Harington scheme success story

In June 2022 a student came for an assessment day with Harington Gardeners for a pre-Internship.

He was profoundly Deaf with additional needs. 

On the day of assessment, the student (G.O.) had been accompanied by his brother on the bus, and during the day he was supported by a Communication Support Worker (CSW) from the agency Deaf Umbrella.

Under the instruction of Martin, G.O. used a lawnmower, and Martin was impressed.

However, we were unsure whether G.O. would be able to travel independently and also access the English and Maths required for the full Supported Internship starting in September.

As a child, G.O. attended Heathlands Primary School for the Deaf, the largest Deaf school within the UK.  He learnt how to use Sign Language there, which, crucially, opened up his communication to the world.

G.O. went on to be a student at Oaklands College, St Albans, where he arrived by taxi and was accompanied back to his taxi escort at the end of the day. He started in the Supported Learning department, with a one-to-one CSW to support him throughout lessons, and also the college was advised that he needed supervision during lunchtimes.

He then progressed to a course in Horticulture L1 where he enjoyed being outdoors and gradually started to become more independent at break times.

He was supported through Covid “stay at home” by his regular CSW. His brothers helped him access Teams to join in with the lessons. this was obviously a very difficult time for all the students and was not always a success.

Then, G.O. returned to college early as one of the vulnerable students. 

Following his assessment day, during the summer of 2022, G.O. was lucky enough to have Travel training with Martin, opening up a whole new world where he could arrive and leave Harington at Highgate with no one accompanying him.

Deaf Umbrella was asked to support G.O. in his journey to become a fully paid Gardener in the Harington Team.

Thanks to his Head Gardeners, mentors, fellow gardeners and support staff, G.O. has gone on to become one of the hardest working, strongest, most helpful, polite and proactive members of the Team.

To see him at lunchtimes now, shopping in the town and using his bank card, is something we weren’t sure was possible during his school and college years.

Everyone has found their unique way to reach G.O., and each person uses their own visual way to communicate with their Deaf friend.

I have seen his colleagues gain in confidence themselves by using visual clues such as pointing and using their hands in shapes, sizes and directions to describe tasks and tools on the job.

G.O.’ story shows us that, in a nurturing environment such as Haringtons and with the right guidance and support, a student with many additional needs can indeed flourish and become an invaluable member of the workforce.

Gardeners have enjoyed their breaks on the bench at Nansen Village

We will definitely miss his presence:

• In the classroom, searching out biscuits and showing us funny videos.  

• In the van pointing out old, rich cars and new buildings along the way. 

Max, Sam, Jane, signing support staff and ALL his Gardening colleagues have helped G.O. to mature into a worker we enjoy having around. His friends here have certainly helped to set up the strong foundations needed for this young man to continue in his career.

I know that everyone at Harington and Deaf Umbrella will want to wish G.O. every success with his future after his contract is finished in August.

GO has enjoyed joining his colleagues at the Thursday Community Lunch in Highgate where he has connected with other Deaf people