Students serving customers at the new Woden School mini-Woolworths store.

Students serving customers at the new Woden School mini-Woolworths store.

04 August 2022

A new mini supermarket has opened at The Woden School in Deakin to offer students with additional needs some hands-on, learning experiences.

The Woden School offers tailored educational programs and learning experiences for students who have an intellectual disability, which may be accompanied by additional sensory, physical or behavioural needs.

The mini-Woolworths store has been set up to mimic the operations of an actual Woolworths supermarket and team members from the nearby Woden Woolworths have been helping students stock shelves and provide register training to prepare for the store’s opening.

Students serving customers at the new Woden School mini-Woolworths store.

The Woden School Mini-Woolworths is the second of its kind in the ACT following the opening of the Black Mountain School mini-Woolworths in O’Connor in 2021.

Black Mountain School Leader Stephanie Nott said the store is continuing to provide personalised, authentic learning opportunities for the school’s students a year on.

“We’ve seen a broad range of benefits from the mini-Woolies program which has assisted well over 100 students so far,” Stephanie said.

“We have eight students within our work skills program who are developing money, organisational, communication, customer service, and other retail skills. Outside of this, the store is used to help students who might find a supermarket or similar environment overwhelming, and the Mini-Woolies serves as a great introduction to real-world situation.”

Shae, a recent graduate from Black Mountain School experienced the benefits of the Mini Woolworths program and has since been employed by his local Woolworths store as a check-out operator.

“In addition to Shae, the Black Mountain School currently has three students undertaking work experience at the Dickson Woolworths as part of the program and we’re very appreciative of their support", Stephanie said.

More information about the mini-Woolworths supermarket program is available on the Woolworths website.

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Checkout machine reading Woden Fresh Food with the store in the background

Woden, Weston Creek & Molonglo

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