Designed to celebrate tutors who make a lasting impact on their learners through outstanding teaching and support, this award recognises individuals who go above and beyond to transform confidence, skills and life chances. Lynn Baker is highly commended, for whose work in English education is reconnecting learners with their potential.
Lynn Baker, Functional Skills lecturer at Lincoln College, is recognised for her exceptional ability to engage and transform learners who have repeatedly struggled with GCSE English or who have extremely low literacy skills. Many of her students arrive disengaged, lacking confidence, or with no experience of mainstream education.
A colleague commented: “What Lynn possesses is an undeniable ability to connect with even the most scared and defensive learners.”
Connection and personalisation
Through a personalised approach, Lynn makes English both relevant and enjoyable. She makes it her mission to find out about her learners’ interests and aligning tasks to this as well as their chosen trades, she creates meaningful learning experiences that build confidence and encourage engagement. For example, tasking Automotive learners to write on their passion, cars, resulted in pages and pages of written content.
Breaking down barriers
Lynn’s approach delivers outstanding results. Her learners make remarkable progress, with a 90% success rate of moving from Grade 1 towards Grade 4 over a two-year period. Some students have achieved an incredible three grades higher than their starting point in just one year. Her ability to break down barriers to learning enables students to see English not as a challenge, but as a tool for their future success.
Success for some is a Grade 6, for some it is writing a short story and building confidence. Lynn celebrates everyone with joy and visible kindness, making learners want to work hard, and all learners leave her lessons with pride in what they’ve achieved.
Dedicated to development
Lynn’s dedication extends beyond the classroom, leading staff training, supporting continuous professional development, and offering additional support sessions to ensure every learner has the opportunity to succeed.
She has also completed her Advanced Teaching Status and is often referred to by colleagues as the college’s ‘CPD Champion’ for her commitment to improvement. Lynn’s teaching style is modern and interactive; the most up to date apps, games and assessment tools are used to engage learners to hook them in to learn.
The impact
Lynn’s impact is perhaps best illustrated through the progress of her learners. One such example is Luke, who progressed from Functional Skills to Level 3 Media, and is now thriving in his educational journey, supported by Lynn’s guidance and encouragement. He has used his skills to create two magazines on Heavy Metal music as part of his media coursework, paying particular care and attention to the accuracy of his writing.
Luke is now a voracious reader and also enjoys writing poetry. He received the English and Maths Award at the Lincoln College FE Awards 2025 and has joined the Newark Town of Culture Youth Forum, which is testament to Lynn’s unique and effective teaching style.
By transforming confidence and creating pathways for progression, Lynn’s work is making a lasting difference to the lives of her learners and the wider college community. Her commitment, creativity and impact make her a truly deserving recipient of this award.
Congratulations Lynn! To read more inspirational stories from this year’s award winners, visit our Aspiration Awards 2026 page.
