Here are your candidates for Education President.

During this year's nomination process, all candidates were asked to answer the following questions as part of their manifestos:

👉 Question 1. Supporting students in a changing and pressured environment

Students are facing increasing pressures, including cost-of-living challenges, academic demands, and wellbeing concerns. As an Elected Officer, how would you work to support students to feel safe, supported, and able to succeed both on and off campus? 

👉 Question 2. Representation, trust, and meaningful student voice

Student representation is most effective when students trust that their voices lead to real change. How would you engage with a diverse range of students and ensure their feedback is meaningfully represented and acted upon during your time in office? 

👉 Question 3. Faculty Focus

Each of the three faculties at Edge Hill has its own distinct challenges and priorities. What do you see as the most significant challenge facing students in the faculty you are standing to represent, and how would you approach addressing it as an Elected Officer?

 

Please note: In the interests of fairness, the manifestos are published as submitted by the candidates. Edge Hill Students' Union has not edited any of the below manifestos. 

 

** DEWI BLOOR **

1.  

As an education student and Education President for the past year, I have first-hand experience of the pressures and difficulties students face. I initiated weekly walk and talk sessions in November for students to talk freely about any concerns, with positive feedback received from many attendees.

I also led the University’s 2025 Movember campaign, promoting positive mental health and raising over £1,140 for charity. I have strived to normalise conversations around wellbeing on campus by increasing awareness of Edge Well, ensuring students know how to access support.

I’ve arranged regular drop-in sessions this term for Education students to discuss any concerns with me in confidence and I follow up all issues raised with the relevant university team. If re-elected, I will continue to support students in every way I can, and represent their voice to the University, to ensure they receive the best support possible to achieve their ambitions.

 

2. 

My focus is to make sure students feel heard, respected and represented. I will continue to work with faculty staff to communicate all feedback received from students to ensure they have the best possible student experience and feel proud to be a part of EHU. I engage closely with all the other Student officers to ensure alignment and support for all Education students. From personal experience, I know how challenging and daunting it can be to communicate with sta . As someone with epilepsy, my student experience has sometimes been difficult as I used to have frequent seizures. Therefore a priority of mine is to represent those students with physical and/or hidden disabilities by ensuring their voices are heard and opportunities are maximised to develop, support and enhance all students’ learning and development at EHU.

My commitment remains to listen and act, to ensure the best outcome for those I represent.

 

3. 

Some students have reported to me that they feel overwhelmed by balancing university expectations with placement demands. My own personal experience of this difficulty as an education student gives me great understanding of these challenges and the determination to help students address them.

Throughout my year as Education President, I have developed a close collaborative relationship with students and staff to improve placement support through drop-in sessions, practical guidance sessions, and wellbeing initiatives. This will continue if I am re-elected. From my own difficulties with placement my priority is to promote clearer placement communication, improve access to guidance resources, and implement more wellbeing support tailored specifically to Education students.

Through collaboration with the Faculty of Education we can streamline processes, reduce unnecessary stress and provide additional support to ensure every student feels confident and equipped to succeed to the best of their ability and enjoy their time at EHU.

 

** Ruben Smith **

Question 1. Supporting students in a changing and pressured environment

Students are facing increasing pressures, including cost-of-living challenges, academic demands, and wellbeing concerns. As an Elected Officer, how would you work to support students to feel safe, supported, and able to succeed both on and off campus? 

Education students are under huge pressure. The cost of living, unpaid placements, heavy workloads, and emotional demands mean many students are just trying to get through. Too often, struggling is treated as something you should deal with quietly. I don’t believe that’s right. 

As Faculty President, I would push for support that is clear, accessible, and built around real student needs. That means better communication about wellbeing and financial support, and challenging systems that make it harder for disabled, neurodivergent, caring, or working students to succeed. 

I would be visible, approachable, and honest with students about what can change and how. My aim is simple: students should feel safe asking for help, supported throughout their course, and able to succeed both on and off campus. 

 

Question 2. Representation, trust, and meaningful student voice

Student representation is most effective when students trust that their voices lead to real change. How would you engage with a diverse range of students and ensure their feedback is meaningfully represented and acted upon during your time in office? 

