Aspirational initiative supports Birmingham youngsters

An initiative from Central England Co-operative is giving students with special educational needs or disadvantaged backgrounds a better chance of getting a job. The society’s Sense to Aspire programme,...

An initiative from Central England Co-operative is giving students with special educational needs or disadvantaged backgrounds a better chance of getting a job.

The society’s Sense to Aspire programme, trialled last year and now in full swing, has already provided 94 students from Selly Oak Trust School in Birmingham with two-day placements in-store. The aim is to develop a sustainable work experience model for 400 students throughout the co-op’s trading region by 2018.

Central England has a long-standing relationship with the school, which caters for children aged nine to 19 with special educational needs. According to research by the Department of Health, in spite of their school achievements, these students have only a 7% likelihood of finding paid employment when they finish their education.

Maryann Denfhy, corporate responsibility manager at the society, said: “We had the relationship with the school. It was a case of being on their board of trustees and their board of governors. We decided we wanted to put this on more of a footing.”

Inspired by Business in the Community’s Business Class campaign, the co-op approached the headteacher to see how the two organisations could work together. “He said it was really hard for students to get work experience,” Ms Denfhy explained. “It’s difficult for mainstream students, but it’s really difficult for children with learning or behavioural difficulties. I think schools want to make a good impression.

“We thought that was where we could add most value. The legacy would be to encourage other businesses and other schools to involve children with learning difficulties and put these students, not just their best students, forward for work experience.”

As part of its work with its local Business in the Community cluster, Central England will share best practice about the initiative with other businesses. “It’s about raising awareness,” Ms Denfhy said. “It’s a really inspiring project.”

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Sense to Aspire aims to give such students the skills they need to find, get and keep a job. It includes classroom-based learning on job seeking skills including CV writing and interview techniques, adapted from the society’s Journey to a Job initiative. Participants also spend two days in a society food store or floristry shop, where they benefit from supported learning in groups, practical work experience and mentoring from the store manager and Central England Co-op colleagues.

“We’ve found that colleagues have got an awful lot out of it,” added Ms Denfhy. “Other staff have wanted to get involved afterwards. I thought it was a big ask of our staff to work with people with learning difficulties, but they’ve realised that these students have some real talent.

“It’s also a development tool. Some of our customers have learning difficulties, so it’s a good opportunity for colleagues to find ways of being able to work with them. It’s a real morale booster. It shows what we mean when we say making a real difference to people’s lives.”

So far, the whole sixth form at Selly Oak Trust School — 94 pupils aged 16 to 19 — have taken part. Feedback from the students and the school shows that learning new skills and make mistakes in a supported environment is having a positive impact on their personal confidence and self-esteem.

Next, Sense to Aspire will roll out to a school in each of the society’s three trading regions; central, western and eastern. Maryann Denfhy added: “We hope that some candidates will go on to be offered a permanent position or apprenticeship with the society. We’re talking to Selly Oak Trust School about that. We’re in early discussions about how we can adapt apprenticeships to suit people with learning difficulties.

“We hope that it will lead to other businesses forming similar partnerships, giving more youngsters with learning difficulties the chance to reach their full potential.”

The Sense to Aspire programme sits under the Remove Barriers to Work objective of the Community pillar of Central England’s Corporate Responsibility Strategy.

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