Our large coffee shop is run by differing groups of local people throughout the week.  School children from local schools, supported by our ‘Schools Inclusion’ work and young people with learning disabilities from the local college serve healthy food and drinks.

These volunteers gain practical skills and certificates in health and hygiene, first aid and customer service as well as learning about leadership, working as part of a team and reliability.  This helps them gain self-confidence and directs them towards further learning, volunteer opportunities or employment.

The coffee shop is an informal meeting place for users of the centre to meet with friends after a class or gym session and is particularly popular with mums as they can chat to other parents whilst their children play.

A grant from the Learning and Skills Council funding a kitchen upgrade and the launch of ESCAPE, a lunchtime cafe run by students with learning disabilities, attending East Surrey College’s Skills for Life course.