Charity shop offers SEND pupils work experience

NAR Bazaar charity shop has opened on the site of Newman School in Rotherham and will be run by pupils at the special school

Pupils at a special school have opened a new charity shop to help raise funds for vital equipment and trips.

The students at Newman School in Rotherham will also work in the shop to gain valuable life skills and work experience as part of their Preparation for Adulthood curriculum.

The school cares for more than 100 pupils with special educational needs (SEND) aged between 2-19.

Assistant headteacher Yvette Hodgson said: "They've loved the experience. They've chosen the colours, picked out the items, priced them up - they are very invested in the success of this shop."

The shop in the school grounds will sell everything from designer clothes to toys and handbags and will be open initially to pupils and parents and then later to the general public.

Ms Hodgson said opening the shop was about "opportunities" for the pupils as well as funding.

"A lot of our young people have had disadvantaged lives and might not have had the chances others have, so this helps them to reach out to the community to show their amazing personalities."

Pupils help out at the shop to gain life skills and work experience

The shop has been named the NAR (Newman Additional Resource) Bazaar.

Pupil Kailan Burdge, 12, said: "We've been planning it for weeks, it started off as a tuck shop and now it's a charity shop, it's a really nice thing.

"I'm definitely going to buy things and help out if needed."

Sam Bellamy, 15, admitted he had his eye on a cardboard cut-out of the singer Tom Jones

Many of the pupils dressed up for the grand opening of the shop. Sam Bellamy, 15, said it was "an important day for the school".

"It's really good for the school and pupils to get recognition for what we've done here."

Although Sam helped to fit out the shop and lay out the stock, he admitted that one item had caught his eye.

"There is a rather big cardboard cut-out of Tom Jones that I might be swiping later."

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