A dyslexic mum who launched her own bakery business has been invited to attend the Conservative Party Annual Conference next month.
From leaving school with no GCSEs to starting her own business, Lauren Baker, 33, has worked hard to achieve success despite her learning difficulty.
The Tockholes mum opened The Baker’s Bake after she found a passion in baking and wants to inspire and support children diagnosed with dyslexia.
Lauren runs stalls at markets across East Lancashire and was handpicked by Lisa Cowley, owner of Independent Street, to attend the conference, and has been in contact with Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry ahead of the event.
Lauren said: “I was so shocked when I was invited along because I’m a sole worker and haven’t got the money for loads of marketing so to know my product is good enough to be up there with the bigger brands and owners is amazing.
“It’s a massive opportunity for me. There’s going to be thousands of people there on the day so I’m going to try and speak to politicians and key figures on the education side of the party about dyslexia in schools.
“I’m so grateful for Jake Berry who said he will introduce me to some people at the event which is brilliant.”
Lauren struggled throughout school due to dyslexia and says she left the education system when she was advised to quit school in year 10.
She said: “It’s still a day-to-day battle with dyslexia and living with it is hard. Even with things like marketing for my business, promoting online is hard and with the added pressure of spelling, you open yourself up to trolls.
“I have a five-year-old who I can’t even help with homework which made me break down the other day. He’ll bring me a book to read him and I have to explain that I can’t because of my dyslexia but it’s hard for him to understand.
“That’s why being invited to this conference means so much. I can be a role model to my son. He knows how hard I work and he sees me doing it every day. While I can’t help with the academic side of things, I can teach them work ethic and practical skills like cooking, cleaning and finance skills that there not taught in schools.”
Lauren will be trading alongside 18 other independent business stalls at the Conservative Party Annual Conference from Sunday, October 3 to Wednesday, October 6.
She added: “I’ll obviously be promoting my business there but I want to speak up about a better education system for children with dyslexia, or children who struggle with school because it should benefit everyone.”
You can visit Lauren’s business Baker’s Bake on Facebook or Instagram at @bakersbake21.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel