English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is thrilled to announce that its patron, Dr. Kush Kanodia, has been awarded the Campaigner of the Year Award 2024 by the prestigious Sheila McKechnie Foundation.

The Sheila McKechnie Foundation’s Campaigner of the Year Award recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to social change through campaigning and advocacy.

Dr Kanodia has won the award for his exceptional work in advocating for reasonable adjustments for disabled people within London’s ULEZ scheme. His advocacy led him to meet with Mayor Sadiq Khan, resulting in significant changes to the scheme, including the introduction of a £10,000 grant for wheelchair accessible vehicles and an exemption for 250,000 disabled people.

Dr Kanodia was also the seminal figure in removing NHS England car parking charges at hospitals, which many claim was the most impactful positive change for disabled people since the formation of the NHS.

ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw said:

A massive congratulations to our incredible patron, Dr Kanodia – what an amazing achievement! His tireless work and dedication to creating a more inclusive and accessible society are an inspiration to us all. 

Dr Kanodia was drawn to ESB after hearing of its Outreach Campaign, which financially supports organisations and groups whose learners face disadvantage due to poverty, migrant or asylum seeker status, or special educational needs and disabilities. In November 2023, we were named ‘Awarding Organisation of the Year’ at the 2023 Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) Awards for our wonderful outreach work.

We all want to be seen, be heard and understood, for our strengths to be appreciated, and for barriers to learning to be removed. At ESB, we offer Oracy qualifications, which are accessible, and which can be adapted to many of our learners who may describe themselves as neurodivergent. We are proud that this portfolio includes specialist Oracy qualifications for learners with significant learning needs to furnish these learners with experiences that can help to remove barriers to learning, by enabling access to a wide range of curricula, building relationships and a sense of belonging, and developing self-esteem and a positive self-identity.

We look forward to Dr Kanodia getting involved in ESB’s mission to remove barriers for learners. I am in no doubt of the positive impact that he will bring to our work.

You can watch the awards here (1:27):

If you would like to learn more about the remarkable campaign work of Dr. Kanodia, you can visit his website: https://kushkanodia.com/.

About English Speaking Board (International) Ltd.

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is committed to empowering children, young people and adults with oracy and English language skills, enabling them to achieve their aspirations and attain a confidence-building qualification. ESB can demonstrate how the impact of these skills and the confidence they develop to realise potential of all and close the disadvantage gap. 

Are you keen to learn more about ESB’s Oracy qualifications for all learners, which can be seamlessly integrated into your curriculum and made accessible?

ESB offers a full suite of Oracy qualifications that can be adjusted for learners. Please click here to find out more. In addition, ESB offers four categories of qualifications for learners with significant special educational needs and disabilities aged 16 and over who do not hold a Level 1 qualification or higher.

You can hear more about the impact of our work from one of our valued centres providing a specialist environment, Aurora Foxes, a residential college and training hotel for 16-25-year-olds based in Somerset.

Learn more about how ESB assessments help prepare learners with significant learning needs for work and life.

For more information, please email us at business@esbuk.org to arrange a meeting with our CEO, Tina Renshaw. We would be delighted to hear from you.