Lapwing
Newsletter
March 2013
Founder Sue on Lapwing Pages 2-3 Meet Mentor Adam Page 5 News from HQ Page 7 The Angle on Angling Page 8 High Flying Students Page 9 A-Z of AQAs Page 10 Meriel at Brockford
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What’s On Page 12
Newsletter Editor :Wendy Quantrill Lapwing HQ: 01473 604809
wquantrill@lapwingsuffolk.co.uk www.lapwingsuffolk.org.uk
Lapwing Newsletter
positive learning in Suffolk
Why Lapwing? Sue Chesworth, Founder and Chief Executive of Lapwing
Why are we called Lapwing? Like a bird, Lapwing flies high, aspirational for our students, constantly striving to improve existing educational provision and creating new learning opportunities for young people who experience a wide range of disabilities, disadvantage and barriers. Like the wings of a bird, Lapwing provides protection and shelter for the young people we work with. Students who attend Lapwing have often had a succession of negative experiences and they feel marginalised. Lapwing birds are frequent visitors to the Suffolk coast and Lapwing is a Suffolk based organisation. Lapwing listen to the young person. We truly work to put person-centred principles into action. The hard-working staff provide personalised pathways to enable the students to be included and make a contribution to society. In summary, Lapwing is an aspirational, supportive organisation which provides individual personalised learning programmes for a wide range of young people who have multiple disabilities and disadvantage. We provide innovative pathways to enable young people to move from the margins of society to take their rightful place as included citizens who can participate and make a contribution to society. If you know someone who might benefit from Lapwing’s determination to break down barriers contact Sue Chesworth or Sophy Jones and Lapwing could get them flying again. Visit our website at www.lapwingsuffolk.co.uk to find out more. We’re also active on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
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Lapwing Newsletter
Sue on Lapwing My Journey to Lapwing Chief Executive I was sent to boarding school when I had just had my 9th birthday. My parents lived abroad and I only saw them once or twice a year. I hated school, I felt very unhappy and lonely. I also felt very angry. Why had I been dumped in this austere place? I spent most of the 8 years I was at boarding school trying to be expelled, but somehow I was not quite bad enough!! Every cloud has a silver lining because that very negative experience I had as a child has enabled me to truly understand what it is like for children and young people to feel powerless, lonely and sad in school. I understand how that can make young people feel angry and challenge adult authority. From their perspective it does not matter what they do because they feel they have lost everything anyway. Punishment does not work because they feel they have already been punished by the rejection which they are feeling.
Throughout my life my experience at school has never left me. Instead it has driven me on to try to understand why some young people find school so difficult, why they spend so much time being angry or withdrawn. I was lucky, once I had left school I met people who took the time to understand me and to encourage me. That should be every young person’s entitlement.
When I left school I put the hurt behind me; I stopped fighting everyone because some of the pain and loneliness had dispersed. The anger slowly began to recede That is what I try to do to understand young and I developed the confidence to succeed in what I put people, to understand what is important my mind to. Hence I became a teacher. in their lives at any particular time. When the child or young person feels understood, At the beginning of my teaching career my father supported and trusted they will begin to asked me if I would become a headteacher. My relearn. sponse was a very fierce “No, I want to pursue a career teaching under-privileged children� I did not want to With young people who have had many bad lead a school and spend time managing other staff. experiences it is hard to achieve this trust As my life and career unfolded I did spend many years teaching under-privileged children and young people in a wide variety of situations. I also spent a fair amount of time studying, developing my understanding of how marginalised young people learn, or too often fail to learn, in school. I soon realised that in order to attempt to improve opportunities for marginalised young people I must be in some position of authority. So, I began to apply for positions of responsibility in special education, and yes eventually I became a headteacher!!
but I believe we must never give up in the quest to provide that bedrock of support and encouragement.
That is why Lapwing exists - because together we can make a difference to the lives of young people, we can help them to aim high whatever their problems or disabilities. Remember we must all dream dreams, reach for the sky and make dreams become reality.
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Lapwing Newsletter
positive learning in Suffolk
Poetic Title Licence ‘I am’ by Laura Flecknoe
I am precious like a gleaming jewel hidden in the sand, I am as lively as a bouncing ball that never wants to land. I am beautiful like a bright red rose in the fullest bloom I am as ready as I’ll ever be! A rocket free to zoom! I am creative like a genius at work, I am as funny as a clown being a jerk. I am loving like a mother with her child, I am as hyperactive as a turkey going wild! I am as happy as a giggling baby, I am jolly like Santa at Christmas maybe. I am gorgeous like a peacock’s tail, I am positive, I cannot fail!
