Hedleys College and Horizon’s Roundup
Hedleys College and Horizons have had an amazing year so far, see what they've been up to in the roundup below.
Spreading Awareness Through Disability Awareness Courses
A group from Hedleys College and Horizons were asked to visit Newcastle College to deliver the presentation to a group of Health and Social Care students. This was extremely successful and since then, our students have delivered regular presentations to Newcastle College, all having a positive impact in spreading awareness within society.
Harry and Sol, were asked by Newcastle College to deliver one of the modules in their Health and Social Care course regarding disabilities, positive risk-taking and support plans, which ran over four sessions. Harry and Sol put the sessions together, and on March 6th 2023, they took the leading role in delivering their first session to the social care students. The session was a great success and students at Newcastle College had great feedback, including:
“I thoroughly enjoyed today’s session with Harry and Sol and was good to hear their thoughts on care plans etc an how important they feel they are”.
They even progressed to the Discovery Museum where they hosted a Disability Awareness session, Again, the group did this with ease and have grown an appetite for their mission to change society for the better.
A star studded year for the Police Cadets
It’s been an amazing year for Hedley’s College Police Cadets. They’ve been featured on BBC Look North, got nominated for a British Diversity Award and won the Natspec Curriculum award.
Hedley’s College teamed up with Northumbria Police to launch the UK’s first of it’s kind, Volunteer Police Cadet scheme for students with disabilities, which has taken the North East by storm over the last year. Being part of the scheme means students will take part and learn about important topics like the phonetic alphabet, hate crime, anti-social behaviour, knife crime, crime prevention, internet safety, dog handling, wellbeing and mental health, theft, road safety/drink driving and anti-bullying.
The partnership was shortlisted at the British Diversity Awards in London this year, and although they didn’t win the award, students got to meet celebrities such as Denise Welsh and Allison Hammond.
They did win the Natspec Curriculum award this year however.
Natspec award a number of colleges each year with their Natspec Awards. We knew from an online awards ceremony that the Police Cadet Programme had won the “Curriculum Innovation Award”. However, when Deputy Principal, Wendy, attended the conference, we were surprised with a 2nd additional award. Our Police Cadets Programme had won not only the Natspec Curriculum Innovation Award, but they were also announced as the winner of the Innovator of the Year Award as well.
Adaptive Surfing
Students and staff have been lucky enough to get 10 sessions from South Shields Surf School. Over 10 weeks, they hit the waves on adaptive surfing boards, enjoying the water.
Summer meant hitting the waves and students had great fun both surfing and paddle-boarding. Ways to surf included individually prone, kneeling or standing, assisted prone/kneeling/standing, tandem prone, tandem in a chair.
They had such a great time learning a new skill, thanks to South Shields Surf School providing these lessons.
Work Experience
Hedleys Beyond team have supported various students with some wonderful work placements. They include Michael working at the Discovery Museum and Azhad working at Newcastle Civic Centre.
Azhad Fauzi, one of our students from Hedleys College and Horizons, has been given the opportunity to work within the SEND department at Newcastle Civic Centre. Azhad even got to meet the Lord Mayor of Newcastle through this placement!
Michael has been working at the Discovery Museum since March 2023 and has been loving it. Tyne and Wear Archives and Museum’s have been a great help along the way.
Staff Makaton Training
Staff at Hedley’s College had a fantastic Makaton training session thanks to Anna Melling and the team from Loud Arts CIC.
Ziplining in Kielder
Hedleys College and Horizons students went to Calvert Kielder and participated in adventurous and thrilling activities such as zip lining and the king swing. Students absolutely loved the opportunity and appreciated the chance to explore their potential interests within Kielder and socialise with their friends in a unique setting.
Award Ceremonies
Both College and Horizons had their Awards Ceremony at the Grand Hotel Gosforth in the last week of term. At these ceremonies, certificates were given out, students enjoyed a meal and danced the night away. The masquerade theme allowed a lot of fun, and students had a fantastic time.