A mini Woolworths has come to a Northmead school to help give students with additional needs hands on learning experiences.
Students at The Hills School have welcomed the official opening of a “one-of-a-kind” mini Woolworths supermarket. With baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, ticketing, signage and Woolworths branded uniforms, the Woolworths features everything the iconic supermarket is known for – just on a smaller scale.
The mini Woolworths will seek to create an immersive educational experience for the students, even giving them the chance to use a fully operational Fujitsu register so they can scan grocery items and learn how to handle money when processing sales.
The Hills School caters for the education needs of over 110 students aged from four to 18 years of age with a range of additional physical, intellectual and complex needs including sensory impairments.
Mathew and Neralie Want, the parents of 11-year-old The Hills School student Ethan, were excited to see the launch of the program.
“The mini Woolies is fantastic – just being able to see today how the kids can interact and learn these life skills,” Mr Want said.
“We can take him to the shops and do this with him to some extent, but we can’t give him the experience of being able to work behind the registers or understanding what it is to stock the shelves.”
Mr and Ms Want are hopeful the experience will give their son an idea of what he can do after school.
“Ethan is in Year 6 and I hope he will get out of the program some comfort of transacting in a real-world scenario – talking to someone behind a register or working with someone behind a register and build on the ability to create a habit of [knowing] how you buy groceries and food,” Mr Want said.
“It’s important to be aware of sensory input so it’s great to see that he can practice this at school, where it’s quiet, less distractions and fewer loud noises.”
Woolworths team members from the nearby Winston Hills supermarket have been helping students stock shelves and provide register training in readiness for the opening.
The Hills School Principal Mark Gosbell is looking forward to seeing what the mini Woolworths will bring to both students and their families.
“Having an on-site mini Woolworths store will provide authentic learning opportunities,” Mr Gosbell said.
“Students will be able to develop independent living skills, functional literacy and numeracy and have an additional learning space that encourages development of communication.”
Woolworths Group Chief Security Officer Pieter van der Merwe said they are proud to support The Hills School.
“Having seen first hand the success of our previous mini Woolworths stores launched across the country, we look forward to seeing how the students enjoy this new-look classroom,” he said.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.