Yorkshire & The Humber ALW Award Winners 2007
Individual Award Winners
Mel Daniels, aged 31, from Bradford
Mel has had to overcome huge barriers in returning to learning.
Alongside cerebral palsy and being a wheelchair user, she also has
to cope with epilepsy and a hearing impairment. As a disabled
student, she didn’t enjoy her school years. It was the death of her
foster mother when she was 29 that spurred her on to study again.
Now in her 30s Mel has taken an access to higher education course,
and is on the first year of a BA degree course in social work at
Bradford University.
“I wanted to gain qualifications I did not gain in my school years,”
she says. “My foster mother was a committed social worker and prior
to her death she encouraged me to gain the qualifications I needed
to follow her into the profession.”
Because of her multiple disabilities she found it difficult to
integrate back into education. “I had to overcome my own fears of
education but I also felt I had more to prove than able bodied
students.”
She has gained a grade B in GCSE English, grade C in GCSE equivalent
in Maths, and a grade B Certificate for Mature Students at Level 3.
Mel has also worked as a volunteer in a deprived area of Bradford,
helping to set up and run a project supporting autistic children
through music.
“Learning as a mature student has provided me with the confidence to
take on new challenges and believe in my own ability,” she says.
Keeley Middleton, aged 30, from Leeds
Keeley is cutting it as a trainee hairdresser, after overcoming
overwhelming odds to go back into learning. “I wanted a future for
me and my kids,” she says. “I wanted them to see there is more to
life than just being on benefits and living week by week. I didn’t
even sit exams at school, but I wanted some qualifications.”
Keeley has had a difficult life - she is dyslexic and had a poor
education. She also has to overcome pressure from the fathers of her
two children, who don’t understand why she is not content to settle
for a life on benefits.
Despite all this Keeley went back to college and has completed an
NVQ Level 1 in hairdressing, and is now taking Level 2. She also
spent three weeks in Denmark on a European Student Exchange. After
going on a work placement, the hair salon owner has offered her a
job when she finishes her course.
“I find the written work difficult, but I’ve had a lot of support at
college,” she says. “I have to do a lot of juggling so that things
work. My long-term plans are to move with my kids to Australia, and
I know I need skills for this.”
Her tutor Michelle Massah says: “Keeley has grown stronger and is
determined to prove her critics wrong. She has embraced learning 100
per cent.”
Jaymain Iqbal, aged 32, from Bradford
Single mother-of-five Jaymain Iqbal is completing a degree in her
early 30s and hopes to go on to take an MA and eventually a PhD – a
huge achievement for someone who was expelled from school at 13. She
now has her sights set on working in her local community. “I would
like to focus on teenagers who have problems similar to those faced
by myself,” she says.
Jaymain is Afro-Caribbean and in her early years she endured racism
in school and her community. She was brought up in an environment
where educational attainment was not valued. Expelled at 13, she
left home at 14 to live with a boyfriend and had her first baby at
15. She married at 19 and now has five children – the youngest is
just 21 months old.
At 27 Jaymain started attending a therapy centre in Bradford, and
began turning her life around. She successfully completed an access
course at Bradford College – despite becoming pregnant with her
fifth child halfway through. Jaymain is now in her second year of a
degree in Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford, and is
achieving very good grades. She is the first person in at least four
generations of her family to go to university, and her example is
also influencing her children.
“It now seems a normal part of life to aspire to attend university,”
she says. “The attitudes of all my children are more optimistic with
regards to education and what they want from life in the future.”
Hazel Church, aged 51, from Leeds
Grandmother Hazel Church used to be terrified of using a computer
– now she teaches computer skills to others. “I knew I had
potential,” she says. “I was not going to grow into a ‘sit at home’
and knit granny. I wanted to learn with my grandchildren. But most
of all I wanted to be me – I didn’t want to rely on others to write
my letters, do my finances, and pay my bills over the web. I needed
to learn.”
She now works as a volunteer IT tutor in the learning centre where
she once studied as a student. Hazel, a catering manageress at a bus
company, returned to studying after her husband bought a computer.
