Telford College foundation skill students gain valuable retail work experience with support from Reviive

Resale and recycling social enterprise Reviive will combine with Telford College again in September to continue a successful partnership created at the start of the recent academic term.

Reviive donated a number of its products to the Foundation course pop-up shop. Located at the heart of the college, the shop was in operation from September 2018 to the end of June this year and was run exclusively by students from the course.

Telford College’s Foundation department is aimed at young people with Special Education Needs (SEN), predominantly in the 16-19 age bracket who require an Education, Health and Care Plan. As outlined by the SEN code of practice the students work on a bespoke curriculum to enable them to access one if not all of the four Pathways for Adulthood; they include: Independent (or supported) Living, Good Health, Community Participation and Employment or Further Education. As well as items from Reviive, the students also sold products made by themselves.

Commenting on the process and the support from Reviive, Natasha Careless, high needs transition and work experience coordinator at Telford College, said: “This was fantastic for the students and resulted in meaningful retail work experience within a supportive environment. They were given the responsibility of running the shop and choosing what to sell in it, which included a visit to Reviive’s store in Shrewsbury. The range of new stock will be supplemented further by Reviive when the shop opens again in September and we would like to thank Julie Hotchkiss and her team for their support throughout the process.”

Julie Hotchkiss, retail manager at Reviive, said: “We are pleased to have supported this project and look forward to picking it up again in September. The Foundation students were a pleasure to work with. We hope that our contribution helps them to gain an understanding of retail and the confidence to deal with the outside world.”

Picture: Pictured with Foundation students are Bhopendra Janagal and Natasha Careless, Telford College and Julie Hotchkiss, Reviive.