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Derwen College Telford Open Evening

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Derwen College Telford Open Evening 28 February 2022

Join our in-person open evening event at Derwen College Telford on Monday 28 February 2022.

Who is the open evening for?

• Young people and their families, carers and supporting professionals, who are looking for admission to Derwen College in the 2022 academic year and beyond.

• Anybody who has expressed interest in joining the college as a day student.

• Anybody wishing to know more about what Derwen College has to offer as a post school option.

We look forward to welcoming you on to Campus and showing you some of the amazing work that goes on and the facilities we have to offer.

You will have the opportunity to meet staff and chat about the admissions process.

Register via Eventbrite 

Contact Amy Snow for further details: amy.snow@derwen.ac.uk / 01691 661234.

*The event may be subject to certain safety guidelines in place at the time, which we will notify you about ahead of your visit. Please keep to your allocated arrival time so we may manage the flow of people through the registration process. Each ticket will allow a group of three entry to the open day.

 

Work placements can change lives

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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

Derwen College wins Tes FE Award 2021

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Derwen College's Chair of Governors K Kimber and Principal & CEO Meryl Green celebrate the college's Specialist Provider of the year status with students Courtney and Joe.
Chair of Governors K Kimber, students Courtney and Joe, and Principal Meryl Green celebrate being named Specialist Provider of the Year.

Everyone at Derwen College is over the moon to have scooped a teaching award that is the further education equivalent of the Oscars.

We have received the Tes FE Award for Specialist Provider of the Year in these top awards which recognise those that work in further education.

Staff and students were delighted to receive such fabulous news during what has been an incredibly challenging year.

Judges praised Derwen College for doing everything in our power to continue our mission to create a world without barriers for our students with SEND, even during a pandemic.

When the pandemic hit, we didn’t just survive: we thrived! Staff across curriculum, care and support came together with parents, carers, supporters and industry partners. We ensured that work, independence skills, health, fitness, sports and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award all continued. Though, often in different ways.

Retail student Mia arranges stock in The Vintage Advantage charity shop.

We set up our brand new on-site charity shop The Vintage Advantage. We launched an online eBay shop and a new takeaway service for staff and students. This ensured that work placements for students continued.

Staff worked tirelessly to host annual events virtually, including open days, sports day, competitions, a prom and graduation ceremony.

Derwen College even opened a new Telford campus as planned in September 2020. This site delivers much-needed provision to students with SEND in the area.

Commitment and creativity

Our Chair of Governors Kathleen Kimber said:

“We have long been proud of how Derwen works with its students and their achievements never fail to amaze us. Recently the staff have gone above and beyond what could have been expected of them. Their commitment and creativity during long periods when students were having to isolate in bubbles here or spend time at home have been outstanding.

“What has been striking is that student engagement and enjoyment have been very evident. There has been a sense of fun. New ventures have been successfully launched, either to offer an alternative to work experience off-site or to bring to fruition a planned development, such as the opening of the new satellite at Telford. Thank you to all the staff; well done to all students. We know we shall build further on this.”

Year of triumphs

Derwen College Principal and CEO Meryl Green said:

“I would like to say a huge thank you to every single member of staff at Derwen College. This award recognises the commitment, imagination, passion and resilience of staff across College campuses. It has been a year of triumphs for the college during some challenging times. We are honoured to have been recognised by judges who are experts in the field of education. The Specialist Provider of the Year category has many contenders of an impressive calibre who have all worked tirelessly to support people with SEND in further education. We couldn’t be happier to have received an award of such high esteem.”

Tes FE Awards 2021 lead judge Lynette Barrett said:

“During such adverse and difficult times, this college has shown how it has remained focused on student achievements and outcomes. The pandemic did not hold this college back; it initiated new projects, which meant student outcomes could be achieved, and learners remained safe and engaged in their education.

“The staff worked relentlessly to remain open and create new ways of working, which allowed some of the most vulnerable young people in society to achieve their outcomes without compromise.”

Derwen@Telford’s first pop-up stall

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Visitors from local business, families and friends of students flocked to Derwen College’s first Telford market stall.