She has achieved an NVQ Level 3 in Direct Training Support at Leeds
College of Technology. She has also completed courses in Computer
Literacy and Information Technology Levels 1 and 2, and a Skills For
Life course. In her role as a catering manageress she has completed
NVQ 2 Health and Safety courses, an NVQ 2 Customer Care, NVQ 2 in
Empowering Learning and is a trained First Aider.
She says: “I have gained qualifications I never knew existed, but
best of all I have the qualification now that allows me to pass that
knowledge on. My proudest moment was when a student I was helping in
computer studies passed his first exam. Because of my help he also
became an achiever.”
Tony Billington, aged 40, from Leeds
Tony has managed to juggle studying with being the main carer of
his two young children and supporting his wife, who is disabled.
After a series of jobs, including being a lorry driver, now he is
changing direction – towards a teaching career.
“I had always felt unfulfilled in the numerous jobs I had done over
the years, and when my wife and I had children I left work to raise
them,” he says. “Once the children started nursery I decided that I
wanted to increase my employability by returning to education.”
He started by taking a GCSE in English at his local college. “I
found myself looking forward with increasing pleasure to every
class,” he says. His tutor suggested taking his studies further, so
he enrolled on an access course, and then gained a place at Trinity
& All Saints College, University of Leeds, studying English.
Tony finished the first year of his degree with very high marks. He
now wants to go on and take a post-graduate further education
teaching qualification and MA in English, with his sights set on
teaching at access course level, or even university. “I would love
to see how far I can go with my education,” he said.
“I would love to give something back to the community and maybe, if
I’m very lucky, inspire and stimulate people the way I have been
inspired and stimulated by the lecturers and tutors it has been my
privilege to be taught by.”
NOCN Regional Award Winner
Janet Bonsall, aged 49, from Sheffield
Returning to learning has helped Janet Bonsall battle depression
and cope with family problems.
Before going to college in her late 40s, she had never achieved any
qualifications or earned her own living.
Married for 30 years with four children, she has had to deal with
bereavement and an illness to her husband. Janet has now taken an
impressive list of courses and hopes to train to become a teaching
assistant.
She says: “My learning has helped me see that I am worth a lot more
than I thought. It has taught me to believe in myself.”
A year ago a friend persuaded her to enrol on a short course at
Northern College.
She began with an IT course and was hooked. As soon as she had
completed it, she applied to start a Maths and English course, to
make up from her lack of qualifications from school.
Janet has passed national tests at Level 2 in Literacy and Levels 1
and 2 in Numeracy. Despite a dread of Maths from her schooldays, she
completed courses in Statistics for Starters and Managing Money,
gaining further OCN credits at Entry Level 3.
She has progressed on to further practical maths courses.
Janet says: “I plan to keep on studying and hopefully land a paid
job, then once in that job, see how far I can go. It seems like a
long way, but I will definitely keep trying and learning.”
European Social Fund Individual Award Winner
Jacob Fletcher, aged 17, from Wakefield
Jacob left school without any qualifications. He overcame his
fears and bad experience with his dyslexia to become a trained
homebuilder. At school Jacob’s dyslexia was not recognised. He was
put into a class of disabled children. When people made comments
about his difficulties with reading and writing he would “blow up”.
But Jacob wanted a trade and skills. With his mum’s encouragement he
enrolled on a homebuilder construction course. Through this course
he gained practical construction skills, improved his literacy and
numeracy, gained qualifications and was able to gain successful
employment.
In the last year, Jacob has achieved an NVQ level 1 in Maintenance
Operations and Level 2 in Literacy and Numeracy. He has also gained
certificates in health and safety, first aid, and manual handling.
Most importantly, he has received his CSCS card, enabling him to
work on building sites.
Peter Bell from Wakefield Adult and Community Education Service
says: “I know that he feels better about himself because he has
gained so much and he has learnt to handle his dyslexia with those
around him.” Jacob now works with a company that refurbishes empty
council properties. He is also studying Level 2 in Maintenance Ops.
Jacob says: “learning has improved my literacy and numeracy and has
helped me get a job. My teachers said I wouldn’t pass anything to do
with English. I’m proud that I’ve got a job and I’m getting trained…
People can now have lovely kitchens that I fit.”
