Silverdale pupils step into world of work at pioneering pop up shop

The 'Northern World of Work' programme sees pupils and teachers from secondary schools including special schools and alternative providers, visiting workplaces and experiencing firsthand the array of job opportunities available locally. 

Funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company and Lancashire County Council, the programme is being delivered by the Lancashire Careers Hub, in partnership with schools and employers across the county during this academic year.

It has seen staff and pupils at one Lancashire specialist school taking matters into their own hands by teaming up  with Booths supermarket to set up their own pop-up shop.

Becky Parker, lead practitioner at specialist day school Bleasdale School in Silverdale which is supported by Lancashire Careers Hub, asked Booths supermarket last summer for help in setting up the shop as a hands-on learning tool for students to bring the workplace into the school.

The school provides an inclusive environment through differing curricula for children and young adults aged from 2-19 with profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism spectrum conditions.

The groundbreaking on site shop is designed to equip students with essential life skills in a practical setting, including real world experience in a shop environment, life skills such as handling money and completing transactions, valuable work experience, social skills and opportunities for members of the local community to interact with students.

Having notched up an additional £1,000 of funding to help through the Lancashire Careers Hub, Bleasdale School now aims to add a hospital ward and a hairdressing salon on site.

Leader of Lancashire County Council, Councillor Phillippa Williamson, and County Councillor Jayne Rear, cabinet member for Education and Skills, visited the pop-up shop at Bleasdale this week.

Leader of the County Council, Phillippa Williamson, said:

"This is brilliant scheme which is helping staff and students gain a deeper understanding of opportunities as well as the confidence and skills needed for different roles and routes into work. 

"Taking place just as the Convention of the North is about to be held in Preston at the end of February, I am delighted that the 'Northern World of Work' programme is inspiring young people and educators about the many job opportunities in the local labour market as well as creating further investment in Lancashire for the benefit of businesses and residents across the region."

County Councillor Rear said:

"We were thrilled to visit Bleasdale School's new pop-up shop and see firsthand the real-life learning experience that pupils are experiencing which is really building their skills and helping them to see what they could do in the world of work."

Becky Parker, lead practitioner at Bleasdale School, said:

"The shop enables each of our students to gain varying levels of understanding about different job roles, discover their interests and to have fun. We are delighted with how things have gone so far, and our students have really enjoyed working with Booths. We hope to develop workplace encounters and invite external employers to work alongside pupils in the space."

Nicola Karran, head of Business Development and Hospitality at Booths, said:

 “Booths was delighted to hear from Bleasdale School and get involved in their fantastic vision of creating an on-site, hands-on retail environment for its pupils. As the good grocer, we champion growing healthy minds and knowing our support has helped enable Bleasdale students to gain more confidence, learn life skills and ultimately have fun has been extremely rewarding.”
 

Mark Bowman, Chief Executive of Inspira, the charity delivering the project, said:

"Work experiences are an essential part of a young person's development and the modern approach of a pop-up shop not only provides young people with real life situations it also really catches the imagination. Alongside the other initiatives it's a great way of introducing the world of work to young people."