese from scratch including peeling and preparing the vegetables and garlic. They worked with pictures to help their understanding and were able to take them home so that they could recreate the same recipe step-by-step for themselves.

Derwen College Work Experience Co-ordinator Abi Baker said that students and staff were thrilled to be invited to the professional training kitchen where Whitbread restaurant teams are trained. Staff from the different Whitbread brands undergo initial training there and attend catering courses whenever a new menu is devised.

Abi Baker said: “We had no idea what to expect but Whitbread surpassed anything we could have hoped for. The students were kitted out in full uniform including safety shoes and were looked after like celebrities – with food and drink throughout the day.

“The students were taught step-by-step to make a Spaghetti Bolognese from scratch, followed by an ice-cream sundae with a huge array of ice-creams, toppings and sprinkles to choose from.

“We invited students who we thought would benefit the most from the day; learners who had done some cooking but were keen to reach that next step of learning. They all developed new skills such as crushing garlic and using graters and peelers. Being treated as VIP guests, they were well-motivated and performed beyond our expectations.

She added: “Students were over-the-moon to be given certificates and allowed to keep their catering kit. And, as the cherry on the cake, unlike in their usual catering sessions, the students didn’t have to do the washing up when they’d finished!”

Building communication skills for the future

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Creating cars, spaceships and fantasy landscapes out of Lego bricks is helping to build communication and team-building skills for some of our students at Derwen College.

Further Education specialist Derwen College, near Oswestry, is asking for donations of Lego and similar plastic building bricks for new Lego-based therapy workshops to start in January.

Derwen College, in Gobowen, will be running Team Building Skills workshops with students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and communication difficulties, using moulded construction blocks such as Lego. The sessions may look like child’s play but they are a valuable exercise in building students’ skills in communication and teamwork.

Teacher Mathew Barnett is appealing to businesses and individuals to donate Lego kits, Lego bricks, Lego tools and boards so that as many students as possible can benefit from the workshops.

The session will be run by teacher Mathew, who recently trained in team building therapy using Lego. Mathew, who has been working at the college for five years, said that the sessions have been found to be effective for children with autism and related conditions. He firmly believes it could achieve equally effective results with young adults as well.

The idea was first reported by Professor Daniel LeGoff in 2004. Working with autistic youngsters, he would sometimes break the ice by asking children to bring in their latest building project. One day he witnessed two autistic children in his waiting room communicate for the first time – the bond that had brought them together had been Lego.

Mathew says that although the sessions are about learning through a fun activity there are strict rules that ‘players’ all make and agree to adhere to.

“Students choose between a kit or a freestyle project and work together. Working in groups of three, students then assign roles to each other as engineer, supplier and builder. The engineer directs and describes the instructions for the project; the supplier finds the right pieces and passes them on to the builder. The builder then puts the bricks together. In order for the project to go from bricks to final product, the three players must be able to communicate with each other, verbally or non-verbally, and to engage in joint attention, creativity, and problem solving,” he explains.

“This kind of activity develops skills that can be transferred to many other real-life situations and builds essential team work skills’’ he continues.

The therapy also involves competitions, memory games, stress-relief activities, creative thinking and games using bricks.

Student Oscar Pollack will be one of the first students to embark on the training. Mathew believes that Oscar will benefit from the Lego-based team building therapy.

Oscar already has a good understanding of Lego and enjoys working with the blocks.

He says: “Lego was invented in 1932 in Denmark. I am going to build a house.

“In a group, I would like to be the engineer and give out instructions but I think I’d make a good builder as well.

“It is going to help with my learning, like learning team work. We will have to work together. It will help me to understand about good listening. We will have to communicate to work together well.”

Mathew hopes to start weekly sessions with students in January through until Easter, with a fresh cohort starting for the summer term.

Students achieve certificates at every level, starting from Helper, then progressing to Builder, Creator, Master and Genius. The Genius grade is very rare but Mat thinks he may have a student or two in mind that could achieve this accolade.

He says: “I’m really keen to get started as soon as possible. Students and parents that I’ve spoken to are keen, and the sessions tick so many boxes. They help students in learning numbers and shapes, following instructions, taking turns, communicating and taking responsibility.

“When I went to the training, I didn’t know what to expect but I came away feeling genuinely inspired. I can see so many ways that it could support some of our students.”

With bags of enthusiasm, all that’s holding him back now are the bags of bricks needed to help build confidence, communication skills and countless imaginative projects – the possibilities are endless.

For details of how to donate, telephone Derwen College on 01691 661234 or email [email protected] For more information regarding the college visit the website.

Thanks for £1000 festive donation

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Derwen College students and Satellite Co-ordinator Liam Edwards were delighted to receive the £1000 cheque from Aico marketing manager Jo White.

Derwen College has received a generous festive gift – a donation towards new equipment and day trips for its day students.