Laura Nursery Life Laura has been with Lapwing for 18 months and is making great strides in her aim of qualifying as a children’s nursery assistant. She is doing a work placement at a nursery in Felixstowe and is getting herself there on her own. She’s also enjoying making hand-made greetings cards and has been selling these beautiful creations at Lapwing HQ.
Leon On the Farm
Leon didn’t let the cold weather put a stop to the superb work he’s been doing at Clinks Care Farm since Jan 2012. Over the winter he’s been putting in fences for the chicken area and creating hedges. Leon has also been feeding and cleaning out the animals and has worked towards and completed different units of the AQA Unit Award Scheme. Leon also attends Beyond the Wall at the Thornham Estate, where he is working towards a City and Guilds qualification while engaging in grass cutting, machinery maintenance, and horticultural activities.
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Lapwing Newsletter
Getting to know you Learning Mentor Adam Ciappi gives us his first impressions of Lapwing and shares something about himself I first heard about Lapwing last summer when a friend’s son became a student. After having worked in various primary schools over the last 10 years (where men are an endangered species)one of the first things that struck me on the training day was the diversity within the Lapwing staff. The best thing about working at Lapwing so far has been meeting and getting to know the students and staff. People may be surprised to know that I used to have a career in music during the late 90s/early 2000s and released a few records under the name of Kushti including an album which developed a small cult following. When I’m not working at Lapwing I like to try and keep fit through running and swimming. I’m also a bit of a geek and have a pretty impressive Doctor Who DVD collection. Music is still a passion and I still dabble in music production and do the odd bit of DJing. I believe I was named after someone called Adam Faith who my Mum fancied. He used to be a singer and actor in the 60s and 70s. I’d love to learn to play the piano. The last book I read and would definitely recommend to others is called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s a really inspiring book about a guy who discovers Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians who are the world’s greatest long distance runners who can literally go for hundreds of miles running barefoot. My first job was working on a conveyor belt in a cosmetics factory. I was 16 and it was a summer holiday job. My role was to put the lids onto tubes of talcum powder. The talc lids left a round indentation in the middle of my palm for hours after. Luckily I got promoted to a tea boy working in the canteen after a week. Read all about new recruit Connie in the next issue
I would probably choose Alan Sugar or any of the Dragons’ Den people as a mentor for obvious reasons. If they weren’t available I’d settle for Alex Ferguson.
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Lapwing Newsletter
positive learning in Suffolk
The Graduate Paul Emsden At 17 Paul’s Moderate Learning Difficulties and ADHD were stopping him from completing a College Course. He joined Lapwing and learned skills at The Walled Garden and Wood n Stuff. His time with us helped his confidence and made him focus on his life. Paul, now 22, lives in a flat in Lowestoft with live-in support and is doing voluntary work moving furniture for the British Heart Foundation. He plays football for a local team and competes in tournaments. He does his own cooking and laundry and gets the bus to work on his own. One day he would like a full-time paid job, perhaps in a supermarket, where he can make a living for himself. “I really don’t know what I would have done without Lapwing’ says Paul. Claire Attwood, his mentor at the time says: ‘Paul has matured a great deal. He has a heart of gold and wanted to get on and help others despite challenges with his own personal life.’
Recent Awards Laura G -Entry 2 Functional Skills Literacy and Numeracy Tim K - Entry 2 Functional Skills and Numeracy Andrew F - Entry Level 3 Literacy and Numeracy
Bowled Over Lapwing’s Literacy and Numeracy Group hit the bowling alley for an end of Autumn term treat The week before the trip the group worked out from a choice of two bowling alleys in Ipswich which was the cheapest, closest, quickest to get to and also the best method of transport. We ending up driving with our learning mentors as the bus to get there was over a half hour walk, which would not have been fun as it was raining! We went bowling for a hour. It was great but it went too quickly! We all had a mixture of nice food, I had burger and chips. The food was great! I really want to go back at some point. Thank you to everyone at Lapwing for letting us have this lovely treat! James Willer
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Lapwing Newsletter
positive learning in Suffolk
News Title from HQ... Shaking the tin We’re fundraising like demons here so we can continue to carry out educational programmes that change lives. We’re compiling a list of ‘Lapwing-friendly’ businesses that may be able to help us now or in the future by: • Donating goods (like the computers Call Connection provided) • Providing services (printing our Newsletter, free venue hire etc) • Sponsorship (sponsoring a programme or our Newsletter) • Donating money (a tax efficient way to donate) • A placement or work experience for a Lapwing student. If you can think of any businesses with whom you have a personal connection who ‘may’ be interested in being a corporate sponsor please give their details to Wendy Quantrill. And remember you are in no way committing this business to anything!
