A bit about me and my manifesto

<div class&equals;"fr-view"><p>Hi fellow students<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I hope you are well&period; I am Charon the current WELS Faculty Rep standing for re election&period; I thought I would tell you a bit about myself&period; I am a mature student studying in the school of Education Childhood Youth and Sport at this time I am studying a BSc in Sport and Fitness&period; I have previously completed my BA &lpar;Hons&rpar; in Primary Education and a Masters of Education in Inclusive Practice my dissertation was completed on Understanding Dyslexia in an on line learning environment&period; I have two sons aged 24 and 30 years old and 3 cats who invariably join on line meetings&period; I am a carer to my 24 year old who is Neurodivergent as am I&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>My Manifesto <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The issue that I believe is significantly impacting students within the Faculty of Wellbeing&comma; Education&comma; and Language Studies and the wider Open University is the awarding gaps among our students&period; The focus of Access and Participation is currently on students studying with mental health challenges&comma; Black students&comma; and those from areas identified by the Index of Multiple Deprivation &lpar;IMD&rpar;&comma; which highlights regions with significant social deprivation&period; The faculty’s emphasis is particularly on addressing the awarding gaps for students studying with mental health challenges and how we can support their academic journey&period; I plan to continue presenting information on supporting students with Mental Health Challenges to improve their academic outcomes within the faculty and wider Open University&period; I intend to develop this material for use in training for the Student Support Team and to incorporate it into Associate Lecturer training across the Open University&period; I will be presenting on this topic to Open University staff at the Faculty’s Equity&comma; Diversity&comma; Inclusion&comma; and Accessibility Festival in late April&period; To further support our underrepresented groups with their academic journey&comma; I have been championing student voice and co-creation in module assessments&period; Additionally&comma; I have been sharing top study tips on OU Connect and have presented on this topic during Open SU Welcome Weeks in September and January&period; A current project I am involved in is Turnitin&period; I have written a HOOT article on this and have co-created a video for the Open University&comma; so students have a better understanding of how to use it and what the report outcomes refer to&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Thank you for your consideration<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Best wishes<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Charon<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"zfWrap">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>