horticulture

Work placements can change lives

9th September 2021 by Eluned Watson

Derwen is urging more Shropshire businesses to support us to transform our students’ future employment prospects by offering just an hour or two for a weekly work placement.

Student work placements are a vital part of most of our students’ learning. As students progress from working in our on-site commercial areas, they go on to weekly work placements in the community when they are ready. So, College has been reaching out to Shropshire businesses. We are asking them for just a couple of hours a week to help change the future of a young person with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

It is important that work placements are relevant to students’ learning pathways and future ambitions. Therefore, the college is keen to work with charity shops, designers and printers, theatres, garden nurseries, cafes, restaurants and housekeeping businesses in Shropshire, preferably in or near Oswestry or Telford.

The work experience team are also looking for some specific placements local to Shrewsbury, for students at the college’s Walford-based site. They are particularly keen to hear from Shrewsbury-based florists, gyms, leisure centres and horticulture enterprises.

Just a few hours a week in a work environment provides vital experience for students. This helps them towards employment and a more independent future. Students are supported at all times during their placements by a Derwen College job coach and can be a real asset to a business.

Can you help support life-changing opportunities?

Work experience co-ordinator Abi Baker said:

‘Only 6% of young people with learning difficulties go into work, which is an incredibly disappointing statistic. Derwen College’s mission is to create opportunities for young people who may have special educational needs, but have proved they are able and willing to work. This enables them to enjoy job satisfaction and also to live more independent lives.

“Our external work placement programme offers life changing opportunities for our students to undertake meaningful, real work experience which is relevant to their learning and future career hopes.

“Businesses that we work with also find it a rewarding thing to do. Offering work placements to a person with a learning difficulty promotes diversity and boosts a company’s reputation for being community-minded and inclusive.”

To find out more about how you could help change a young person’s future prospects, please contact Abi Baker on abi.baker@derwen.ac.uk

Virtual competitions to highlight student skills

4th February 2021 by Eluned Watson

Specialist colleges across the UK are signing up to an exciting week of national skills competitions hosted by Shropshire-based Derwen College.

The specialist FE college has launched Skills Live @Derwen, a week of virtual competitions showcasing the vocational and independence skills of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Judging will take place from 1^st to 5^th March to coincide with National Careers Week.

Careers Week will finish off on Saturday, 6^th March with the College’s Virtual Spring Open Day.

The college has been excited to already hear from a number of specialist and mainstream colleges from across the UK. keen to sign up for the competitions which focus on skills in Horticulture, Hospitality, Performing Arts, Retail, Work Skills, Independence, Work Skills and Functional Skills.

Creating opportunities for young people with special needs to work and live as independently as possible is at the heart of all learning at Derwen College, near Oswestry. With this in mind, the college has been part of national competitions showcasing the vocational skills of people with SEND for ten years.

Competitions will be held virtually

For 2021, the college has had to rethink the competitions around Covid-19 restrictions, and is preparing for virtual online competition. Entries will need to be submitted by 25^th February to be judged by industry experts from 1^st to 4^th March.

The competitions are open to young people aged 16-25 years old with SEND who are currently in mainstream or specialist colleges or schools. The competitions are aimed at students working up to Entry Levels 1,2 and 3. Only two students from each organisation can participate in each competition.

Derwen College Principal Meryl Green said that the college was proud to be able to hold online Skills Live competitions for 2021.

She said: “The college has had to adapt to the times, finding innovative ways to improve opportunities for students, now more than ever. We have become used to working, teaching and learning virtually, and have already held successful virtual Open Days, graduation ceremony and teaching sessions. The virtual Skills competitions were the natural next step.

“At Derwen, we are privileged to have the facilities and industry connections to run competitions to showcase the skills demonstrated by students following vocational pathways. We are able to bring together students from a variety of schools and colleges to compete in a professional way and demonstrate their learning and employability skills.

“We are looking forward to welcoming students from schools and colleges across the UK to showcase the vocational skills they are learning in preparation for employment after college.”

For more information or to register to take part go to www.derwenskillslive.co.uk or email skillslive@derwen.ac.uk

A blooming triumph in challenging times

13th January 2021 by Eluned Watson

Horticulture student Will and teacher Will have been busy cutting back and clearing in the Walled Garden for winter.

Specialist further education college Derwen College is delighted to be praised for its hard work in challenging times by UK-wide horticultural campaign Britain in Bloom.

The Walled Garden at Derwen College, in Shropshire, has been recognised by Britain in Bloom because of its important place in the community.

The garden was presented to Derwen College, near Oswestry, from the Shropshire Horticultural Society in 1989. And, it continues to to provide learning and work skills for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Judges awarded Derwen College Walled Garden with a Gold award in 2019.

Students on the College’s Horticulture pathway, tend the garden as part of their learning and work experience. Visitors to Derwen College’s Garden Centre and Shop, and Garden Café enjoy spending time in the tranquil space when they are able to visit.

