THREE people/groups stand the chance of winning the award for the most innovative.
This award will recognise people in & around education for outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere.
The three finalists are Lisa Jackson from the Hello Future programme, Lyndsey Fitheridge from System People and Stephanie Buttriss.
Lisa Jackson is part of the Hello Future programme which focuses on areas of Cumbria with the lowest levels of Higher Education progression. Since 2017, Hello Future have delivered a sustained and progressive programme of outreach including information, advice, guidance and delivery with the aim of increasing access to Higher Education.
To date, the programme has engaged over 5,700 target learners, with 60% taking part in 3+ activities.
To move the programme forward, in 2021/22, they undertook a new and innovative approach called ‘Future Selves’.
The innovation is in the approach Hello Future takes and through the use of digital technology, where they seek to identify skills, knowledge and cold spots across Cumbria to deliver tailored outreach via a live and bespoke data dashboard for each target school or college.
Lyndsey Fitheridge and System people is the next finalist. System People identified the limitations of recruitment and invested time and resources into new online versions of their technology. They created a learning platform which is an interactive platform that shows progress. It can produce reports, show the percentage of completion and replaces older systems with a fun way to learn. System People also created a recruitment web app which means apprenctices can apply for roles using their phone and a CV can be loaded into the app.
Lyndsey mentioned how System People are already planning for the future and they intend to explore how they can continue to offer remote live online learning for more courses and continue to blend new ideas into already established ones.
Lyndsey spoke about the event saying: "I am really excited, I love going. We get to network with like minded people as well as other schools that can be supporting us.”
Stephanie Buttriss from Furness College is the final nominee. The child that Stephanie supports at the college is non-verbal and has autism and sensory issues which means he cannot always access education, as well as the world around him. When Stephanie first met him, she realised that before he was able to access to curriculum, she needed to teach him how to communicate and that is when she started Picture Exchange Communication System.
Stephanie began adapting the mainstream curriculum and teach the way the student learns. This has meant that he can thrive in school with his peers.
Stephanie described the moment she found out she was nominated:
"I was very emotional when I found out I had been nominated, I am still quite overwhelmed now!"
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