Aico Ltd, in Oswestry, has donated £1000 to Derwen College’s satellite sites. In addition to a main campus in Gobowen, near Oswestry, the college has three satellite sites. These smaller sites for day students are at Walford, in Baschurch, near Shrewsbury; Craven Arms; and Higher Penley, near Wrexham. The three satellite sites offer students the opportunity to learn new skills in real work environments.

Derwen College Area Satellite Manager Peter Leddington said that staff and students were delighted with the kind donation which will help learners to develop work skills towards their chosen career pathway.

He said: “To say we are over the moon is an understatement. The team and our students will be really pleased. We are very proud to be working with a Shropshire-based company that takes education and social responsibilities so seriously. These funds are supporting a college that changes people’s lives.

The donation will be used to purchase equipment to support both the educational side and added enrichments to life skills, these include new sports, arts and horticulture equipment and supporting costs of trips to galleries, sports facilities and broaden our learners’ social confidence.”

Aico Ltd is the market leader in residential fire and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in the UK. Marketing manager Jo White visited the Walford site to present a cheque to students and staff.

Aico’s marketing manager Jo White said that they were very pleased to be supporting the work and life skills training at Derwen College’s satellite sites.

She said: “Every member of staff at Aico were given the opportunity to put forward a charity of their choice to receive a donation. I nominated Derwen College satellite centres because I worked alongside them for many years while working in education and saw first-hand the difference that the satellite centres make to young people’s lives.”

Derwen College, in Gobowen, is a specialist college for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. The college offers students the opportunity to learn new skills in real work environments and to learn life skills which will enable them to live as independently as possible. The college has received three consecutive ‘outstanding’ Ofsted gradings and has been shortlisted as Specialist Provider of the Year in the TES FE Awards.

All aboard for surprise award

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 Teresa was presented with flowers and a certificate by the High Sheriff and Derwen College students.

Teresa Richards, who runs Station Café in Gobowen on behalf of Derwen College, received a surprise visit from some very special customers this week.

High Sheriff of Shropshire Rhoderick Swire visited the Station Cafe on the Gobowen railway station platform to present café supervisor and Derwen College learning support assistant Teresa with an award. The High Sheriff Award was presented in recognition of Teresa’s tireless work and continued commitment to the popular Station Café.

Gobowen Station Café is run by Derwen College for independent not-for-profit rail agency Severn Dee Travel, providing work experience opportunities to students training in Hospitality.

Derwen College Principal Meryl Green and Sheila Dee, Community Rail Officer at Severn Dee Travel, were also among those who attended the certificate presentation.

Rhoddy Swire said: “When the Derwen College leadership team put Teresa Richards’ name forward for this accolade, I was very happy to make such an award. What an outstanding lady Teresa is!”

Teresa has worked at Derwen College’s Station Café for three years and prior to that as a teacher in the catering department of the college at the main site in Gobowen for 13 years.

Teresa said that she was moved by the unexpected accolade.

“It was such a fabulous surprise. I can’t wait to put my certificate up on the wall in the café,” she said.

“It was so lovely to have everyone – staff, students, customers and community partners – all involved. This award is recognition for everything we do here and the support we receive from the community, as well as providing valuable work experience for our students. It is important for students to engage with customers in the community, and it’s a great asset for Gobowen too. We all work together and are all constantly learning from each other. It’s a lovely place to work.”

Derwen College Principal Meryl Green said that the college was thrilled to be able to nominate such a worthy candidate.

Meryl Green said: “What a difference one person can make! Teresa runs the Station Café which is providing invaluable work experience opportunities Monday to Friday for Derwen’s Hospitality and Customer Services students. Teresa forms great relationships with the students and this provides an excellent base for learning.

“Under Teresa’s guidance the students are learning work-ready and independence skills through making and serving drinks, snacks and lunches, dealing with payments and developing people skills when serving customers. These skills are essential in order to prepare students for future employment after college. They are supported, encouraged and trained by Teresa whilst she is at the same time running this busy outlet.”

The Station Café was provided to Derwen College from Severn Dee Travel who run the ticket office at Gobowen train station. They saw this as a great opportunity to involve students from the college some six years ago. Teresa has formed an outstanding relationship with Severn Dee Travel demonstrating an understanding of their needs as a business, a local organisation in the community and work experience provider for the college. This has led to some amazing partnership work including nominations and awards from Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACorp).

Derwen College, in Gobowen, is a specialist college for young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. The college offers students the opportunity to learn new skills in real work environments and to learn life skills which will enable them to live as independently as possible. The college has received three consecutive ‘outstanding’ Ofsted gradings. For more information go to www.derwen.ac.uk.

Sheila Dee of Severn Dee Travel and Shropshire High Sheriff Rhoddy Swire
Principal Meryl Green and Shropshire High Sheriff Rhoddy Swire commended Teresa on her hard work and dedication to the Station Cafe

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