In 2019, the beautiful Walled Garden scooped a top prize of a Gold/Outstanding Award. This was in the Royal Horticultural Society-run Britain in Bloom competition in the category called ‘In Your Neighbourhood’. For 2020, judging was not able to happen in the same way. However, Derwen College was thrilled that The Royal Horticultural Society and Heart of England in Bloom presented the College with a Certificate of Recognition.

Community spirit

RHS Community Development Manager Kay Clark said:

“This year, an amazing sense of community spirit has enabled people to face the difficulties of this dreadful pandemic together. Through Bloom, It’s Your Neighbourhood, and other community gardening activities you have laid the strong foundations that helped make communities more resilient in these testing times.

“People have felt closer to nature through lockdown. So, they have valued access to green space so much more. We have heard that people are valuing your work more than ever before.

“We want to recognise how important you all are, and how valuable your work is.”

Derwen College Principal Meryl Green was delighted with the recognition.

She said: “We are over the moon that the hard work of our Horticulture students and staff has been recognised during a year like no other, where everyone has had to pull together to do the very best that they can in exceptional circumstances.

“We are very proud of our Walled Garden which is a beautiful, tranquil space that is enjoyed by students, staff and the community. We look forward to being able to welcome back visitors in 2021.”

Find out more about a pathway in Horticulture at Derwen College here.

Gold standard for Derwen College

30th September 2020 by Eluned Watson

Students Tom and Courtney with Work Experience Co-ordinator Abi Baker.

Derwen College has been awarded a top Gold standard award in recognition of its work experience opportunities and work programmes for students.

The specialist further education college, near Oswestry, has received a Gold certificate and trophy from Fair Train – an organisation which champions high quality work-based learning throughout the UK.

Derwen College, in Gobowen, provides vocational learning and work experience for 16-25 year olds students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The College has developed strong external business opportunities with national and local businesses.

Hospitality and Housekeeping students work in Premier Inn housekeeping and Gobowen Station Café in a partnership with Severn Dee Travel; Horticulture students work at Oswestry Cemetery and Treflach Farm; Retail students work at Spar, in Llanfyllin and Severn Trent Water; and Performing Arts students work at Gobowen Playgroup, and as part of sign, song and dance group Derwen on Tour and inclusive storytelling group DC NarraTours.

The college also offers internal work experience on site in commercial areas which are open to the public including the Karten Print Shop, Garden Centre and Shop, and Garden Café.

The college houses a Premier Inn training facility where students learn the skills needed to work in a Premier Inn hotel. This experience then leads to work experience at Premier Inn hotels in the area. This has gone on to become paid work at Premier Inn for 20 former Derwen College students.

Derwen College has achieved Fair Train’s Gold Standard.

Derwen College’s Work Experience and Transition Team are pleased to have received the nationally respected Work Experience Quality Standard at the highest Gold level.

Abi Baker, Work Experience Co-ordinator, said she was delighted that the hard work of staff and students at Derwen College had been recognised at the highest possible level.

“We are really pleased to have received the Fair Train gold quality standard award which shows we are following Fair Train’s high standards of practice at the top Gold level. Fair Train’s Work Experience Quality Standard is a widely and highly respected accreditation. We have worked closely with Fair Train to ensure we maintain the highest possible standards.”

Fair Train was created in 2009 by a group of people from the voluntary and community sector to address the lack of availability and uptake of apprenticeships in the sector. More than 400 organisations – employers, learning/training providers and facilitators – have now achieved Fair Train’s Work Experience Quality Standard. Sadly, this is Fair Train’s final year of operation, due to the impact of Covid-19 on the sector.

Derwen College continues to work with businesses to provide quality work experience opportunities for students working in Hospitality & Housekeeping, Retail, Performing Arts and Horticulture.

National Careers Week

8th March 2020 by Eluned Watson

Derwen College celebrated National Careers Week, from 2nd to 7th March with a host of fun and informative activities to support students towards future employment.

Students at the specialist further education college for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) took on work-related tasks and challenges in Horticulture, Retail, Hospitality and Housekeeping, and Performing Arts.

The week also saw the official launch of a ground-breaking new CV Builder ‘app’ that the college has developed to enable people with SEND to create and send their own CV to potential employers, as well as the launch of the College’s Skills Live @Derwen 2020 Competition which take place on 23rd June.

See more pictures from across the College in our Facebook Careers Week album.

Derwen College CV Builder app developed with Hunter Bevan and Marches LEP funding — Derwen College’s new CV builder app which is supporting students to independently create and send a CV to potential employers.

