An amazing £600 was raised last weekend with a cake in the garden and cookbook sale organised by one of our parents.  The money raised is going to the Food Tech Department for new equipment.

 

The Grand Brighton Executive Chef leads virtual cook along for special needs students

Following on from the success of their virtual careers week, students at Woodlands Meed College in Burgess Hill have been cooking up a storm with the help of Executive Chef Alan White of The Grand Brighton. As well as the virtual cook along under Alan’s direction the students also learned about working in hotel kitchens and the hotel industry.

Andi Hirons, People Director at The Grand Brighton gave the students an overview about the different opportunities available at The Grand Brighton and in hospitality in general and Alan White explained the personal attributes they look for in the kitchen staff.

Both Andi and Alan have worked at The Grand Hotel for 15 years and were able to give the students a very clear insight in to the working life of a hotel and the passion they felt for the hotel and the industry.

During the cook along Alan demonstrated and supported the students to make a delicious Eggs Benedict, sharing chef’s tips of the trade with his delighted audience. Alan was able to see online what the students had produced and was most impressed by their effort and enthusiasm.  He gave feedback on how some of the plates could be improved and tips for next time.

Executive Chef Alan White said after the event “It was an absolute pleasure to work with such passionate, focused and exciting students from Woodlands Meed College… the energy on the TEAMS session was amazing, they did a brilliant job preparing the classic “Eggs Benedict”. I was very proud to be part of the session, thank you!  Keep it cooking guys…”

Andi Hirons, People Director added “What a fabulous session! Key to our success at The Grand is working in the local community providing opportunities and access to careers for adults who may perceive these to be out of reach. We strive to provide innovative work experience offerings to inspire young students from diverse backgrounds, into a career in hospitality. Our “Taste of Hospitality” hands-on sessions play a key role in showcasing the skills required outside of an academic background. These events often lead to meaningful work experience placements, prior to securing paid employment with us.  We are keen to develop partnerships with colleges and schools to ensure that students with learning disabilities know they are valued in the workplace, and can reach their full potential.”

Adam Rowland, Head teacher at Woodlands Meed commented ‘Meaningful encounters with workplaces like The Grand Hotel Brighton give our students the opportunity to see different careers and workplaces that might interest them in the future.  Being able to do a virtual cook along with Alan and hear from Andi about working life in a hotel was really appreciated by the students and staff who took part, thank you to Andi and Alan in making this such a positive experience for our students.’

The students were buzzing with enthusiasm after the session, when asked what they enjoyed about the experience the feedback was very positive.  ‘I really enjoyed learning about what jobs they do at the hotel.’, ‘The cooking and the eating!’, ‘I really liked the chef he gave good information’ were just some of the comments.  ‘How to cook Eggs Benedict’, ‘How to cook portions’ and ‘How to cook safely’ were mentioned when asked what they felt they learnt.

This event is part of Woodlands Meed focus on supporting young people on their journey to employment and offer a broad range of ideas and success stories of those with SEND.

 A spectacular week of interactive experiences to inform, educate and celebrate opportunities for young people with SEND

Popular comedian, TV personality and SEND ambassador, Rosie Jones and ‘The Greatest Dancer’ star, Andrew Self got Woodlands Meed’s virtual careers fair off to a dynamic start this week as they appeared on screen across classrooms.

More inspirational talks followed throughout the week from Robert White, Autistic comedian from Britain’s Got Talent, Luke Stephenson, a comedian with Tourettes, Joe James, world renowned Autistic Photographer and Chris Bonnello, Autistic author of The Underdogs books and Autisticnotweird.com website.

The event is Woodlands Meed’s first virtual careers fair and offered students the chance to hear from a range of inspirational speakers about how they have coped with the challenges of SEND to be able to find the careers they now enjoy. One of the key messages repeated by all the speakers was

“Don’t let anything hold you back”

Rosie Jones, talked about her career to date and her new children’s book ‘The Amazing Edie Eckhart’. She told students about her time at school and how she enjoyed English the most because her teacher always told her she could do better and she wanted to prove him right! Rosie also gave an excellent insight into the comedy circuit. Her advice to students was not to think of the future as a whole because it could be overwhelming, but just focus on the next step. She said after the event

“I loved speaking at the virtual careers fair. It was the most perfect start to my week. I just hope next time we can do it in person! “

Andrew Self, a dancer and model with Down Syndrome answered the pupil’s questions about dance and gave a performance which all the students really enjoyed. His message was simple

“If you enjoy something just go for it!”

Autistic Photographer, Joe James talked about photography and his job as a security guard. His key message to the students was - don’t let anyone hold your back or tell you your worth.

