AEW Celebration of Learning 2024
This year Adult Education hosted its first service-wide celebration of learning and highlighted the unsung heroes of the classroom. Teachers nominated students across the service and celebrated their successes.
The categories included:
- Above and Beyond Award
- Learning for Personal Progression Award
- The Yes I Can Award
- Outstanding Improvement Award
- Overall winner… Deputy Head Star Award
31 winners were selected from all categories and one overall winner was selected to receive the Deputy Head Star award.
The winners included students who had gone the extra mile to achieve and progress.
We would like to introduce our AEW Celebration of Learning 2024 winners:
ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARDS
Paige Harper - Nominated by Ruth Langard
BSL
Paige is incredibly supportive of the other students in the group. She arranges to meet them outside class for extra practice and will always provide support if anyone asks.
Sofia Horonjuc - Nominated by Kerrie Bood
ESOL
Sofia has made exceptional progress in Level 1 ESOL including ESOL for Work: Care pathway. She works extremely hard, asks for extra homework and isn’t afraid to ask questions. This year Sofia took the initiative to enrol on an additional Level 1 ESOL class to complete her speaking and listening qualification at the same time. She has really gone above and beyond this year to work towards her future goals.
Kavita Sharma Nominated by Valere Jobes
ESOL
Kavita always comes to class asking questions and wants to understand where and why she was making mistakes in order to improve in her English. She was studying maths, working and volunteering at the temples all whilst improving her English. She continues to be determined to succeed and work towards her goals and is now on an ESOL for Work pathway.
Blaithin Turley Nominated by Rose Macefield
Digital Skills
Blaithin started her learning with us even though she faced some personal challenges. Despite everything she has achieved her level 1 Digital skills qualification and is expected to achieve level 2, she has stayed focused on her studies, shows dedication in the classroom and find ways of continuing her learning in and outside of the classroom.
YES, I CAN! AWARD
Marysia Gromadzki - Nominated by Alison Tait
Maths
Marysia had a late start to her classes due to needing a Communication Support Worker but this didn’t hold her back. She completed additional work outside of class to make sure that she not only caught up but went ahead of her peers, regularly studying beyond the level she was working towards and continually asking questions to ensure her understanding of more complex topics. Most definitely a ‘Yes I Can!’ student!
LEARNING FOR GOOD WORK AWARD
Amanpreet Kaur - Nominated my Kerrie Bood
ESOL
Amanpreet has been working exceptionally hard to complete her Level 1 ESOL reading and writing alongside her certificate in health and care. She has recently gained bank work in a nursery to build her experience towards her career goals and put in to practise what she has been learning with the AEW.
Jagjit Singh Anand - Nominated by Rose Macefield
Digital Skills
Jagjit returned to learning at the age of 68 with very little digital skills and no confidence in using a computer or online services. His ambition was to improve his computer skills and to gain confidence using online services so that he can come out of retirement and join the workforce. He has successfully achieved his qualification and gained new employment.
Hannisha O’Toole - Nominated by Rachel Orotayo
Early Years Practitioner
Hannisha works in a school as a lunchtime supervisor but while she has been on the EYP L2 Diploma course she has gained employment at the Nursery School she has been doing her placement at. She is growing in her role as an EYP through the support and guidance she has had from her new colleagues. She has worked hard all year to complete portfolio evidence to deadlines and also takes the time to support her peers in class.
Stacey Dulson - Nominated by Leanne Cooper for Learning for Good Work Award and By Cecile for the Learning for Personal Progression Award
Supported Employment Programme and Life Skills Cookery
Leanne Cooper said…
Stacey is enrolled on the Supported Employment Programme and independently requested to complete her work placement at AEW as a support worker. Stacey is interested in pursuing a career as a support worker and was keen to develop and gain skills to follow this pathway. I have received numerous positive comments from students and staff about how well she has settled into the role and is confident in her role. Stacey has already asked if she can continue to volunteer in September to continue to develop her skills further.
Cecile Loubard said…
I am writing to recognising her remarkable achievements and growth over the past years in my cookery course. Stacey has faced a challenging emotional journey, particularly due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to mental health struggles. Despite these difficulties, she has consistently demonstrated an unwavering willingness to progress. Her participation in our classes (Cookery, Supported Employment, Maths, and English) has had an immensely positive effect on her well-being, providing her with a supportive community and a sense of purpose.
