Care Staff at Henshaws College are celebrating after passing their Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care. Our independent specialist college in Harrogate employs a multidisciplinary team of experienced staff, from education staff and care staff to rehabilitation officers and therapists to help each student learn independence skills for the future they choose.

Many of our care staff already have NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care, and this new award means that additional staff can benefit from the very latest training and best practice across the Health and Social Care sector.

Liz Sugden, Head of Student Support and Residential Care, explains why staff have completed the award:

“This diploma is a really valuable qualification for our staff. It involves learning about the latest developments in communication, personal development, equality and duty of care in young people’s settings. These skills are a great asset to our staff and they also learn about person centred approaches which help us to deliver an individual service for every one of our students. We plan for more staff to complete the qualification to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible standards of care for our students during their time at College.”

 Find out more on our Student Support pages

Henshaws College students have just finished work on their latest film project, an interpretation of the Lambton Worm folk tale. Set in County Durham, the poem tells the story of a local man’s battle with a giant worm or dragon and you can watch the trailer below.

Tutor Rob Atkin explains why the students chose to focus on this story:

“We wanted to choose a project which was big, creative and could involve everyone! I read the poem out to the students who liked the story and the fact that it rhymed. The words describe the action taking place so there’s no need for audio description which is great for our visually impaired students. It is also a local folk tale so it seemed like a good opportunity to teach students about some local cultural history.”

Students were involved in every aspect of the production, whether it was behind the scenes researching costumes online, or acting in front of the cameras. They designed the set and costumes and their interpretation of the giant blue worm with terrible teeth was brought to life from an initial drawing to a fully finished paper mache costume. After cutting out and gluing on individual scales and dragon teeth, students went for a dragon walk in the costume around college. This was a great chance for fellow students to come face to face with their scary creation!  

On set, students took the lead with directing and deciding how scenes should be set up, as Rob explains:

“We started out by doing several test shots to see what worked best. For example, there’s one scene where students wanted to show the fast moving river so we experimented with different fabrics and movements. We also wrote and recorded our own piece of music to accompany the film, practising singing in the round and using lots of different instruments.”

Francesca told us what she enjoyed about the filming: “I liked singing and recording the song best. I liked being in the dragon costume although it got very hot!”

Dan played the main character in the production and said “I enjoyed playing the part of John Lambton and making the fight scenes. I enjoyed watching the film, it felt really good to see myself on screen. It was exciting and I would like my family to see it.”

Staff and students have already been treated to a sneak preview of the finished product and everyone involved will be taking home a DVD for their families.  

Tutors have seen students grow in confidence since they started work on the film. “Students have been supported to take part in a way which they felt comfortable with but also one which challenges them” said Rob.  “For many of our students, any initial nerves about being in front of the camera faded after having the chance to experiment in a safe environment. They’ve also learnt to work as a team and to make different choices about activities.”

Expressive arts is just one of the sessions on offer to our students, who take part in individual learning programmes to increase their confidence and independence. For more information, please visit our programmes pages.