DCG Impact Review 2024 - Flipbook - Page 31
THIRTY ONE | STRATEGIC PRIORITY TWO
SERVING UP A WARM WELCOME
Derby’s Welcome Café is no ordinary eatery. While
proud to serve good food in a friendly, relaxed
environment, it also provides training opportunities
for people with special educational needs and
disabilities.
The café is a genuine success story for DCG, so
much so that it has extended its opening hours to
cover four days a week. It has also been awarded
a 昀椀ve-star hygiene rating, re昀氀ecting the care and
dedication of the staff and student teams involved.
Housed in part of St John’s Church, the café
enables students to build important life skills such
as communication and customer service. Parents
and carers can see their children learn beyond the
classroom in a workplace environment.
POSITIVE SIGNS FOR BSL LEARNERS
Supporting the deaf community – both within the
College and further a昀椀eld – is a mainstay of DCG’s
provision.
Free short courses covering deaf awareness and
basic British Sign Language (BSL) have proved
popular with adults working in customer-facing
roles and DCG also offers a Level 1 programme
leading to a formal quali昀椀cation in signing skills.
The opportunity to study BSL can also lead to
career progression – as Amazon UK employee
Donna Burton discovered. Having enrolled on the
Level 1 BSL programme at Ilkeston College, she has
now become Amazon Ambassador for British Sign
Language, the 昀椀rst in the UK.
A process guide at the company’s Kegworth
ful昀椀lment centre, Donna decided to learn to sign
so she could connect more effectively with deaf
colleagues. She is now using BSL to help make
communication easier between ten hearingimpaired team members and their managers.
She said: “What started out as learning something
for myself has led to my employer carving out
full-time interpreter roles. I’m proud to be an
Amazon ambassador. Hopefully my story will
inspire others who want to make a difference.”
Going to college at 55 might
have made me nervous
but everyone has been so
welcoming and friendly.”
Donna Burton
