Star was nominated for an Adult Learners’ Week award 2015 because she is a commied learner, a great ambassador for encouraging others to either return to learning or engage for the first me. Her personal progress bears lile weight for her as her intenon is to support others. During the past three years, Star has aended five Wiltshire Council community learning programmes and a workshop: Time 4 U, Budgets and Bargains, Cooking from Scratch, Family SEAL, an outdoors acvity course and a family Circus Skills workshop. As part of the Cooking from Scratch programme, she has achieved the RSPH L2 Award in Healthier Food and Special Diets.


The carers’ group has been running for three years and meets fortnightly. There is no screening for joining the group. Star ensures that the group is supporve to the families who aend as they are all aware of the demands that children who have similar condions need. She also understands the pressures for families who have children with complex needs. The group is growing owing to Star's constant energy to ensure that families do not feel isolated. She is also acvely engaging with other support networks to ensure that the members of the group receive relevant and appropriate informaon.


Star has been an important link for the Wiltshire Council Community Learning team. Inially, a Time 4U course was organised for her group which was well aended owing to Star's persistence in encouraging the group to join. The group were apprehensive to enrol owing to having been out of learning for some me and had few/low qualificaons. She helped with transport and became a link between the programme and the group. Aer the Time 4U programme, she was determined to keep the learning going for the group. They idenfied a need for budgeng, as some of the learners receive benefits, so they ran Budgets and Bargains as a follow on course. Again, Star encouraged the group to aend. An opportunity arose to run a circus skills holiday acvity in her area, Star advised about an appropriate venue which the families could access, and she encouraged her group to aend. Star understood that the group needed some advice about cooking meals from scratch. They cooked together using their budgeng skills and are created healthy, family meals. The course had embedded learning about nutrion so the group took the L2 Award in Healthier Food and Special Diets.


It is evident that Star has been key for the group to both access and connue to learn together. She constantly uses social media, phone calls, cups of coffee, offers a listening ear to reassure others that they don’t have to feel isolated. She understands that if families have children with special educaonal needs, other families may not be keen to socialise. Star could not access an appropriate school place for her daughter for 15 months. Without any local family help, this could have resulted in Star having to save her energy to manage at home. However, this created stronger links with the group. Her posive determinaon has enabled families to both learn and share separate me, away from home, in a supporve environment. Some of the group are now accessing Open University courses. The group will shortly gain charity status.


Star recognises that she is very determined to keep the learning momentum for both herself and others; ‘It’s the Cornish in me! I’m not prepared to accept a situaon. I want to make it beer. I want to empower others to be independent and not accept when there can be a soluon if one is determined to find a way through.’ What is Star’s advice to others? ‘Do it! Bite the bullet and don’t be scared of the unknown.’


Weston College with HM Prison Services


Weston College deliver the OLASS 4 contract to thousands of offenders in prisons across the South West. Weston College also have the contract to deliver learning and skills in IRC The Verne. The teams focus on providing outstanding delivery to learners, to help them with their learning and raising aspiraons whilst also ensuring that the educaon provided meets the needs of the learners and employers.


This true story has been anonymised. My Life with Educaon


My name is D. I'm 26 years old. I have four children. I live in Bristol with my Nan and dad and I have a beauful girlfriend.


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