A micro-Woolworths store has opened in the grounds of St Philip's Christian College Dynamic Learning and Young Parents in Waratah.
The mini store has been established to simulate the operations of a real Woolworths supermarket to give students with disabilities a chance to experience working in an authentic environment.
There are baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, registers, ticketing, signage and Woolworths branded uniforms for students to wear, creating an immersive educational experience.
Woolworths Warabrook store manager Scott Kime and his team have been helping students and staff prepare for their new Mini Woolies experience, by delivering groceries and teaching them how to use the registers.
"It's a great initiative for our local community," he said.
"There's been a huge amount of interest from my team wanting to train the students ahead of the launch event. We hope they can experience the retail environment in exciting new ways."
St Philip's Christian College's Dynamic Learning College has a tailored learning program designed to enhance student engagement and educational outcomes for children and young individuals with a diagnosis of Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, and/or Autism (Level 1 and 2).
St Philip's Christian College acting executive principal Tim Petterson said he was thrilled to launch the small scale store.
"This exciting addition is all about empowering our students with real-world skills.
"The new retail space will be a 'dynamic learning' environment where our students can gain hands-on experience and we believe that this unique opportunity will help to prepare them for a successful future. We can't wait to see them thrive in this innovative setting," he said.
The Mini Woolies program now operates in more than 49 locations across Australia, and over 3,000 young Australians with disabilities have had the opportunity to engage with these learning spaces.
Head of Delivery, Service Operations and Infrastructure at Woolworths Group Shelia O'Reaily said the company looks forward to seeing how the Waratah community uses their new space to help students gain independence and develop new skills for the future.