National Group Award Winner
The South Leeds Community Experts
The 20 members of the Community Experts group are all local
residents from the South Leeds area who, in early 2006, responded to
a volunteering campaign led by Leeds Voice which was searching for
local adults to take part in training and community research. Since
then, the group has taken part in an intensive course in
‘participatory appraisal’ – a community research method – and
produced honest perceptions’ studies of disadvantaged neighbourhoods
using the new research skills they have acquired. Eleven local areas
have been covered in the last six months and – impressively - the
group’s findings have affected directly how a £500,000 funding pot
allocated to the locality by Leeds City Council should be spent.
Nominator Hannah Sawerbutts explains more: ‘Historically,
‘professional’ consultancy companies have been employed by the
council to conduct research and generate community priorities. This
approach has turned [that] approach on its head. Using local people
has provided many opportunities when eliciting honest comments from
the public, but it has also provided a challenge to prove to the
council and other statutory agencies that local people are the
‘professional experts’ and are more than capable of being
commissioned to undertake research’.
By bringing together community members from different neighbourhoods
to learn together, historical barriers have been broken down and
people better understand other communities’ issues and problems.
With the skills and experience to take on other pieces of
commissioned work, the options open to group members have increased.
As they themselves say, ‘By doing this project, we have increased
people’s awareness of how local people can change the community from
within…We lacked confidence to speak to strangers… [In the future we
want] to do more community work, mostly for [our] children, and
hopefully start to look for work. We have the confidence to do that
now’.
Senior Learner Award Winner
Frank Watson, aged 90, from Aberford
Married for nearly 70 years Frank Watson’s wife died early last
year. The next few months were difficult for Frank but he came to
realise the necessity for something to keep him mentally and
physically active. He’d often heard his sons talking about their
computers and on spotting a beginners’ course in computer learning
at his local college he decided to ‘have a go’.
After a rather stuttering start - mainly due to his long absence
from the education system - Frank really knows his way round a
computer now and has gained confidence. He can stay in touch with
his family who are, says Frank, “spread throughout the United
Kingdom and the Commonwealth.” He adds, “My new skill and the email
system have allowed me to get into more frequent and rapid
communication with them. I am particularly proud of the fact that my
relatives and friends have been surprised and delighted at my
progress.”
Frank continues, “I have enjoyed returning to being re-educated. It
has encouraged me to continue my computer learning and also to join
other courses next school term.”
Frank is contemplating some foreign travel and may also take a
course in French. He will search for suitable trips using his newly
acquired computer skills.
Opening Doors to Adult Learners’ Award Winner
The Carers’ Support Centre, Brigg
The Lifelong Learning Project has, according to nominator Mandy
Barrett, “succeeded where virtually all… projects have failed in
other areas …[despite them having] more funding and more workers.”
Over 350 carers – each of whom looks after a partner, relative or
friend who would not be able to live independently without their
carer’s support – have been given opportunities to attend short
courses and taster sessions. Getting to grips with computers,
digital cameras and the internet are amongst the most popular
courses and funding support is offered to learners as needed for the
courses themselves, any equipment, transport costs, sitters and
childcare.
Most carers engaged with the programme are older people, but the
project is expanding to support carers aged 16-19. As Mandy
explains, “Carers usually have low skills levels with things like…
modern technology. They are often tired, stressed and isolated.” In
response, the project reaches out to potential learners by visiting
groups in the community to raise awareness about lifelong learning
and the other services offered by the Carers’ Support Centre, and
via referrals from Social Services and medical support staff.
Each carer has a one-to-one introductory session to discuss his or
her individual aspirations and a suitable course is found to meet
their needs. “I never put pressure on them: they can and do change
their minds at any time’, says Lifelong Learning Officer, Mandy.
‘Carers cannot look or plan more than a few weeks ahead so enrolling
a carer who is looking after someone who is very sick on a one-year
course is likely to fail… Five, 10 or 12-week courses are best.”
Giving those engaged chances to progress is part of the project’s
success but – most importantly – the lifelong learning services
offered at the centre concludes Mandy, “can be a positive,
life-changing experience, giving a sense of importance, of being
valued… It also helps carers feel they have a life of their own.”