Glen tells us all about his son’s progress over his 4 years at Chesterfield College on our Pathways programme for students with SEND. We’re all so proud of how far Nial has come, and we’re delighted with his progression onto a mainstream curriculum course, well done Nial!
“Nial’s been at Chesterfield College for four years. He’s excelled himself really, this final year, he’s worked at a level far above what we thought he’d be able to.
We are so glad, it’s been excellent from day one.
Nial used to attend Ashgate Croft School. We then made an application to a different college; things didn’t work out regarding the application, so he came here as a second choice initially. It’s superb how it has all fallen into place and we are so glad it’s been excellent from day one.
We were kind of aware that Chesterfield College took young people with SEND needs. I attended college back in the day and I just thought of all the busyness of moving from one classroom to another. I just got this vision that there’s no way that Nial’s going to cope with that. It would be madness. It’s nothing like that at all.
It works really well.
They’re safe in the block that they are in, but they also get assistance to go out and meet other students and perhaps fetch dinner in the rest of the college when the time is right. It works really well.
The college has been amazing, they’ve really pushed him.
The great thing about college is that they haven’t taken the easy route with Nial. Right from the outset, they’ve worked him physically and they’ve pushed him mentally. With someone like Nial, it’s easy to sort of bypass and not tap into what he’s capable of. The college has been amazing in that, they’ve really pushed him.
The best example mentally is this final year, he’s doing a mainstream course. At a low level of course, but it’s something we never thought he’d manage. He’s on the verge of passing and that’s down to the staff at college as well as Nial.
He’s a much calmer character now.
I see the social side, his confidence levels, they are wow, they are so much further on. He’s a much calmer character now and that’s down to Helen and the staff. She’s been absolutely amazing, she gets Nial totally. He’s developed really well, thanks to her and the team.”