Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities have been recognised for their achievements at a celebration event held in Leicester.
The awards ceremony – which was held as part of a recent drop in event called Local Offer Live – saw children commended for their resilience, bravery and educational achievements.
Among those who received an award was nine-year-old Oliver Humphry (pictured), who attends Montrose Primary School. Oliver was recognised for his musical and creative achievements.
Assistant headteacher Angela Cross nominated Oliver for the award. She said: Ollie has impressed us with his contributions in expressive arts, visual arts and literature. He recently wrote a poem for Mental Health Day using picture symbols. In his poem he named different emotions and gave examples of when he might feel a particular emotion.
“Ollie has drum lessons at school and he enjoys expressing himself through his playing. He is able to join his class in performing songs and poems by learning them using his communications device. He has demonstrated success in all of these areas, which makes us very proud.”
At Barley Croft Primary School, assistant head teacher Alex Easton and SEND co-ordinator Becci Bonshor nominated eight-year-old Henry Sykes, who won a self-advocacy award.
“Henry was born with a condition named sacral genesis, a rare congenital disorder. Henry does not have normal sensation in his legs which means that he has to use a wheelchair,” said Ms Easton.
“Henry is a genuine inspiration to both the children and adults he works with. His willingness to discuss his health issues and the barriers he faces in every day life is rare in someone so young. Henry has educated his peers about his health condition and the realities of being a wheelchair user, with a positive and mature attitude.”
Sixteen-year-old Kian Cherry, who attends Gateway sixth form college and previously Millgate special school, was awarded for the huge commitment he has shown to his education with a 12+ arts, media and music award.
Kian was out of school for more than three years due to severe anxiety, as he awaited his diagnoses of Autism. But from the moment he started at Millgate, he invested in his education and studied extremely hard.
He has now gone on to do A-levels at college in order to achieve his dream job of becoming a vet.
Tamanna Dangar, aged eight, won a Shining Star award after being nominated by Michelle Nelson at her school, Catherine Juniors.
Michelle said: “Tamanna joined our school last year and has settled in brilliantly. She has so many friends who she cares for and plays with. Tamanna has Sturge Weber syndrome, which affects her growth and her vision, and means she has lots of hospital appointments and operations to contend with. But her doctors are amazed by how she is getting on – she is very good at speaking up for herself and will often translate for her parents in medical appointments. Teachers at our school love Tamanna’s sense of humour and her willingness to try hard even with tasks she finds very difficult. We think that Tamanna is a shining star.”