Tsveta Trankarova - Nominated by Nikki Tomlinson
Digital Skills
Tsveta is employed full time and joined the course to help improve her digital skills for work, English is her second language which is why she has sometimes struggled with complexity of the criteria language. Once she had completed the Excel unit Tsveta made changes at work to improve her productivity, incorporating the new skills she had learnt, sharing with her peers. She attends every class (twice a week), she comes straight from work, she goes home to look after her family and will still find time to study in between classes, attending online workshops.
LEARNING FOR PERSONAL PROGRESSION AWARD
Chanel Walrond - Nominated by Cecile Loubaud
Life Skills Cookery
Chanel, a 26-year-old reserved student, has been a dedicated and enthusiastic participant in my cookery class for the past two years. Her journey in the Life Skills Cookery class has helped her to develop essential life skills, gain independence, and achieve significant personal growth.
By the end of the course, Chanel’s sense of independence and self-reliance has grown significantly. She mastered tasks that once seemed daunting, illustrating her impressive progress. Beyond practical skills, the cookery class positively affected Chanel’s emotional well-being. The sense of belonging to a community and meeting new friends contributed to a positive self-image.
Chanel’s story is a testament to how the course has empowered her to reach her full potential. Recently, Chanel expressed her desire to take on greater challenges and pursue an apprenticeship in baking. Her journey exemplifies the profound impact that a supportive and structured learning environment can have on a student with learning disabilities. Chanel’s resilience, hard work, and positive attitude are truly commendable and serve as an inspiration to all.
Ellie Price Nominated by Ruth Langard
BSL
Lost her hearing and struggles with everyday barriers with losing her hearing. Never signed before so when she came on the introduction course to learn sign language, she was very nervous. The course helped and improved her wellbeing, social integration and self-belief.
Eloise Fairley - Nominated By Rose Macefield
Cake Decorating
Eloise started her learning with the ambition of improving her cake decorating skills so that she can start her own business one day. She is autistic and faces challenges every day. When she started her course, she found it quite overwhelming, lacked confidence and had quite a negative outlook. During the course I have seen her confidence improve greatly, her outlook has become much more positive, and her overall self-belief has improved.
Anne Harris - Nominated By Rose Macefield
Digital Skills
Anne is 80 years old and returned to learning so that she can become more confident and independent with her digital skills. She has physical and learning barriers to contend with but despite these, she has been a dedicated student, she turned up early for each class, attended almost every session and studied every single week at home so that she could improve her skills
Mark Corbett - Nominated by Kerry Jagpal
Like Minds Yoga
Mark is a different person to the one who joined the class a year ago. His mobility and confidence have improved greatly. He has started writing poetry that is being published and is reciting his work at public events. Something he never thought possible prior to attending classes at AEW
Sahar Farahmand - Nominated by Kerry Bood
ESOL
Sahar first started class as a very quiet and shy student, she still has these attributes but she has gained so much confidence. Sahar’s level of language and vocabulary is wonderful. She always works above expectation and demonstrates this through her produced work. Now, she is confident to use her language to voice her opinion with eloquence, raise and answer questions, and has developed a supportive social circle in the classroom. She recently took part in our meet SMT event and shared her transformative story with other students from other areas who were inspired to hear the challenges she, and other ESOL students face when moving and living in the UK. Her story is inspirational, moving and empowering and definitely worthwhile shouting about.
Xiao Lin Li Nominated by Nikki Tomlinson
Digital Skills
Xiao Lin is a dream to teach, we all have that 1 student who wants more; Xiao Lin is my dream student. Whenever we are learning a new skill /subject he will go home to research in depth why we complete the task in a certain way and practice until he absolutely gets it. In the next lesson he will become my support worker helping his peers when they get stuck. Since he joined the class he has been asking to become a volunteer at Adult Ed. This is all happening on a level 3 IT qualification despite English being his 2nd language.
Priyanka Khanduja - Nominated by Sam Robinson-Lerner
Multiply
Priyanka came to study Maths with the sole goal of helping her daughter with her homework. She had no expectations of being assessed as GCSE ready as she lacked confidence in her own Maths ability. In the first few weeks she doubted her ability to work and achieve at GCSE level, but with tutor’s encouragement, she stayed and was very surprised with her results in the week 6 assessment. Gradually her confidence grew.
Priyanka was approached by the Multiply team to be one of a handful of student representatives to meet the West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor. In preparation for this event, Priyanka attended training and preparation sessions where she enthusiastically took part, asked questions, made her own notes and ensured she was aware of wider activities taking place that day in her readiness to talk to the Mayor. At the end of this training, she was one of two chosen to be a student representative.
Priyanka deserves this award because the simple desire to help her daughter with her Maths homework has resulted in unforeseen positives impact in her life both in and outside the classroom.
