Cleaswell Hill School pupils now run Our Café at The Uniun Building in Pegswood, open Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10.30am to 2pm. It opened on 6 November.
Pupils from Cleaswell Hill School are now running a community café in Pegswood, open to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10.30am to 2pm. Our Café, at The Uniun Building, was officially opened on Friday 6 November by the local MP, Ian Lavery.
Cleaswell Hill is a day community special school at Guide Post. The café serves freshly prepared food, homemade baking and barista-style drinks, and the people behind the counter and in the kitchen are pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
The school says the café gives them real work experience in customer service, food preparation and hospitality, building the confidence, independence and employability skills they will need as adults. Pupils also helped with the full refurbishment of the building, working with local businesses and people from the community.
“Much more than somewhere to buy coffee”
Leighton Berry, who led the project, said: “Our Café is much more than somewhere to buy coffee. It gives pupils the opportunity to develop practical skills, build confidence and engage with the local community in a meaningful way.”
The headteacher, Mike Jackson, said: “Our Café is an exciting addition to Cleaswell Hill School and the local community. It provides pupils with authentic, work related learning experiences to support their transition into adulthood. We are looking forward to welcoming members of the public to Our Café and would like to thank the local community for their support with this exciting project.”
The opening was hosted by the pupils themselves. Staff, governors, supporters from the community and representatives of Northumberland County Council came along, and pupils prepared and served the refreshments.
What the MP said
Ian Lavery said he had “long admired the inspiring work the school does with young people whose needs would not be catered for so comprehensively elsewhere”.
“I was very happy to receive an invitation to attend the opening today of Cleaswell Hill School’s exciting new community cafe, appropriately named ‘Our Café’,” he said. “‘Our Cafe’ is a fine example of how to provide students who need more assistance than others with an education designed totally to meet each of their individual requirements. I was proud seeing these fantastic young members of our community achieving so much. The food was great and the service second to none.”
“I urge everyone to come to ‘Our Café’. You’ll be helping the Cleaswell Hill School’s students gain valuable skills, but be warned, you may gain a few pounds yourself from the irresistible food they produce. My thanks to Headmaster Mike Jackson and his students for making me feel so at home.”
What it means for you
Our Café is open to anyone. Go along on a Tuesday or Wednesday between 10.30am and 2pm, at The Uniun Building in Pegswood, and you will be served by Cleaswell Hill pupils.
More about the café, the school and the Cleaswell Hill Foundation (registered charity number 1000697), is on the Cleaswell Hill School website, including the foundation’s current fundraising projects.
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