A Gift Free PCs The generous team at Call Connection Ltd and Tiger.co.uk have donated these fantastic PCs which will be used in the Lapwing office. This will free up the laptops that office staff currently use so that Lapwing students can use them to help with their studies. A huge thank you from us!
Database Support from the Suffolk Foundation
We were delighted to receive a grant of £5,000 from the Transforming Suffolk Fund which enabled the purchase and implementation of a new management information system. This allows us to more effectively manage our student records, particularly in relation to student outcomes and achievements. This will not only improve the quality of the work currently being delivered but will strengthen our ability to respond proactively to future beneficiary needs and funding opportunities.
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Lapwing Newsletter
Why go fishing? Angling is by far the UK’s most popular participant sport with an estimated 3.3 million anglers taking part each year. It is a sport where age, background, financial status, or any other ‘grouping’ becomes irrelevant. Anglers respect other anglers simply as anglers. The person you are fishing near, chatting to, giving advice to, could be anyone - a judge, a teacher, a doctor –and you just respect each other as anglers. As part of the Lapwing educational programme, angling provides a context for learning many important life skills. Angling repays planning, organisation, preparation, self-motivation, goal setting – over time you get out of it what you put in to it. It is an activity that allows people to discover what motivates them, encourages setting targets and to regularly experience success, feelings of mastery and achievement. Becoming an angler allows you to enter a ‘community’ where you can learn to engage with other people from all walks of life. It encourages you to seek information from others and share information with them. It encourages you to learn and abide with a code of conduct and both written and unwritten rules. On one hand it is a sport where the rules are laid down in Acts of Parliament and is also one where you set your own personal rules to suit your own tastes. It encourages you to take an interest in and involvement with the environment and it provides the opportunity to join with others to take action to ensure the protection of your sport and your environment. Angling also has therapeutic values. As well as being an activity where you can learn, perform and succeed it is calming and relaxing and allows one to become at one with the natural world. It gives you time to think and reflect. It makes you feel good about yourself. Angling encourages students to develop learning skills, communication skills, social skills, self motivational skills, planning and decision making skills, and professionalism and workplace skills. It encourages a sense of citizenship. There is so much more to it than catching fish – it is a vehicle for a lifetime of learning, friendship and success. As a setting for learning life skills it provides every opportunity to grow and develop and to acquire learning skills that may well be transferable to other aspects of learning and life. Dave Nelson, Lapwing Angling Coach, January 2013
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Lapwing Newsletter
positive learning in Suffolk
OurTitle students flying high A Warm Welcome to Marcus
Marcus joined Lapwing last term and is now going to Aldeburgh Music where he is loving the music and animation session and really getting involved with the group. Watch this space for the upcoming film that is being produced by the group..... Marcus had been home educated so to see this group participation and attendance has been a huge achievement. Everyone has also given him a massive welcome which has been great. Marcus has also been attending a new venue for Lapwing - Potsford Farm - where he collected and sold his first carton of eggs this week! As well as looking after and feeding the sheep, goats, rabbits and horses Marcus has also nearly completed his first AQA Unit Award in cooking. Well Done Marcus!
Connor Emergency Life Support skills Lapwing student Connor (16) has gained his Emergency Life Support certificate. The course was completed over a two day period and is endorsed by the British Heart Foundation. The skills he has learned will be invaluable during his studies and free time, much of which is spent with army and police cadets. Well done Connor!
Hannah Communications Work Experience Hannah has been helping with Lapwing marketing and communications one afternoon a week. She’s been working on the Lapwing website to ensure it is up to date and includes links to all our providers. She is a great addition to the team always being cheerful and enthusiastic to take on any challenge.
