nasen Award 2022 winners announced

Champions go above and beyond for children and young people with SEND

The celebrated winners of nasen’s sixth annual Awards have been revealed (Friday 14^th October 2022), in a sparkling event at The Grand Hotel, Birmingham.

Altogether, 18 individuals, schools and organisations scooped national accolades for their remarkable work to help children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and learning differences thrive and achieve, both in the UK and across the globe.

This year’s inspiring winners included a Multi Academy Trust whose pioneering robotic project links medically ill children with their lessons, a teacher who has worked tirelessly to make her school fully accessible for pupils with SEND whilst boosting results, and an island school off the coast of Nigeria changing the way SEND is seen in the local community.

The Awards are hosted by nasen – the National Association for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – and supported by sponsors Scanning Pens, who is also the awards headline sponsor, Axcis Education, and official awards media partner, Schools Week. nasen is the leading membership charity that supports children and young people with SEND to reach their full potential, whilst being a champion, friend and protector of the SEND workforce.

Annamarie Hassall MBE, Chief Executive of nasen, said: “It has been a great honour to recognise and reward the people who are making a real difference for SEN, by hosting this fabulous event. We received an amazing number of nominations for the awards this year, and are thrilled to celebrate the inclusive work of individuals, teams and settings who go above and beyond, every day, to help children and young people thrive and achieve.

“In our 30^th anniversary year, it feels right to be shining a light on the diligence, dedication and expertise being shown across the sector, and to proudly demonstrate what can be achieved when teams and individuals work together in inclusive ways. We very much hope the stories of our winners will inspire others to share their practice too. Children and Young People with SEND have a right to an equitable education, to have choices and opportunities, lets continue to celebrate the great work in the sector and help strengthen our community’s sense of unity and collaboration. For children and young people, that means acceptance, awareness and belonging.

The nasen 2022 Award winners are:

Collecting the nasen Award for Technology was the Skylark Partnership Multi-Academy Trust in Northamptonshire, where a pioneering robotic project, AV1, has helped provide education for children with medical and mental health difficulties. The innovative telepresence robot allows pupils to virtually attend lessons, extra-curricular activities, and even school trips, benefitting pupils with a range of needs, including anxiety, depression, leukaemia, cystic fibrosis, as well as children in hospital.

Another of nasen's 18 star winners was Jemini Patel who scooped the Award for Teacher of the Year. Jemini was recognised for her innovation, hard work and positive impact on not only making the school accessible to SEND pupils, but also for supporting pupils with SEND and their families and boosting results for SEND learners in phonics specially.

Looking further afield, Nigerian-based RA International School, collected the Award for International Provision for making a remarkable impact on the learning and development of children with SEND on Bonny Island. Founded approximately eight years ago, its SEND unit was the first of its kind on the island: the only provision for children with learning needs. Training most of its teaching staff from scratch, improvising where resources were not readily available, and winning the trust of parents to ensure that children with SEND have a chance to thrive, the school has made great strides for SEND in the Niger Delta region.

Annamarie continued: “My warmest congratulations go to all our nasen Award winners for their dedication to going above and beyond in their fields. I would also like to extend my thanks to everyone who was shortlisted, as well as our judges, sponsors, and media partner for their whole-hearted commitment to inclusion and to the awards.”

For more information on the nasen Awards, and to find out more about all the winners, visit: www.nasen.org.uk/awards or follow #nasenAwards2022