Our Lighthouse provision supports pupils with additional needs to thrive alongside their peers, and one of the ways they do this is by running their own community cafe.

Pupils in Lighthouse have set up and run a cafe, giving them the chance to develop real, practical skills: handling money, taking orders, speaking confidently to adults and working as part of a team. Alongside this, they've learnt some simple baking and how to make drinks, all while serving members of our school community. The cafe began as part of our Community Month and we hope it will grow into a regular half termly event, becoming something the wider community gets to know and enjoy.

This builds on work our Lighthouse pupils already do each week, running a healthy, fair trade tuck shop for pupils every Tuesday break time. Popular with the whole school, it supports our vision of pupils being healthy and empowered to make a difference, while giving Lighthouse pupils a proper stake in school life.

Both the cafe and the tuck shop connect directly to our Mantle of the Expert approach to careers education, giving pupils a genuine taste of what a future in catering and hospitality could look like. For many, it's the first time they've been the one serving rather than being served, and the pride that comes with that is something to see.