University of Northampton graduates help local school children prepare for later life

University of Northampton graduates have gone the extra mile by supporting a local school’s plans to help special education pupils progress from the classroom to the workplace.

The Faculty of Education and Humanities teaching alumni have been helping Slated Row School in Wolverton’s bid to refurbish a building that will become a Community Centre and Guest House run by young people from the Sixth Form, as part of their transition from school to work.

Alongside their usual teaching duties, the graduates have contributed ideas for how the project could most benefit the students and supported the preparation of funding bids.  They have also made sure that every step of the way the pupils understand and engage with the project that will transform their adult lives.

In turn, they have picked up skills along the way to help their own careers, such as developing their leadership skills and helping other teaching staff to better work with autistic pupils.

Slated Row School is for children and young people from four to 19 years and takes pupils from across the local area, including Northamptonshire, who have moderate to severe learning difficulties.

Working in partnership with social enterprise Future Wolverton, who secured funds to purchase a Grade II listed building in April of this year, Slated Row are asking people to invest in a Community Share Offer May which will hopefully raise the remaining funds needed to refurbish the building.

Paul Sedgewick, Programme Lead for Education Studies at the University of Northampton, said: “Our teaching graduates rightly feel immense pride at the achievements of the Slated Row School children, as I do myself in what our graduates have accomplished in the community. This is a wonderful example of reciprocal social impact in action.

“As Slated Row enters the next exciting phase in creating sustained, high quality investment in work experience, we look forward to working with them to further break down the barriers special education needs children currently face when seeking employment.”

The University of Northampton has a strong pedigree when it comes to getting learning outside the lecture theatre and making real and positive benefits to people’s lives.

This has seen the University of Northampton become a beacon of social impact. In 2013 it was named a ‘Changemaker Campus’, one of only 37 in the world recognised around the world as global leaders in social innovation.

For those who are interested in investing in the Community Share Offer for the Old School Project.

People who are interested in this course or any of the others on offer at University of Northampton can take a look at our prospectus online.