Coles has fitted out a fully functioning supermarket at St Lucy’s School, a school for children with disabilities, to assist in teaching students life skills.
The shop, located on the school’s Wahroonga campus, is designed to provide a guided work experience for senior student to carry tasks such as customer service, stocking shelves, and ensuring the shop has a fantastic environment.
David Raphael, Principal of St Lucy’s School, said he was delighted for the school to have a mini supermarket for students and teachers to enjoy and learn.
“Coles at St Lucy’s provides a safe environment to teach our students about safety in the workplace and to develop the important skills needed for effective communication, collaboration, and interpersonal relationships in the workplace and beyond.”
Martin Smithson, General Manager and fellow co-chair of the Coles Accessibility Steering Committee, said the supermarket is designed to provide students with real-life practical skills.
“Gainful employment is a pathway to security and autonomy and as one of the country’s largest employers, we know we have an important role to play. Coles is always on the lookout for ways that we can assist people with disabilities through providing employment opportunities through our partnerships with services like Disability Works Australia.”
The mission of St Lucy’s, an independent school for children with disabilities from Kindergarten to Year 12, is to provide an inspirational education for a life with purpose, by giving students the appropriate skills to have a successful, safe, and meaningful life after graduating.
Lisa Ronson, Chief Marketing Officer and co-chair of the Coles Accessibility Steering Committee, said helping Australians living with disabilities was one of its key priorities.
“Our team is so proud to be supporting the mini-store at St Lucy’s and we think the program is fantastic to teach students valuable life and future employment skills. We at Coles are absolutely committed as an organisation to increasing the number of Australians we employ who are living with a disability.”