NEWS
Cheshire College champion is ready to shine at Special Olympics World Games
A Cheshire College – South & West student will be competing in the rhythmic gymnastics category at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin this summer.
Poppy Wood-Wright from Haslington, who is studying towards a Living Independently Certificate (Entry 3) at Crewe Campus, was one of only four athletes to be selected from the UK, after winning the ‘All Round Champion’ title at the intensive Special Olympics National Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. Poppy, who has global developmental delay and some sensory-neural hearing loss, has been doing gymnastics since the age of two.
She specialises in the rhythmic branch of the sport; in which athletes perform with an apparatus such as a hoop, ribbon or ball. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics.
Despite her lifelong commitment to gymnastics, Poppy said it was still a surprise to discover that she would be competing in Berlin: “I was speechless when I found out that I had been selected. I’ve been doing lots of extra training and I’ve been practicing at home as well, doing splits training and stretches. It’s an amazing opportunity and it will be even better because I’m going to be turning 18 whilst I’m in Berlin.”
The Special Olympics World Games are the world’s largest inclusive sports event. Thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities compete together in 26 sports. The aim of the games is to champion and celebrate sport, whilst achieving greater recognition for people with intellectual disabilities in society. Poppy said that competing at the World Games is currently her biggest ambition and said that her friends and tutors at Cheshire College were happy and supportive when learning of her news. She is continuing to raise funds for her life-changing trip and donations can be made at https://www.
justgiving.com/fundraising/joanne-wood60
www.ccsw.ac.uk Dixons Unity Academy launches ‘Unity Community’
On Friday 21 April, Dixons Unity Academy in Armley launched a new community hub to serve the families of the school. “Unity Community” is now open every Friday morning from 08:30 until 10:00 on site at Whingate Road. The community hub is home to a food bank, uniform exchange, lending library and a community café. The academy is also offering aid for families who need English language support when completing paperwork. Unity Community provides a parent surgery with the academy’s senior leadership team.
Dixons Unity has partnered with social impact
food distribution scheme Rethink Food, which will provide the community hub with fresh food each week. A £1 voluntary donation to access the foodbank is requested. This scheme is available for families who require access due to rising supermarket costs or those who are environmentally aware and would like to support the reduction of food waste. Ash Jacobs, Principal, Dixons Unity Academy said: “We know that many of our families are facing huge challenges at the moment, and we are
incredibly keen to offer as much support as we can. Working with families is such an important part of what we do at Dixons Unity - it is fantastic to now have a dedicated space in which to do this. We are looking forward to welcoming many more families into the Unity Community in the coming weeks and months.”
Nathan Atkinson, Co-Founder, Rethink Food, commented: “Partnering with Dixons Unity Academy to provide food for their food bank at Unity Community is part of our commitment to tackling the cost of living, climate and food security crises. We collect, quality assure and
distribute surplus food in support of families, tailored to local needs. Unity Community is one of 20 community groups and 70 schools across the UK that we serve, providing nutritious food whilst protecting the local and global environment from CO2 emissions. Being that we’re a partnership of former teachers, we take pride in working with an academy who is devoted to providing help to their families and local community.”
www.dixonsat.com
Teacher training providers merge to create new offer for schools and future teachers across Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk
A new local teacher training organisation operating across Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk will support recent graduates and career changers into the classroom from September 2024.
Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk Teacher Training (NESTT) is being formed following a merger of experienced “tried and tested” school-centred local initial teacher training (ITT) providers Suffolk and Norfolk SCITT and BEC Teacher Training.
The merger has been agreed following the Government’s recent ITT market review report which made recommendations on how to make sure all trainees receive high-quality training, how the ITT market maintains the capacity to deliver enough trainees and is accessible to candidates, and how the ITT system benefits all schools. One of these recommendations was around the development of local partnerships.
Whilst Suffolk and Norfolk SCITT and BEC Teacher Training will continue to operate as individual ITT providers until the end of the 2023-24 school year, NESTT leaders are already laying firm foundations for the future for the new organisation, including working with subject experts to design a new and exciting curriculum for the teachers of tomorrow. The NESTT programme will feed into provision for the Early Career
6
www.education-today.co.uk May 2023
Framework, which sets out what early career teachers are entitled to learn about and learn how to do when they start their careers, and ensure a coherent three-year training cycle for new teachers as well as comprehensive support for mentors in school.
www.nestt.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