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Lapwing Newsletter
positive learning in Suffolk
AQAs Jan Bush and Clare Penrice
What is the AQA Unit Award Scheme? “AQA Unit Award Scheme is an excellent way for our students with moderate learning difficulties to gain ‘confidence building’ awards in many life and work skills. These awards enable students to produce a small portfolio and work towards a goal which is structured around their needs. Once completed the portfolios are moderated and certificates are awards to them at our end of year Lapwing Celebration Event”. Jan Bush Lapwing has awarded 38 AQAs this academic year already; this is a fantastic achievement by our students with many more AQAs being worked towards. The Unit Award Scheme is a fantastic scheme for recognising achievement, which gives a student recognition for completing short units of work. Units can cover almost any subject or topic and can be used with students of any age or ability. There are over 18,000 units available and, as long as the student’s achievement is a valid and worthwhile experience, almost any activity can be recognised. Currently over 1 250 centres and 60 000 students are registered with the UAS. Types of centres include mainstream and special schools, youth services and other youth provision, further education establishments, pupil referral units and other alternative providers, community and voluntary organisations, charities and training providers. It is included in the National Framework of Awards in Non-Formal Educational Settings, published by the National Youth Agency on behalf of the Network for Accrediting Young People’s Achievement. There are many benefits for students, including • flexibility in rewarding and celebrating success • increasing engagement, self-esteem, motivation and performance • supporting lifelong and personalised learning • promoting inclusion • helping course delivery planning and target setting • use over a short time and prompt issue of certificates • accredits learning which may otherwise go unrecognised • detailed certification making it easy to see what has been achieved • use as a ‘stepping stone’ towards full qualifications and awards.
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positive learning in Suffolk
Lapwing Newsletter
Meriel Mentor Tracy Thompson Meriel at Brockford Meriel started attending Brockford Barn after Christmas after a previous placement didn’t work out for her. ‘Time and Space’, situated within Brockford Barn is an alternative education provision set up by Mark and Bev Adams to offer an educational programme to those who, for whatever reason, find it difficult to access a conventional educational programme. Their provision is rich in ICT, Literacy and Numeracy empowering young people to thrive. They also encourage critical thinking skills and initiative through creative craft activities. Sophy Jones, Lapwing Director, and Ruth Robbins, Programme Co-ordinator, contacted and visited Time and Space specifically with a placement for Meriel in mind. A trial period proved successful and Meriel appears very happy and safe working at the barns. From my perspective Meriel is flourishing and experiencing activities that in the past she would have found too difficult to engage in. Meriel finds it hard to communicate her thoughts and
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feelings, however a conversation about working at the barns revealed the following statements: “I do like it here”. “I like doing Art”. With verbal prompts, Meriel revealed: “Music with Bev makes me laugh, I like playing the piano and pretending to be a horse galloping across the fields”. With reference to Mark, Meriel said: “I like that man, he’s quite good” As part of expanding Meriel’s skills, and preparing her for the next stage of her life, we are spending a lot of time focusing on the importance of
teamwork and making products to sell to raise funds. A lot of this work involves using recycled products and the Barns would appreciate donations to help, so please don’t rush to throw things away, most things can be used. In particular, magazines, tissue paper, wrapping paper, tin cans, jars especially kiln jars, string, ribbons, beads, old jewellery, cards etc to help make occasion cards, bath bombs, food gifts, key-rings Check out their website www.brockfordbarn.co.uk
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Lapwing Newsletter
What’s on Guide... Term Dates Summer Term Monday 15 April 2013 – Tuesday 23 July 2013 Non Student Day Tuesday 7 May 2013 Half term Monday 27 May 2013 – Friday 31 May 2013 Summer Holiday Wednesday 24 July 2013 – Monday 2 September 2013
Summer 2013 Languard Dogs Day Languard Nature Reserve, 19 May A fun afternoon for dogs and their owners with special activities, dis-
plays and stalls.
Global Rhythm Christchurch Park, 29 June
Autumn Term Tuesday 3 Sept 2013 – Friday 20 December 2013
An array of live entertainment, art and food from across the world guarantees that Global Rhythm brings you a colourful and exciting celebration of worldwide cultures.
Non Student Days Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 September 2013
Labrinth Newmarket Race Course, 26 July
Students start Thursday 5 September 2013 Half Term Monday 28 October 2013 – Friday 1 November 2013 Christmas Holiday Monday 23 December 2013 – Friday 3 January 2014 One month’s notice of any additional staff training days will be given. Save The Date Graduation and Celebration Event Wednesday 3 July 2013
British singer, songwriter and producer Labrinth will perform at this year’s Adnams Newmarket Nights at Newmarket Racecourse.
Festival of Classic and Sports Cars Helmingham Hall Gardens, 4 Aug
Over 700 vehicles attend, representing the last 10 decades of motoring history, including many from Britain’s motoring heyday. There’s also main ring entertainment, craft and trade stalls, birds of prey, live music and great local food & drink. A fantastic day out for the whole family to enjoy!
Maritime Festival Ipswich Waterfront, 24-26 Aug
Ipswich Maritime Festival celebrates all things nautical and brings together Ipswich’s Waterfront Maritime past, present and future at the Ipswich Waterfront, Quayside and Docks.
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www.lapwingsuffolk.co.uk