Photo: Sian Hutchings holding the nasen award 2022 for Lincolnshire Young Voices.

Lincolnshire Young Voices (LYV) has collected the top prize for Co-production at nasen’s sixth annual Awards. LYV was put in the spotlight at a glittery ceremony at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham for its remarkable work in helping their pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and learning differences thrive and achieve.

The Awards are hosted by nasen – the National Association for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – and supported by sponsors Scanning Pens, who is also the awards headline sponsor, Axcis Education, and official awards media partner, Schools Week. nasen is the leading membership charity that supports children and young people with SEND to reach their full potential, whilst being a champion, friend and protector of the SEND workforce.

Scooping nasen’s Award for Co-Production with Children and Young People and their Families, LYV was recognised for its creation of an accessible and impactful film, The Rough Guide – A Guide to Not Putting Your Foot In It, for any practitioner or professional nervous about understanding how best to communicate with, and support, a child or young person with additional needs.

The young people working with LYV have lived experience, and their ideas and thinking have led The Rough Guide to become a first-rate practical resource. In addition to creating this film, which is now being rolled out across Lincolnshire, the Midlands region and beyond, the group has led the way in enabling others to understand how to support young people with additional needs to live the lives they want to live.

LYV joins 17 other award winners, judged by a panel of leading professionals with a wealth of experience in education and SEND – as well as individuals with lived experience.

Emma Cross, Co- Chair of Lincolnshire Young Voices said: “It’s wonderful for the hard work of our committee members to be recognised in this way, and I would like to thank them for all the enthusiasm and dedication they have shown in making this training a reality.

“We knew GPs and other professionals wanted more training on working with those with SEND. And we knew we were the perfect people to help because we have lived experience of disabilities and additional needs and a passion to inspire change for people in our position and those around them.

“We’ve created a resource which is honest, yet light-hearted, and the overriding message is one that not only professionals can learn from: We all get it wrong or ‘put our foot in it’ sometimes, but keep trying, keep communicating.

“We’re confident this approach will lead to better outcomes for people who have SEND.”

Annamarie continued: “We received an amazing number of nominations for the awards this year and it has been a great honour to recognise and reward the people who are making a real difference for SEND. We very much hope the inclusive work of our winners, who go above and beyond every day to help children and young people thrive, will inspire more great work in the sector going forward, and help strengthen our community’s sense of unity, collaboration and possibilities.”

For more information on the nasen Awards, and to find out more about the winners, visit: www.nasen.org.uk/awards or follow #nasenAwards2022