15 October
Aurora Hanley School earns award for innovative cooking project
Aurora Hanley School in Stoke-on-Trent have won the 2024 NASS Innovation Award for their ‘Children’s Community Cooking Project - Tackling Food Waste and Poverty' - a project set up by food technology teacher Tina Amison to help support people in need in the local area.
Tina said: “I’m so proud to accept the Innovation award for the Children's community cooking project especially when the other finalists had such great innovative projects themselves. I’d like to thank Julie Martin, Tracy Whitehurst and Michelle Jones for believing in the project and also believing and trusting that I could make it a success. This award would not be possible without our amazing teaching assistant team and our fabulous students who work tirelessly for others. The young people are exposed to all of our Aurora values throughout this project.
Caring: cooking high-quality nutritious food for families who may not be able to provide for themselves. Showing how caring Aurora Hanley is to the wider community.
Ambitious: To lead a project that is sustainable for now and for the future.
Trusted: To ensure all due-diligence measures are adhered to regarding health & hygiene and health & safety. Allowed to use the Church facilities and Aurora are key holders for the Church premises.
Collaborative: working in partnership with our local Abbey Hulton Coop store, St John's Church and the young people of Aurora Hanley School.
Innovative: To be allowed the opportunity to have creative ideas and allowed to implement them.”
Julie Martin, Head of School said: “It’s brilliant to win the NASS award for Innovation, and for Tina to be recognized in this way. She has worked so hard to lead this project and it is so rewarding to see the impact on our local community.”
Deirdre Fitzpatrick, this year’s Innovation Category Judge said: “What a fabulous and extremely worthwhile project.
“This project not only benefits the students but the communities in which they live. It has the potential to have a significant impact on the students: by educating young people about food poverty and how they can support others, it teaches them to be socially responsible.
“The project enables them to feel what it is like to be good citizens and gives them the skills to continue these activities long after they leave the school. Even if they don’t get a job when they leave the school, you, Aurora Hanley, have given them a sense of purpose, value and pride. There is no better schooling.”
Claire Dorer OBE, CEO of NASS said: "Congratulations to the Aurora Hanley team for winning this year’s Innovation Award for their Children’s Community Cooking Project, especially in the face of such tough competition!
“This award celebrates the dedication and passion of everyone involved, particularly Tina, whose vision and determination brought this innovative idea to life. It’s inspiring to see how students have been deeply involved in everything - from designing the logo to learning essential life skills like budgeting, cooking and hygiene. It’s truly impressive to see the impact it has made so far on students.
“Projects like this highlight the importance of our annual NASS Awards and why it is one of our favourite parts of the year! Our awards provide an opportunity to showcase the excellence across all our special schools, helping them to celebrate their successes, their staff and the meaningful difference they are making.”
