by Tracy Gillett, Director of Education, Condover College
Today is the final article in our series looking at the best of Post-16 SEND education innovation, featuring winners of the Natspec Innovation awards. Natspec is the association of specialist colleges.
For many young people with disabilities, the inclusion of physical and speech and language therapies is as vital after age 16 as it is for younger children. The Grafton Centre, part of Condover College in Shropshire, provides individually tailored learning programmes for students with moderate to severe learning difficulties, including profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). The college won the award for its pioneering, interdisciplinary approach, combining physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.
With over two decades of experience in SEND post-16 education, Tracy Gillett is Director of Education at Condover College, where she’s been part of the team since 2012. A passionate advocate for inclusive education, Tracy oversees the college’s outstanding and award-winning education team, driving innovation and student-centred support. She also brings her expertise to national roles as Vice Chair of Natspec, where she champions quality and inclusion across specialist education. She has written for us about the programme that scooped the award.
How our innovative interdisciplinary working supports our post-16 disabled students to thrive by Tracy Gillett
Condover College’s Grafton Centre is an outstanding specialist further education college based in the heart of Shropshire. Students can attend on a day or residential basis. As a non-campus-based college, education is delivered across a 38-week academic year, Monday to Friday.
Residential placements are offered in high-quality homes within the local community, available on a 38 or 52-week basis, depending on funding. In addition to our core education provision, we offer supported living, lifelong residential care for post-college learners, an opportunities programme for both day and residential students, and short-break services.
Why The Grafton Centre won the award
Traditionally delivered as separate, one-to-one sessions outside the classroom, the Natspec Innovation Award recognised the way the Grafton Centre combines both physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. Because of how it’s usually done, learned can find it hard to engage fully with these therapies. At Grafton, they’re now often delivered together within the classroom, creating a holistic, sensory-rich experience, tailored to each student.
This integrated approach results in highly engaging sessions and measurably better outcomes. Each therapy strengthens the other: enhanced communication supports physical development, while purposeful physical activities reinforce communication skills. Learners benefit from developing essential physical and communication skills, all while growing in confidence, interacting with peers, and increasing their participation in group settings.
Benefits for the whole college
For staff, it’s also a unique professional development opportunity. Working closely with therapists, educators informally learn new strategies they can carry into the wider curriculum. In turn, students transfer their skills across college life—into classrooms, community settings, and at home.
Therapists and education staff work collaboratively to support students with physiotherapy needs. Using tools such as Grillo walkers, hoist systems, hydrotherapy, and rebound therapy, each learner receives a bespoke programme designed to improve access to learning, social interaction, and independence.
At the heart of the Grafton Centre’s success is its Total Communication Approach—an inclusive framework using speech, visuals, technology, and sensory tools, ensuring every learner can express themselves. Staff personalise communication methods for each student, whether through iPads, AAC devices, eye-gaze technology, flashcards, or talking mats.
This approach supports the development of functional skills, confidence, and independence, preparing learners for more fulfilling lives beyond college.
A college for the community
Grafton is more than a college—it’s a community. Families speak of the trust and confidence they feel in the staff’s ability to support young adults.
“The staff are more like extended family,” one parent shared. “They don’t just care—they believe in our young adults’ abilities and dreams.” That spirit of belief and collaboration resonates throughout the Grafton Centre, where teamwork and inclusion are part of everyday life.
National Recognition for Outstanding Work
The recent Natspec Award wasn’t just a win for the college—it was a celebration for the entire community. Lorraine Mulroney, award judge, noted:
“Condover College staff and students past and present should be proud of the work they have done in ensuring that interdisciplinary working is at the heart of what they do. The fact that this been driven by listening to student’s experience is what matters. They have truly worked their magic to combine physiotherapy and speech and language therapy (which is not common practice between professions) to ensure a personalised and holistic approach delivers impact and progress for all students. Speech Language and Communication is the key to everything! This way of working has shown wider benefits to all staff and students”.
Lorraine Mulroney, Natspec Innovation Award judge
“We are so pleased that our person-centred approach to delivering and embedding therapies into education has been recognised in this way. We have an amazing team of expert staff at the Grafton centre who work in collaboration to maximise the impact that therapy can have on each learner’s progress. The learners were so excited to have won this award and they enjoyed celebrating the news”
Tracy Gillett, Director of Education
Celebrating our young people
Condover College continues to lead by example, showing how dedication, innovation, and compassion create a truly inclusive educational environment. Whether on the path to employment or developing communication skills, learners at CCL are not just supported—they’re celebrated.
To learn more about the Grafton Centre or Condover College’s services, visit the Condover College website. You can also email admissions@condovercl.org.uk or call Michelle Docherty, Admissions and Contracts Manager, on 01743 872250.
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Also read:
- The college training young people with SEND to succeed in digital and creative careers
- Let Me In: How disabled college students are offering accessibility expertise to transform communities
- Read all our posts about Post-16 education
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
What kind of government is “bold” enough to scrap statutory EHCPs from vulnerable children?May 16, 2025
The SEND reforms in the Schools White Paper reveal rights given, and rights stripped awayFebruary 24, 2026
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- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals - September 3, 2026
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children - August 28, 2026
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people - August 25, 2026
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