Actor, Luke Stephenson who has Tourettes, talked about his acting career and the misconceptions around Tourettes that it’s not just swearing. He told the students to

“Always believe in yourself! Go out and smash it! “

Chris Bonnello, Autistic author of the Under Dogs series of books, encouraged students to keep their career options open. He also gave them tips on how to prepare for interviews and how to talk about autism in a positive way. He advised the students to 'play to their strengths' and 'to recognise what they are good at'.

Britain’s Got Talent contestant, Robert White an Autistic comedian, writer and musician spoke about his diagnosis, and created some short musical numbers for the pupils live online and answered questions about Britain’s Got Talent.

Additionally, the week long event also connected the students with local businesses and employers with a series of engaging talks. The students had a chance to hear from a range of local employers about job opportunities and potential career paths available to them as well as ask questions.

Local businesses Albion in the Community, Places for People, Kanwish Designs, Sharpe Cat Printing, Dozy Pheasant Brewing Co, Mother Goose Swim School, Lipstick & Barrel and Nails by Vivienne all took part giving students a broad view of workplaces and what future careers and employment might look like.

Across the UK only 6% of people with SEND are currently employed and in Sussex the statistic is even more shocking with only 2% employed, with over 70% of those who are able wanting to work.

Adam Rowland, Head teacher and his team are passionate about changing this statistic for their students

“We are really excited to offer our students the chance to take part in our first virtual careers fair. Being able to connect with employers, local businesses and to hear inspirational stories from some well known faces like Rosie Jones and Andrew Self has been a unique opportunity to give our students an insight into what the future could hold and hear from speakers who have dealt with some of the challenges our students face. It is a great start in helping to encourage our young people to feel inspired about their own transition and career paths”.

 “The week has been a fantastic opportunity for us to work collaboratively with local businesses and our SEND advocates to inspire and support our students to think about their future and we will build on this week’s success to grow and develop our support of SEND employment opportunities.”

The students also heard from some Woodlands Meed Alumni. Carl Morgan, an ex-pupil, spoke about how despite his struggles with reading and writing has set up his own business - Sussex Prestige Cars which is thriving. His key message to the students was it doesn’t always have to matter about qualifications, work the hardest you can, go the extra mile and be the best at what you can do.

The feedback and comments from the students was testimony to what many had taken away from the week,

“Rosie’s disability hasn't stopped her. I feel like nothing is going to stop me. “

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it “

“You can still succeed even with a disability”

“The way he decided to talk about the way he has autism and that he had challenges to overcome. “

“He was funny and told us funny stories and inspired us to be ourselves and no matter how far our dreams are we can reach it. “

“I learnt that you should never give up if you are being bullied or being called ‘not good enough’. Joe James didn’t give up, he got up and became more confident in life.”

This event is part of Woodlands Meed’s focus on supporting young people on their journey to employment and offer a broad range of ideas and success stories of those with SEND who have bucked the trend and built a successful career doing something they enjoy.

To find out more about supporting people with SEND in the workplace, sharing your careers experience with our students or how we can help support your business with SEND work placements please contact careers@woodlandsmeed.co.uk

Woodlands Meed Teaching Assistant, Sarah Smith and her family have been busy collecting and coordinating some feel good food hamper deliveries for local families in need over the past few months.

After hearing how a Woodlands Meed family was struggling to provide treat and snack type items for their child with special needs, Sarah wanted to help out. 

‘I know how much difference a treat can make to a child with special and sensory needs and it’s really hard for some families if they find themselves unable to provide them.  Food items like wafer biscuits and crisps are often liked for their sensory texture and flavours but aren’t often included in parcels from the food bank.  I just wanted to help this family with a bag of treat items to complement the food they were receiving from the foodbank.  Not being able to enjoy an occasional treat during lockdown because of the circumstances you’re in just didn’t seem very fair ’

What started out as a kind gesture of one bag of treats has snowballed into Sarah and her family collecting and organising dozens of bags and become a community wide effort.

Food donations have been received from kind friends and neighbours who wanted to get involved to help.  Sarah has also received some generous donations so she has been able to buy what items she needs to make up a variety of bags to suit the needs of the local families they she is helping.

Head teacher at Woodlands Meed, Adam Rowland said

‘Many families have been struggling during the Coronavirus lockdown and have found themselves in difficult situations through the loss of loved ones, losing jobs, being unable to leave the house and many other reasons.  Sarah and her fellow helpers have done an amazing job in not just helping Woodlands Meed families but lots of other families in need in our local community.  Through their efforts Sarah has been able to bring a little bit of happiness to families who really appreciate it during these difficult times.’

Thanks to everyone at Burgess Hill Bonfire Society for their generous donation of £600 to Woodlands Meed from last year’s procession. Friends of Woodlands Meed Committee Member Inga Herlihy was invited to join BHBS for their celebrations on Saturday and was presented with the amazing cheque!