New College Worcester is delighted to unveil a newly refurbished Activities for Daily Living (ADL) kitchen, made possible thanks to the generous support of The Hobson Charity, The Saintbury Trust and The Worshipful Company of Lightmongers.

The new kitchen provides an accessible and practical learning environment where Sixth Form students who are blind or vision impaired can develop essential everyday skills and build confidence for life beyond NCW.

Learning skills for life

Activities for Daily Living is an important part of the Sixth Form experience at NCW, helping students develop the practical skills they need to become as independent as possible.

Lessons are tailored to each individual, taking into account the skills students already have and those they would like to develop. This can include meal planning, creating shopping lists, exploring different ways to shop, preparing food and cooking meals that suit their individual needs and abilities.

But ADL is about much more than cooking. The wider focus is on preparing students for adulthood and giving them practical strategies they can take with them when they move on from NCW, whether that’s to university, college or living within the community.

Accessibility at the heart of the new kitchen

Every detail of the refurbished kitchen has been carefully considered with accessibility in mind.

The kitchen features a height-adjustable worktop, which can be raised or lowered to suit different students and provides greater accessibility for students who use wheelchairs.

Contrasting worktops, alongside carefully considered lighting and ceiling improvements, have been incorporated with vision impairment in mind, creating a space where students can develop their skills in an environment designed around their needs.

Importantly, not everything in the kitchen has been specifically designed for people with a vision impairment, and that’s deliberate.

Students may encounter a wide variety of appliances once they leave NCW, from the kitchen at home to university halls of residence or their own future accommodation. The refurbished kitchen therefore includes modern household appliances, such as touchscreen hobs, that are becoming increasingly commonplace.

Students can learn techniques for making these appliances more accessible, including using bump-on stickers and other adaptations to identify controls and navigate their use.

The aim is not simply to teach students how to use one accessible kitchen, but to give them the confidence, skills and problem-solving techniques they can apply to different environments throughout their lives.

From NCW student to ADL teacher

For Emma Williams, NCW’s Teacher of ADL, the transformation of the kitchen is particularly special.

Emma Williams is a former NCW student and was once taught in the very kitchen where Emma Williams now supports the next generation of NCW students.

Emma Williams, Teacher of Activities for Daily Living:

“It’s incredibly special for me to be teaching in the same kitchen where I was once a student myself. The new space gives us so many opportunities to help students develop practical skills in an environment that has been thoughtfully designed around accessibility.

“What matters most is preparing our students for the real world, so being able to introduce them to everyday appliances, alongside adaptations and techniques that make them more accessible, is invaluable.”