 

Student voice only matters when it leads to action. Too many students give feedback and never hear what happens next. I want to change that.  I care deeply about representation, whoever you are. As a man in Early Years, I know what it feels like to be underrepresented and how much visibility and belonging matter. That experience drives my commitment to making sure all students feel heard, especially those who don’t usually speak up. 

I would use accessible ways to gather feedback, including informal conversations, online forms, and being present around campus and on placement. I would take recurring issues to the right forums and report back clearly. Representation should be honest, transparent, and visible. If students speak up, they should see the impact. 

 

Question 3. Faculty Focus

Each of the three faculties at Edge Hill has its own distinct challenges and priorities. What do you see as the most significant challenge facing students in the faculty you are standing to represent, and how would you approach addressing it as an Elected Officer? 

One of the biggest challenges in the Faculty of Education is making sure inclusion and wellbeing don’t stop at the classroom door, especially on placement. Students are training to support others, yet their own needs are often overlooked. 

As Faculty President, I would start by listening to students’ real experiences, particularly around reasonable adjustments, communication, and wellbeing on placement. I would raise these issues at faculty level and push for clearer, more consistent, and more inclusive practices. 

Success means students feeling supported rather than singled out, and confident that inclusion is part of the faculty’s culture, not an afterthought. Education should model the values it teaches, and I would work to make sure our faculty lives up to that. 

 

** Seyi Joseph **

 

1. Supporting students in a changing and pressured environment

As Faculty President for Education, I would prioritise creating a supportive, inclusive environment where every student feels safe, heard, and able to succeed. I would work closely with the Students’ Union, university services, and course representatives to ensure student concerns about workload, wellbeing, and financial pressures are raised and acted upon. I would promote access to wellbeing and academic support services, ensuring students know where to go when they need help. I would also advocate for fair deadlines, flexible learning support where appropriate, and clear communication between staff and students.

To address cost-of-living challenges, I would actively promote hardship funds, campus employment opportunities, and affordable resources available through the university. Importantly, I would maintain regular engagement with students through forums, drop-ins, and surveys so their voices shape decisions. My goal is to ensure students feel supported academically, financially, and emotionally throughout their university experience.

 

2. Representation, trust, and meaningful student voice

As Faculty President for Education, I would focus on building strong relationships with students so they feel confident that their voices truly matter. I would work closely with course representatives, societies, and student groups to ensure a wide range of perspectives are heard, including those from underrepresented or quieter student communities.

I would regularly host open forums, drop-in sessions, and online feedback opportunities so students can easily share their experiences and concerns. Importantly, I would ensure transparency by clearly communicating what feedback has been raised with the faculty and what actions or progress have been made.

By working collaboratively with staff and the Students’ Union, I would push for practical changes based on student feedback, whether related to teaching quality, placements, workload, or wellbeing support. My aim is to create a culture where students feel listened to, respected, and confident that their input leads to meaningful improvements across the Faculty of Education.

 

3. Faculty Focus

Each of the three faculties at Edge Hill has its own distinct challenges and priorities. 

One of the most significant challenges facing students in the Faculty of Education is balancing the demands of academic study with the pressures of school placements. Placements are essential for developing teaching skills, but they can also create stress due to workload, travel costs, and the challenge of managing both university assignments and classroom responsibilities.

As Faculty President, I would work closely with students to gather feedback on their placement experiences and ensure their concerns are represented in faculty discussions. I would advocate for clearer communication about placement expectations, improved coordination between university and placement schools, and fair consideration of workload during placement periods.

I would also push for greater support for students facing financial or wellbeing pressures during placements, including better awareness of hardship funding and support services. My aim would be to ensure placements remain a positive, valuable experience that supports students’ development without compromising their wellbeing or academic success.

 

** RE-OPEN NOMINATIONS **

You might have seen RON listed as a candidate in our elections before.  Don’t get confused though, RON isn't a person, it's an acronym, and it stands for Re-Open Nominations. 

If you vote for RON, that’s your way of telling us that you don’t think any of the current candidates are the right fit for the role. So, if RON gets the most votes, then no candidates win, and we’ll start the election process again. 

Students will always have the option to vote for RON in the elections.  They’re all about who represents you as a student, and if you don't think any candidate represents you, then you should have the opportunity to tell us.