A “groundbreaking” Booths store is helping to teach people with learning difficulties learning real life retail skills.
The supermarket has fitted out a small store at Bleasdale School in Silverdale, Lancashire, which caters to children and adults aged two to 19 with profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Bleasdale invited Booths to participate in its work to create “real life environments” to help students develop confidence and independence, as well as work experience that could set them up for a career in retail.
The store is open to fellow students as well as members of the public. Pupils man the store for at least an hour a week, and can gain experience handling money, completing transactions and developing crucial social skills. It also gives members of the local Silverdale community opportunity to connect with the pupils.
Booths worked with a number of its external suppliers to kit out the store, providing shelving, tills, trolleys and signage, as well as physical products to be sold.
“This shop provides individual learning opportunities for all students, along with a range of learning experiences regardless of their disability,” said Becky Parker, lead practitioner at Bleasdale School.
“Each student will access the employment rooms once per week for up to one hour, and over time students will gain varying levels of understanding about different job roles, discover their interests and demonstrate their preferences. We are delighted with how things have gone so far, and our students have really enjoyed working with Booths. We hope to further develop workplace encounters and invite external employers to work alongside pupils in the space.”
Booths COO Rebecca Hardman said: “The Bleasdale School project is an example of how Booths can support our local communities in a practical and inspiring way.
“We are so proud of our incredible colleagues who were involved in this project, along with several partners and suppliers. This project shared our love of retailing while helping to equip students with essential practical skills, and we were delighted to be part of it.”
Read more: Booths creates new executive team to deliver ‘broader business strategy’
It’s one of a number of community initiatives under the supermarket’s Good Grocer programme. The supermarket has also supported Elsie’s Story, the charitable trust set up by David and Jenni Stancombe, in memory of their seven-year-old daughter Elsie Dot, who was a victim of the Southport attack in July 2024. Jenni was store manager of Booths’ Hesketh Bank supermarket.
The supermarket has partnered with a local horticulture supplier Arden Lea to launch a new potted Elsie Dot Rose at Hesketh Bank. Four pounds from the sale of each rose will be donated to Elsie’s Story.
No comments yet