| Neurodiversity in the Workforce We were given a presentation on how the school prepares its pupils for a work environment and given guidance on how to manage talented individuals who just require a little care and attention to thrive. Edwards Vacuum (Atlas Copco) were also on hand, with Debbie Smith, who is a Product Compliance Process Manager in Burgess Hill. Debbie has been responsible for setting up a range of initiatives to enable students from LVS Hassocks to engage with the company, including a programme of extended work placements over six weeks, one day a week. Numerous student site visits have included, for example, interesting coding games for the students. Debbie has also established at the Burgess Hill site a ‘Neuro-Cafe’. This is a monthly staff meet up that looks at how to engage with neurodivergent individuals in the work place. This latter scheme has since been taken up by multiple Atlas Copco sites around the world. Our final brief presentation offered up a taster of what to expect a little later this year, as a whole range of Skills Bootcamps launch across Sussex. These will be tuned to the needs of local businesses. Expect to hear more about these in this newsletter. Read further below about what’s in store. We’d like to thank LVS Hassocks for hosting our event and the superlative brunch buffet that was served.  |
 Mady Yazdi (Assistant Head) LVS Hassocks  Mel Hargreaves – Skills Bootcamps |
| richard.cox@bhbpa.co.uk 07393 728688 |