College lecturer’s dedication leads deaf students to success

A lecturer at Derby College Group has been helping break down barriers to education after leading a cohort of deaf students to success.

Emily Woodgate, a lecturer in teacher training at the college, has recently had her first experience of teaching a cohort of deaf students.

There were 12 students in total, all studying for a Level 3 Award in Education and Training – a qualification aimed at those already in a teaching/volunteering role or those who are potentially interested in starting their career as a teacher.

Those in the cohort were wanting to volunteer/gain employment as teachers of British Sign Language (BSL).

One student in the group was a business owner and wanted to gain more knowledge and experience of education and training to support her in training her staff members.

Thanks to Emily, they have all now completed the course with a 100% pass rate.

Alongside delivering teacher training programmes, Emily has completed her Level 1 BSL and is currently working towards her Level 2 BSL.

She said: “I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity, and I am very much looking forward to working with other deaf students on future programmes.

“While education and training is something I have been doing for years, this was a completely new experience for me.

“The encouragement and support given to me from the cohort during my time learning BSL was inspiring and gave me the determination to stick with it.

“It was also great to work with the communication support workers and interpreters within Derby College, who without, I could not have successfully delivered the programme.

“I now have a heightened awareness and a renewed respect for the deaf community, and it has been extremely rewarding to integrate into this community.”