00:00Anyone passing through Fremlin Walk in Maidstone today might have been greeted with a surprise
00:04free cookie from students of Five Acre Wood that were baked in their new commercial kitchen.
00:09This was funded by the Costa Foundation and it means the school students can get more
00:13work experience, whether that's in a kitchen or interacting with the public.
00:16It gives them the skills to go into real life work.
00:21A lot of our youngsters really want to get jobs and we can prepare them for the work.
00:28And things like catering, we also have a cafe, so barista waiting on the cafe, we have a
00:36shop as well, so serving the shop, all of those things, all of those jobs give them those real
00:41life experiences.
00:43Now the cafe is called Made For You and they've brought cookies that are made for the people
00:48of Maidstone, but it's not just about spreading the word of the new cafe, it's also about improving
00:52their oracy skills and making sure they can become more employable in the future.
00:57So the cookies have been made by our students in the Made For You commercial catering space,
01:03but that's only been made possible by the incredible generosity of the Costa Foundation.
01:08And let's put this in context, only 5.1% of adults with a disability, with a learning disability,
01:14that are known to their local authority are in paid employment.
01:18With projects like this and thanks to the Costa Foundation, we're going to change that and
01:22we're going to change the life stories of our young people.
01:24The Costa Foundation have started supporting more local education causes here in the UK,
01:28transitioning from more global projects.
01:30The Costa Foundation has been funding education projects across the world in coffee growing
01:35communities for the last almost 20 years.
01:38And the past year we decided to bring our charity Closer To Home to fund some UK projects,
01:42one being 5 Acre Wood here.
01:45So we have just funded a renovation of a kitchen space within 5 Acre Water School,
01:50which will allow children and young people to access life skills that they can take into work and work around.
01:56For the students of 5 Acre Wood, the new kitchen lets them develop their skills in a supportive environment
02:01and allows them to grow their confidence, one cookie at a time.
02:04Finn McDermid for KMTV in Maidstone.
02:07Let's see you guys next time at the end of the episode!
02:07Welcome to the CUSE unit.
02:07Welcome to the
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