Fleming Fulton cafe gives Belfast pupils confidence and life skills

Senior pupils at a Belfast special school have turned the tables on their teachers by running their own cafe.

But the staff do not seem to mind as Cafe 15 at Fleming Fulton is packed every time it opens.

The pupils, aged between 17 and 19 years old, do everything from making and serving the food to keeping an eye on the budget.

As well as getting a qualification they are learning skills which they will need when they leave school.

The cafe has also raised money for a range of charities since it opened, most recently the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal.

Aged 19, Hannah is Cafe 15's maître d.

"The maître d's role is once everybody's in you check on them throughout their experience and make sure if they need anything that they have it," she told BBC News NI.

"If anything goes wrong you help them with their problem."

And Hannah has learnt a lot through her role.

"Before this I wasn't really good at speaking with people I wouldn't really know as well so I've learnt that and I've learnt some adding money skills with the prices," she said.

"Different items are different prices so it's adding them together and then just all round social skills.

"And the cooking too, the cooking's good, I really enjoy that."

'It gives me confidence'

Eighteen-year-old Mackenzie is in charge of the cash desk where studying maths has served him well.

"It's a good role but you need to have a good mindset, good thinking skills to take care of the money - and to remember it all and give out the correct amount of change," he said.

Joe, who is 17, is a fan of the Irish Premiership football team Crusaders and is often the side's mascot.

There are Crusaders stickers on his wheelchair and backpack.

Crusaders fan Joe has gained confidence by working at the cafe

And he said that working in Cafe 15 had also taught him about teamwork.

"It gives me confidence when I leave school to go on and do something as part of a team," he said.

"It's taught me more to believe in myself and the camaraderie that we have.

"We can't leave each other alone for two minutes - it's something to look forward to."

Learning life skills

Running Cafe 15 is also a valuable lesson, according to Fleming Fulton's home economics teacher Catherine Foster.

"The young people are also studying alongside it so they will be getting a qualification in occupational studies and the hospitality units that they're doing within that qualification are supported by running the cafe," she said.

Catherine Foster said the pupils gained fantastic life skills from working at the cafe

"They're also working together, part of a team, speaking to people, managing difficult situations - the life skills they're getting being in the cafe are fantastic," she said.

Physiotherapist Alison Mounstephen was enjoying a coffee break when BBC News NI visited the school.

She is proud of seeing the pupils - some of whom she has known since they entered the school in nursery - work independently.

"We see the outpouring of all the years of getting them to do the exercises and the therapies and their homework for us," she said.

Alison Mounstephen has known some of the pupils for many years

"It's now being put to use in something that they really do enjoy and give back to others as well."

When the cafe closes the pupils also wash and clear up, before sitting down to talk about what went well and what they might change next time they open up.

Hannah knows what has gone down well.

"The most popular item is either the sausage rolls or the caramel squares but my favourite is the sausage rolls," she said.