TYMES TRUST ALERT
23rd January 2009

Jane Colby
Executive Director
The Young ME Sufferers Trust
www.tymestrust.org

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MORE FREE PLACES FOR VIRTUAL EDUCATION

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We're delighted to announce more free places for our over-16 members to
study online via the Trust's partnership with the Nisai Virtual Academy. New
funding is now available but funded places are limited so early application
is advised.

Email victoria.metcalfe@nisai.com for an application form
or call 0208 424 8475 for more information.

Simon and Dhruv at Nisai have been asking after our members who may be
experiencing difficulties in attending school or college. Have they missed
substantial amounts of their education due to illness, are they worrying
about falling behind or about their future?

As we all know only too well, when you have ME, attending school or college,
completing homework and revising for exams can be just too much. That's why
the Trust formed a partnership with the Nisai Virtual Academy back in 2004 -
you can read about its launch at the House of Lords in our report
'Succeeding With ME' at www.tymestrust.org/pdfs/succeedingwithme.pdf

(Also find many other free publications on education and ME at
www.tymestrust.com - possibly the easiest site to navigate in the known
world...?!)

The NVA is an online school providing live and interactive lessons with
subject specialist teachers. Students can attend from any location with
internet access, including their own home, and the wide range of courses
includes GCSEs and A Levels.

Results are more than impressive, they are often way above the national
achievement by healthy children. Students consistently achieve higher grades
than their peers in mainstream education.

Timetables, lessons and coursework are designed around individual needs and
give support to help students achieve their true potential. One of them
said: 'I want to let people know that there's something out there. It's a
fun way to learn. I am a lot happier and my confidence has grown' (Lorna,
Nisai A Level student).

So The Young ME Sufferers Trust, in partnership with the Nisai Virtual
Academy, has now secured further funding from the Learning and Skills
Council to allow more students to study from home at no cost to themselves.

Simon says: 'Enrolment is easy, and can see you beginning your lessons in a
matter of days. All you need to do is contact Nisai for a registration form.
Simply complete and return your form, together with a letter from your
doctor, and you could join the many other young people who are accessing
learning in this way.' Another of the students comments: 'This is a
brilliant way to learn, as the teachers are great. It's also really nice to
have contact with other people in your class' (Richard, 16, GCSE Student).

For more information and a form you can call the NVA direct on 0208 424
8475, or email Victoria, the student enrolment officer there, on
victoria.metcalfe@nisai.com. You can also find out more information online
at www.nisai.com.

As a former head teacher, I am just so pleased to see our members succeed.
Often they have been made to feel failures, which is completely unnecessary.

NOTE: Funded places are limited but preference is currently being given to
Young ME Sufferers and there is still time to enrol for the January intake.

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Jane Colby is Executive Director of The Young ME Sufferers Trust.
She was a Headteacher for nine years, a member of the government
Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on CFS/ME and co-authored
ME/CFS In UK Schools, the largest epidemiological study of ME to
date. She is a member of the National Association of Educational
Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants (now ASPECT), a life member
of the National Association of Head Teachers and a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts.

Copyright (c) 2009 The Young ME Sufferers Trust