Equality & Diversity Award Winners
Left-to-right: Principal George Trow, Sarah Yates, and Natalie
Marshall.
Doncaster College has won an Equality & Diversity
Award and has become the 2010 Regional Diversity Champion. This
award is from the East Coast Centre for Diversity.
This award recognises the College's work with looked after
children and care leavers. The College has a dedicated worker for
this cohort, the Educational Champion for Looked After Children,
Natalie Marshall. This is a regionally unique post and indicates
the College's commitment to this group of young people.
A video about Doncaster College, played at the awards
ceremony.
Through the vTalent project, the College has care leaver
volunteers who work with younger looked after children to support
and retain them on the programme. This peer role modelling works
well and the volunteers also work towards recruiting other looked
after young people and care leavers from the community.
Care leaver Philip said, "sometimes care leavers need a bit
extra support to help us get into College and stay to succeed."
Often, enrolling at College coincides with other transitional
points for looked after children such as moving out of foster care
and into their own property. These can be really challenging times
and education can seem very difficult to access.
Natalie Marshall said, "Last academic year, the College had 30
looked after young people and care leavers achieve their
qualification. We are hoping to improve on that this year and in
every year to come."
A video about the whole event, produced by Focus 7, is available to view on
YouTube.
For more information on the service Doncaster College offers to
Looked After Children and Care Leaver learners, please visit this page.
Updated: 29/09/2011