A team of students from London South East Colleges' Nido Volans Centre in Lambeth have been crowned winners of the Social Enterprise Lambeth Dragons Den Event.
Beating off tough competition from mainstream and SEND schools and colleges across the borough, the group impressed judges with their outstanding presentation, which highlighted the lack of accessibility at Brixton Rail Station.
The Nido Volans Lambeth students, who are between the ages of 19 and 24 and all have special educational needs, chose to take part in the social enterprise project as an enrichment option at their college this term.
Following a talk from the Social Enterprise Academy, the team chose a local social issue that they wanted to address - which was the lack of accessibility at Brixton Rail Station. One of the learners, Nathaniel Senior, is a wheelchair user and without a lift, himself and others are limited in terms of places they can visit in the area.
The next part of the project involved creating a business and coming up with a product to sell - to raise money for their campaign. The group decided to make ceramic pots, drawing on their skills and strengths - and 'Whimsical Wheel Ceramics' was soon up and running!
The students then divided into three sub-groups - one which focused on making the pots, one dealing with the financial side and one taking on the campaign work.
The Dragon's Den event took place on 25 April, with the judging panel made up of industry experts from the local area. The students had created a video (which they showed the judges) and delivered a campaign speech, highlighting the accessibility issues at Brixton Station - to provide the context for the enterprise they had set up.
Learner Nathaniel used his AAC device to tell the panel how this issue affects him and his community, then the whole group then took questions from the judges.
In a field of tough competitors from mainstream and SEND schools and colleges, the Nido Volans Lambeth team emerged as the overall winners, earning recognition for their hard work and collaborative spirit.
Rhona Sapsford is the Assistant Principal High Needs and Foundation Learning at London South East Colleges, heading up the Nido Volan centres. She says:
"We are incredibly proud of our students for this remarkable achievement. They have worked so hard on this social enterprise project, and their efforts have really paid off.
"This group's dedication to driving positive change in our community is amazing - and we are excited to see the campaign gain further momentum as the students continue to advocate for accessibility for all.
"This success really does reflect the talent and resilience of our wonderful students, and the staff that work so hard to support them. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has been part of this project; an incredible success for all."
The Group was awarded a trophy and a £75 prize. The ceramic pots will be sold at several upcoming Nido Volans Lambeth events, to continue raising awareness of this important accessibility issue.
London South East Colleges' SEND Curriculum Manager, Nicholas Goodman, adds:
"I was deeply inspired to join a project aimed at addressing social issues within our local community. The learners behind the Social Enterprise Project deserve all the credit for their dedication to advancing this initiative. Their ongoing campaign for improvements at Brixton Rail Station will continue to raise awareness, but more importantly learners enjoyed their enrichment activity and should be proud of themselves and their achievement.
"At Nido Volans Lambeth, promoting equality is fundamental to our mission, and this campaign is a continuation of our efforts to foster positive change."
Nathaniel, who was part of the winning student team, says:
"I felt amazing, I can't believe we won! I feel happy to have thought about the idea for this project and to work with my friends on the project. We are going to continue to make our pots, to sell and to raise awareness for an issue that affects the whole community.
"I believe that all facilities should be accessible to all".