Poster competition

Students were invited to take part in a poster competition highlighting the work and independence skills they had learnt with us. The ‘I couldn’t, but now I can …” competition received 47 entries which demonstrated a huge variety of skills. Themes varied across employment, independence and social skills. They included skills such as using a till in the Orangery Restaurant, learning lines for a performance, making sandwiches, using kitchen knife skills, folding clothes and going out to work in the community.

Of the competition, Derwen College Governor Barbara Court said: “It was inspiring to see such a large number of entries covering a diverse range of skills and knowledge that students recognised they had acquired whilst at College. These were transferable skills that will serve students in their work and independence skills at College, and in the future.”

A Future Aspirations workshop explored the key concept of ‘hope,’ to help battle anxiety and stress devised from the anticipation of post college life. Resources and video material were provided by #NCW to help inspire and challenge positives expectations and aspirations for career development.

Supporting students towards employment

Derwen College works hard to equip students with the skills and tools necessary to support them towards employment. We have an on-site restaurant, café, print shop, Garden Centre, Shop and mini Hotel 751 that offer work experience for students. Derwen also works with national and local businesses to provide relevant off-site work placements for students, preparing them for employment when they return to their home area.

With technical support from app developers Hunter Bevan Ltd, the college has created and developed innovative new apps to further support students into work. We have developed a suite of apps as part of a ‘Support Work’ project, funded via the Marches LEP Growth Deal with Government for capital skills projects.

The College is now looking forward to further promoting work skills during Skills Live @Derwen competitions on 23rd June. The College is hosting competitions to showcase student skills for potential employees across the UK, with entries welcomed from this week. For more information visit www.derwen.ac.uk/competitions/

Derwen College Quality Manager Samantha Brown said that the College is constantly supporting students in the pursuit of suitable employment, and they were pleased to focus on National Careers Week.

She said, “Careers Week provides a platform to celebrate the wider world of work. By embracing an across-college approach to career guidance and providing an insight into future work or learning possibilities through positive and fun exploration, we hope to empower students to develop and express their own aspirations.”

Roundabout revamp thanks to ‘Leaf It To Us’

28th October 2019 by Eluned Watson

Green-fingered horticulture students have completed work to design and create an eye-catching traffic roundabout in Baschurch, near Shrewsbury.

Baschurch Parish Council chairman Jonathan Carr met with students from Derwen@Walford. He thanked them for their hard work transforming the weed-ridden island into a roundabout to proud of.

Students from Derwen @Walford – a satellite site of national specialist college Derwen College – carried out the work for Baschurch Parish Council as part of their college business Leaf It To Us.

Leaf It To Us provides work experience opportunities for horticulture students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The team work four days a week with teacher Ruth Braddick and Learning Support Assistant (LSA) Dan Foster.

LSA Dan Foster said: “John asked last year about doing something new and different for the roundabout. We were pleased to take him up on the offer. It was great to be given free rein from conception to creation. It was an over-grown bed full of weeds. The only specifications were that we leave the daffodils which have become a well-loved spring feature, and planted a Rowan tree in the centre. Apart from that we had a blank canvas which we were able to design, plant and now maintain.”

Collaboration

The design brief was that the roundabout look good all year around, so the team incorporated elements of evergreen, along with lavender and ornamental grasses.

Taking everyone’s input into consideration, students used their learning in horticulture as well as maths skills to measure the area and work out planting. Working on a roundabout also brought its own challenges, with staff and students constantly aware that they were working in a public place surrounded by traffic.

“We had so many lovely comments from drivers and neighbours who would often stop by and thank us for what we were doing,” said Dan.

Cllr Carr said: “We are delighted with the work the Leaf It To Us have done. They were commissioned as part of a community project, and the community have noticed and appreciated their efforts. 5000 vehicles a day drive around this roundabout, and see what the Leaf It To Us team are capable of. Baschurch Parish Council is delighted to have worked with Leaf It To Us and to see what they did with the blank canvas. We are pleased with the brilliant results which look great but are also practical, low maintenance and adapted to all seasons. We look forward to continuing our work with them.”

Cllr Carr and the team also visited Baschurch Cemetery Memorial Garden where they have created beds and a pergola with climbing plants. Plants were chosen with a connection to memories and the divine including Heaven Scent Magnolia and Dianthus Memories.

Leaf It To Us

Leaf It To Us other projects have included work at Leaton Church as well as some emergency missions in the local community.

Mr Foster thanked Shropshire Biomass Fuel who donated the bark and Worfield Plants who supplied the plants.

He said that the work placements were invaluable to students giving them real work experience in preparation for future employment.

He commented: “Some of our students complete horticulture qualifications during their time with us and all of them gain skills, knowledge and understanding of how you work effectively in a team to get a job done – skills that future employers really value. We are proud of our young people but also proud to be supporting the local community.”

horticulture

Work placements can change lives

Derwen is urging more Shropshire businesses to support us to transform our students’ future employment prospects by offering just an hour or two for a weekly work placement.

Can you help support life-changing opportunities?