Dove Nest and Cognassist

Let’s jump into how Dove Nest, a provider of Leadership and Management apprenticeships, partnered with Cognassist to increase the identification of learning needs and improve learner support.

We sat down with Graham Murphy, Operations Director, to hear about their initial challenges and how Cognassist was able to positively impact their organisation and, most importantly, their learners.

A chance encounter

Dove Nest’s journey with Cognassist started at the Annual Apprenticeship Conference, a great opportunity for the sector to gather and discuss trends and the challenges they face. After speaking with Bud about ways to enhance their delivery, Dove Nest headed towards Cognassist, a smart solution to help people with learning difficulties.

As a relatively new provider, Dove Nest wanted to establish a comprehensive approach to learning support, making sure no learner was left behind. While they were aware of the potential financial aspect and the ability to claim funding for learner support, their highest priority was to do the right thing by every learner.

And Dove Nest’s commitment to supporting learners has paid off.

Outcomes

With Cognassist, they have been able to assess every learner in a digital-first and scalable way, with detailed reports for all. Once the learners discuss the results with their tutors, they are given full autonomy over whether to share their reports with their employer to let the employer know how they can be supported. It represents a huge boost in confidence for learners to be empowered with the knowledge of how they think and learn, and it goes a long way towards removing the stigma around learning needs.

Cognassist has not only helped Dove Nest’s learners, but their staff and tutors, too.

After being given neurodiversity training and access to the digital cognitive assessment, tutors feel more empowered to support learners. They don’t feel like they have to do it all themselves anymore, and the platform reinforces what they are delivering. Cognassist gives them a direction in which to focus their support and implement it effectively, which helps target their efforts in the most impactful ways.

While the process is fully tailored to each individual, it also provides robust consistency across the organisation and staff feel empowered by the knowledge of how to best support their learners. They are able to quickly and efficiently put reasonable adjustments in place and adapt their training based on a learner’s need.

Since using Cognassist, Dove Nest has seen a considerable impact on their staff, learners and the organisation as a whole. Staff confidence to support learners has increased, from tutors to everyone in the business. The platform instils an awareness for learners of their strengths and difficulties, which promotes a greater level of independence, confidence and motivation.

They have found it is also a valuable tool to break down barriers to learning, and the stigma that exists around learning support.

With the success of their Cognassist implementation, we wondered what Dove Nest would say to another provider considering using Cognassist.

The answer? It’s a no brainer for them.

Cognassist is easy to integrate into an organisation’s processes and allows them to give every learner a complete support package for hidden learning needs.

To sum up their Cognassist experience in one sentence: Cognassist is a support package that allows businesses to work smarter, not harder, whilst addressing a critical aspect of any educational delivery.