People with learning disabilities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and the news at the weekend about DNR orders has highlighted just how far this goes. We, like Mencap, would like to see this group prioritised for the vaccine rollout.

Stacey was in our care 11 years ago. We’ve been speaking to her about her experiences after leaving care at 16 and what support she wants to see for young care experienced mothers.

It’s National Apprenticeship Week this week. The annual event highlights the work being done by employers and apprentices across the UK. We had a chat with Mandy Conduit, Learning and Development Advisor at the Together Trust to tell us how we future proof our workforce through apprenticeships and the fantastic opportunities we have to upskill, regardless of whether you are at the beginning or more established in your career.

With the UK's vaccination programme in full swing and the government aiming to offer the vaccine to 15 million people by mid-February, those most at risk will be shortly, or potentially already be going through the process of getting vaccinated. Further news has now reported that everyone on the GP learning disability register should be prioritised for a Covid vaccine.

Bridge College is excited to announce they have a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with LuxAI to develop robotic software. QT the Robot is designed to remove barriers to learning for students with autism and provides innovative opportunities for students to learn new skills.

Emily Lees is a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) at one of our specialist schools, Inscape House School. However, what makes her stand out is that Emily shares the same diagnosis as the young people she works with. We had a chat with Emily about how being autistic complements her in the workplace, job interviews and her mission to change society's approach to autistic people.

Following the Christmas period, some of our staff at Woodlands residential home, along with two young people living there, tested positive for Covid-19. Despite the unfortunate events, a group of amazing colleagues volunteered to create a core team and moved into the home for the week to ensure a supportive environment for our young people.

Vernon Building Society and Imagine Radio announced back in November that they had chosen to support the Together Trust for the second year running with their Christmas Toy Appeal.

There was an amazing response to the appeal last year, with hundreds of presents donated at Vernon Building Society branches in the run up to Christmas.

Making of Us brings together the expertise of partners across the arts, social care and education sectors. Artists will work with young people from the ages of 13 to 25 years facing adversity, to initiate mutual learning opportunities and new ways of collaborating.