CENMAC Highlights of the Year


Image (c) Charlton Park Academy - Abdi Omar @AbdiEnterprises joining our meeting online and supporting us.

Dear CENMAC Community,  

As we come to the end of the school year, I’m thankful that CENMAC has risen to the challenges the last year has thrown at us. Never before has technology been as essential to learning, life and for those using assistive technologies. As one of our busiest years I want to thank the team especially those at Charlton Park Academy and the staff supporting the Advisory Team in meeting the needs of students, families, schools and staff we support. 

Our CENMAC assessments use person-centred approaches and during this last academic year I’ve been reminded just how powerful progress can be when we listen carefully to the real aspirations of the students and families we work with. The importance of taking time for our wellbeing, appreciation of our environment and awareness of pace, has been a valuable learning curve and can only have a positive impact as we face the coming year.

An exciting project for September 2021…

New at Charlton Park Academy is a fantastic building with six new classrooms and a residential provision called Mulberry Tree House. CENMAC are supporting an exciting new project to universally design these classrooms into fully interactive teaching and learning environments. Through exciting new software by Sensory Guru, they will be integrating multiple access methods and ways for students to show their potential. We look forward to sharing our progress and experiences over the next year.  

Kathryn Stowell
Head of CENMAC
CENMAC Blog: cenmac.com/news  |  Linktr.ee/Cenmac

What a year this has been!

The CENMAC Team - 2021 Highlights

Image (c) www.penmendonca.com
 

What a year this has been! The CENMAC team has almost doubled in size, with the addition of five new members of staff. We have seen numbers of referrals rise throughout the past year, and we now work with more than 600 students across over 200 settings in London and surrounding areas. 

There have been many challenges this year, as we have adjusted our working practices to respond to the ongoing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have all needed to rethink how we safely continue our work with such a large and diverse cohort, some of whom are extremely vulnerable. One of the unexpected benefits of students learning from home for lengthy periods has been the development of our relationships with families, and an increase in parental participation in our training sessions. 
 

Highlights of our year include: 

• The introduction of our TA of the Month Award. 

• Being able to respond and deliver continuous support throughout periods of local and national ‘lockdown’. 

• Being asked to speak at various events, including the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology (APPGAT) Symposium and the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Special Interest Group (AAC SIG). 

• The completion of our Animation Project with an animated short film written and created by a group of CENMAC students. 

• Expanding our knowledge and supporting schools with new ways of delivering teaching online.

• Developing new relationships with some exciting new companies including Scribeasy and Abdi Enterprises. 

• Each and every time we hear positive comments from or about the students we support about what a difference their technology has made to their communication or learning. 

Abdi Omar's Wake-up Call in 2020
By Abdi Omar
 

2020 was a year that the world changed and it changed people's lives for the worse. For Abdi Omar, the lockdown periods were a wake-up call and it allowed him to think about his future.

Abdi decided that he wants to create his own company and create something which can benefit billions of people around the world. Abdi Enterprises was established in 2020 August and this was a huge milestone for Abdi Omar. Abdi Enterprises produces incredible life changing content that makes people realise that they are underestimating what they can achieve in their life. Abdi Enterprises is committed to change how the world sees people with disability and understand they can achieve what people without disability can achieve.

Abdi Enterprises has ranges of services for individuals and organisations to get to the next level and keep going so they can fulfill their goals. Abdi Omar is committed to inspire and motivate the next generation so they understand in this life the only limit is one that they set for themselves. We know everyone has different paths to success. Let us help to find yours and discover that you are limitless.

Abdi Enterprises website: www.abdienterprises.com

Summer Holiday 

Summer online resources for children and young people. 
Click on each image for more details about Microsoft Education: