In a perfect way to see out the last academic year, Sense College Loughborough were delighted to receive two awards at this year's Natspec Conference. The awards were for Curriculum Innovation and Partnership Working.

This is the third year of the Natspec awards, which celebrate excellence and innovation across the specialist further education sector. After having been shortlisted for an award in 2020, Sense College Loughborough became the first double award winners ever at the Natspec Awards in June 2022.

For the award in Curriculum Innovation, the college put forward The Green Shop, a new student venture for 2021/22. The Green Shop has been an excellent opportunity for students on the college's Vocational Pathway to develop their employability skills while also encouraging the whole courage to be more sustainable.

The judges of the Curriculum Innovation Award described The Green Shop as underlining "the importance of practical, realistic working environments to develop good vocational skills that link with a wide range of curriculum areas". They also recognized the individual approach to the curriculum, and the impact this project has had on the sustainability of the college overall.

The second award, Partnership Working, detailed an ongoing partnership between the college and the NHS. This partnership began with a research project into autism and sight loss and has since evolved into regular collaboration between the two parties. The judges described this partnership as providing "opportunities not only for the college and its students, but SEND education and health care".

Everyone at Sense College Loughborough is incredibly proud of the two awards, and of all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes of both of these projects. We are looking forward to entering next year's awards and sharing more about the excellent work that takes place at the college.

You can read more about this year's award winners and shortlisted colleges here: https://natspec.org.uk/natspec-awards-2022-winners/