Steve, Poultney, Jayne McNish, John Russell of Gatis Street Community - Nominated by Tony Edge
BSL
Steve took the initiative to bring people of the deprived community together to develop their communication skills and overcame barriers in the community, this has since led to increased inclusion, built confidence and led to positive outcomes for students, including 4 students moving on to achieve a qualification and one of these progressing onto BSL Level 2 this year (Jayne). Two others gained a voluntary position in the community setting up a community food bank (Jon. Steve, who organised this, is hearing impaired and some of the students also had disabilities).
Gatis X 3: Jayne McNish - now studying BSL L2, Steve Poultney - Organiser - severe, uni-lateral hearing loss,
Jon Russell - recently bereaved and retired - volunteers for the surplus food market at Gatis.
John Price - Nominated by Craig Watkiss
English
John has worked hard this term to improve his English skills. He can find communication difficult, and can sometimes struggle to process and complete tasks. However, he pushes himself in class to complete all work asked of him, whether that be working on his own or working with his peers. He is always positive, turns up to all classes and completes all homework set to try and continually improve his skills, which has had a positive impact on both his skills and self-belief, and he is also now more confident to try and write in more detail.
Leonie Reid - Nominated by Naomi Hatziandreou
ESOL
Leonie has faced many challenges to her learning. She has a moderate learning difficulty where she finds it difficult to process information and some dyslexic tendencies. Leonie is a single parent and constantly struggles with daily life. One of her children had a car accident a couple of years ago and another has special needs - there has been a series of unfortunate events. She failed her Level 1 English last semester but has resiliently kept working on her English and is retaking her exam this month. She has aspirations to progress and make a better life for herself.
OUTSTANDING IMPROVEMENT AWARDS
Kate Hubbard - Nominated by Alison Tate
Maths
Kate has significant health challenges including anxiety and has persevered with her Maths studies to achieve 100% in her exam. Her self-confidence is improving significantly and her progress amazing.
Chelsea Malone - Nominated by Sabrina Morris
Childcare
Prior to enrolment, I spoke to Chelsea and she shared many obstacles that she has faced over the years, since leaving school. Chelsea said her confidence was very low and that she has wanted to continue her education, but couldn’t find the courage. She has a passion for working with and learning all about SEN. She has two children with special needs. Chelsea also has a range of additional needs. Yet, she has not allowed this to stop her as each week, she shows up to class, with the biggest ready to learn attitude and positivity she has too over. Chelsea is a very determined young woman and can and will do anything she puts her mind to. Chelsea is a fantastic student to have in class, she actively listens, contributes to all activities and discussions, shares ideas and experiences with her peers, so they can have a better understanding of her (or another person’s) point of view. Chelsea is not afraid to ask for help and I firmly commend this. She is always willing and eager to learn. She is an exemplary student and has been an absolute pleasure to teach.
Nigel Yates - Nominated by Cecile Loubaud
Life Skills Cookery
Nigel, who lives on his own, enrolled this year and faced significant challenges due to his low literacy level. Despite these obstacles, his dedication and resilience have led to extraordinary progress.
Nigel meticulously takes home the visual recipes provided each week, organising them in a special recipe folder. This system has enabled him to expand his culinary skills significantly. Because he cannot read and write very well, Nigel relies on these visual recipes when shopping for ingredients. He takes the recipe with him to his local shop, where he receives assistance from shop staff to select the correct ingredients, ensuring he can replicate the dishes accurately at home. This has allowed him to prepare meals not only for himself but also for his mother and friends, showcasing his newfound expertise and creativity.
To truly grasp why he deserves the Outstanding Improvement Award, I urge you to listen to Nigel himself explain the profound impact this cookery class has had on his life. his journey in his own words will undeniably convey the depth of his transformation and the significant positive ripple effects he has created within his community.
Beverley Butler - Nominated by Juliette Lewis-Crooks
Life Skills English
Beverley has overcome such high levels of anxiety and low self-esteem. From the commencement of the course, Beverley had low self-believe and would therefore struggle to ask for help, refuse to work or would walk out feeling quite distressed. Her common phrase was, ‘I can’t do it!’.
However, you will find Beverley being the first to put her hands up, participate in whole class discussions or answer questions. She is working well with staff and is showing great competence in completing work independently, only asking for help when needed.
Beverley’s confidence and self-esteem has grown to the point, that she will often walk around and help others. Frequently, telling her peers that, ‘she understands the tasks maybe difficult but she knows that they can do it’.
I nominate Beverley for the ‘Outstanding Improvement Award’ for her knowledge and learning progression but also, for her selfless acts of kindness to her peers.