Students with learning difficulties, disabilities and autism practised their hospitality, customer service and business skills on a pop-market stall at Derwen@Telford this week. The stall was run by day students at the college’s Telford satellite, and visiting Retail & Enterprise students from the college’s site near Oswestry.

Derwen College, which opened its newest satellite site in Telford last September, invited families, supporters and the community, to join them at their Stafford Park site for drinks, snacks, and gifts and goodies galore.

Derwen@Telford  students, who are based at Stafford Park 7, in Telford, were joined by staff and students from the college’s Gobowen site who brought home-made bread, jam, chutney and cakes made in the college’s on-site Food Centre. There was also handmade jewellery and bags, candles, soaps, snacks, chocolates, crisps and drinks.

Derwen@Telford satellite lead Lucy Harrison said that students and staff were excited to use their work skills for the first of many stalls and that the day was a great success.

She said: “Day students at Derwen@Telford learn business and hospitality skills which they were able to put into practice in preparing for this event, as well as serving and greeting people on the day. We created flyers and posters to encourage visitors from the local business area, and contacted families, parents, professionals and families from local schools.

“We were extremely busy printing promotional materials such as stickers with our branding on.

“So were really happy to be rewarded by so many visitors to our site. It was wonderful for students to enjoy their first customer-facing roles, and for people in the community to  find out more about what we do. Our stall also made a grand total of £340!”

To find out more about learning, independence and work experience as a day or residential student at Derwen College, then sign up to the College’s Summer Open Day on 26th June.

Sign up to the main site Open Day

Or sign up to find out more about our satellite sites at Telford, Baschurch and Craven Arms.

New Derwen site opens at Telford

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Derwen College welcomes the first students to its new satellite provision in Telford this term, in a partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council.

The leading specialist further education college, which has its main campus near Oswestry, has opened a new Telford site to support young adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Derwen College has opened the campus for day students at Stafford Park industrial estate, Telford. The launch comes in response to a need for more options in expert vocational training and independence skills learning for young people with SEND in the local authority.

Derwen College, which is has an Ofsted rating of Outstanding, has converted the former business premises into a new site. From here, a team of expert staff will offer day students with SEND the specialist learning and work placement provision that they would expect from a college with an outstanding reputation.

Zoe Wood, Head of Curriculum, said: “We are over the moon to welcome our first day students to the new Telford site this month.

“We have worked with the local authority, the families and young people who will be joining us in September to make the transition a positive experience.

“Our work in providing successful smaller satellite provision at Craven Arms and Baschurch has proved what young adults with SEND can achieve given the right teaching, work experience and independence learning. We look forward to getting to know our new Derwen students over the coming months and supporting them towards achieving their aspirations.”

Councillor Shirley Reynolds, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Children, Young People, Education and Lifelong Learning, said:

“We have worked with Derwen College to launch this new satellite which will support young people with SEND in developing work and independence skills and work placements which will prepare them for employment and a more independent future.

“Along with the college, we have identified a suitable location, and alongside families been able to select students who we think would benefit most from the experience.

“Our SEND team share Derwen College’s mission to educate, inspire and empower young adults to lead the lives they choose.”

Derwen@Telford Satellite Lead Lucy Harrison welcomes new students.

Newly appointed Derwen@Telford Satelllite Lead Lucy Harrison has been liaising with the students who will be starting at the Telford site this month, and is eager for the new term to begin.

She said: “It has already been an amazing journey! I’ve been working closely with Derwen’s head of curriculum Zoe Wood, and we have 11 students ready to go. I have been keeping in contact with them and their families whilst we were getting ready at Telford.

“What we are offering in Telford is not only outstanding, it’s also unique to Telford. This is going to be an amazing opportunity for the area. Within the first year, we will be building on students’ business support skills and preparing them for the world of work.”

Derwen College offers vocational pathways and independence skills for 16-25 year olds with SEND. The college has a main site for residential and day students in Gobowen, and satellite sites for day students at Baschurch, near Shrewsbury, and Craven Arms.

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30 Nov

Students congratulated Sports & Leisure Coordinator @SteveE_Derwen who won Gold at the @TeachingAwards on Sunday. Thanks to Steve for the passion, commitment and dedication to offering every student the opportunity to live a healthier, happier lifestyle. @DofECentral

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