“It gets me out of my skin ' Inside the Otley café brewing something special

Mikayla is one of the 26 students working brewing up success at a Leeds cafe.

The Beyond 19 programme, co-run by House of Pottery in Otley and Green Meadows Academy in Guiseley, sees students aged 16-19 take on responsibilities in the café including serving customers, managing money, and making hot drinks. The scheme offers stidents offer students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) work experience and life skills training.

Mikayla has found it a real boost to her confidence.

She said: “It gets me out of my skin as I’m quite a shy person. I was nervous to work in a café (but this) makes me want to come to school more.”

Mikayla hopes to study art in the future and she thinks a café job like this could help financially support her.

The idea began as Green Meadows Academy staff considered how they could best help their pupils to develop skills to help them in life after college.

Vicky Paver, Associate Principal at Green Meadows Academy said: “We revisited our why and our how and in our vision there’s a huge focus in supporting our young people.

“For us that means giving them the skills to live independently, to form friendships and then to be able to enter the world of work in some form be it paid work full-time or supported placements.”

On Mondays and Tuesdays, Green Meadows Academy pupils work on skills training at House of Pottery while on Wednesday to Fridays they serve customers between 11:30am and 1pm.

For Michelle Jones, owner of House of Pottery, Beyond 19 is an important opportunity to enable young people with SEND to build their skills in a comfortable environment.

She said: “There’s no judgement here. It’s about helping every single individual reach their potential. This is us saying we want to give you the environment to thrive and be confident.”

Accommodations at House of Pottery have been made to make shifts accessible and inclusive for pupils with various types of needs and disabilities. These include bold menus with tick boxes, staggered training, and staff available to offer support when needed.

Harrison, a fellow pupil who is part of the programme, likes his role best when the café is busy and he can talk to customers.

He said: “My job involves helping people, serving drinks and being nice to the customers. I like it best when it is busy. I like the job - it’s definitely given us some experience and motivation.”

In terms of a future career, Harrison is currently divided between his passion for football with his enjoyment of working in a café environment.

Pupils at Green Meadows Academy have been involved in every stage of creating Beyond 19 from designing the programme’s logo and café menus to delivering flyers to promote the House of Pottery business.

Ultimately, Beyond 19 aims to build independent skills for pupils to use both in work and in everyday life. It showcases that with the right guidance and accommodations, people with SEND can flourish in a workplace environment.