Denvil Paisley - Nominated by Mark Wesley
Digital Skills
Denvil is 53 and worked in construction for over 20 years until he had an accident in October 2022 and broke his leg. Whilst in recovery he had a lot of time to think about what he wanted to do. He had always wanted to learn more about computers so with lots of time on his hands this was the ideal opportunity to find out more. Since starting classes, he has demonstrated great improvement and confidence in the subject. He has really enjoyed the subject and has started to consider this as an option for future employment. Still in recovery, a manual job may no longer be the best option. Denvil is excited about becoming more integrated into today’s digital world.
Amanpreet Kaur - Nominated by Leanne Cooper
Multiple Subjects
I began working with Amanpreet in June 2023 and completed a one-to-one careers guidance appointment with her. Amanpreet worked with children in her home country and aspires to work with children in schools here in the UK. Amanpreet’s main goal is to graduate from university and has been working hard to improve her skills and use of English by completing a range of courses with AEW including Maths, Digital Skills, ESOL, Floristry, Sewing and Textiles. Over the last year, I have seen Amanpreet grow in confidence, she has found herself a part time job and works from home and is well on her way to realizing her dreams.
Ann Harris - Nominated by Katherine Jones
Life Skills in the Community
Ann is based at the Neil Dougherty Centre and has been learning with AEW since 2022 on the Life Skills in the Community - ICT class. Her digital skills have improved week by week, not only browsing the internet for interests such as football and travel but embracing the use of Microsoft 365. She also willingly supports her peers if needed. Not only that, but she has enjoyed completing an online typing course, which has greatly improved her keyboard, spelling and punctuation skills. She has achieved all this with a ‘can do’ attitude towards tackling daily challenges faced through having multiple additional learning support needs. She supports the staff in a class by helping to prepare the room before the lesson, giving out resources, and helping to clear away afterward, without having to be asked. She is a very deserving recipient of this award.
Kaoutar Enachie - Nominated by Valeris Jobes and by Rosa Van Droon
ESOL
Valerie Jobs said…
I taught her last year and she wasn’t initially ready for a writing exam when she first joined the group. When she returned this year there was a significant difference in her writing. She had clearly worked at home very hard to learn the grammar, so that all of her writing, whilst fairly simple, was very accurate. Her attendance was very good and her work was excellent. She told me that she had been going to the library and borrowing books which helped a lot.
Rosa Van Doon Said…
I would like to nominate Kaoutar En Nachie for effort and an excellent attitude to learning she is currently studying Level 1 ESOL and is on one of our ESOL for Work pathways.
Imade Gladys Osaro nominated by Naomi Hatziandreou
English
Gladys has overcome many challenges to attend her class. She is an asylum seeker who had to flee from Nigeria. She is a regular attender who rarely misses a lesson. She works very hard at her English lessons and is improving all the time. Gladys is always cheerful and enthusiastic about learning.
Harmeet Kaur - nominated by Nicola Tomlinson
Digital Skills
Harmeet struggles with anxiety and has some medical issues. However, Harmeet has continued to engage in learning and is smashing all of her exams; she is currently ahead of her peers passing 4 exams first time with results in the 90%. (Her peers have not yet sat their 4th exam).
Anna Place STAR AWARD
Chelsea Malone
Childcare
At the age of 15 Chelsea was diagnosed with a multitude of conditions that had severely affected her for many years. These included ADHD, Autism, and anxiety disorder, to name but a few, resulting in her struggling at school and failing her exams. When she left school, she flitted from job to job never finding anything she could aspire to maintain. She needed to find a job that would hold her interest and captivate her attention. When she left school, she flitted from job to job never finding anything she could aspire to maintain.
In September 2023 Chelsea enrolled onto a Level 2 Childcare course which she has recently completed and passed. This motivated and inspired her to progress further in the pursuit of a career as a SENCO.
Not only has she gained a qualification but the course has helped her to manage her own issues and to better understand and deal with the behaviour that her children present. When growing up she struggled and slipped through the net. Chelsea Said, “I don’t want future generations to suffer like I did without support. Working towards a career as a SENCO will help me to help them.
"Adult Education Wolverhampton (AEW) is a fantastic learning environment where teachers care about the individual’s learning needs and encourage and inspire students to progress and succeed. My recommendation to anyone is this is to give yourself time, stop stressing about what you can't do, and focus on what you can. Attending classes at AEW has felt like coming home, I have finally found a learning environment that fits and they are helping me pursue my dream.”
Chelsea Malone was selected as the overall winner and highlights how learning can change lives.
Congratulations to all our students.
