Learn With Us

As a small independent provider, we create bespoke vocational opportunities. Ourplacements focus on meeting the individual's learning objectives in order to supporttheir progress and skills development.

We provide fully supported vocational placements in both our Cafe and Cycle
Project. Placements are available 7 days a week and are created to meet the
vocational objectives of the individual learner.

Taking an individual approach, we work in partnership with the learner, their family
and support network to ensure our opportunities are progressive and objectives led.
We can provide flexibility such as; starting with a few hours a week and working
towards longer shifts as confidence and skills grow. Many learners choose to spend
time in both the Café and the Cycle Project in order gain wider experiences and skills
development. Placements are reviewed in partnership, next steps identified and, if
appropriate, support to progress can be provided.

Our Vocational Placements offer:

Customer service skills
Baking
Taking orders and serving Food
Food hygiene and kitchen safety
Chopping vegetables and preparing Salads
Clearing and cleaning tables
Cycle maintenance skills
Safe use of tools and workplace safety
Bicycle cleaning
Cycling opportunities
Responding to customer needs
Website and IT skills
Support to achieve vocational qualifications
Till work and money skills
Social media skills
Greater interpersonal skills
Preparation for the world of paid work

Working as part of a team

Our objects are to;

The promotion of social inclusion for the public benefit of young people and adults
who have learning difficulties, physical difficulties or any form of additional need by:

1. Providing a range of safe, secure, supported and supervised employment
opportunities in our café and cycle projects

2. Providing training opportunities and vocational support in order to equip such
young people and adults to seek and secure employment opportunities in the wider
community

3. To provide, through our café, a safe and secure social setting where such young
people and adults and their support networks can meet, make friends and benefit
each other by sharing experiences

4. To provide, through our range of adaptive cycles and direct access to a traffic free
cycle route, safe, secure and supported social and recreational activities for
individuals and groups from the community and to facilitate this access at an
affordable price and potentially free of charge for those with particularly limited
means

5. To open up employment opportunities outside of our Project for people with
learning or physical difficulties or any form of additional needs outside of our
facilities, by promoting our training and support services and their abilities to the
wider community

6. To promote for the benefit of the inhabitants of North Somerset, the provision of a
safe and secure recreational facilities in the interests of social welfare and with the
object of improving the condition of life of the said inhabitants

7. To provide a safe and secure environment where members of the community are
supported to access and learn how to cycle.

The purpose of the Strawberry Line Café & Cycle Hire Project is to advance the
education and personal development of, and to improve the capabilities of, young
people and adults, who have learning or physical difficulties or additional needs, and
who have completed their formal education through the provision of employment and
vocational training within a “real world” environment, and, once trained to promote
their abilities to the wider community in order to assist them, and support them, to
find further meaningful and appropriate employment and/or training opportunities
outside of our Project.

Incidentally, in achieving that purpose, we also equip young people and adults with
useful life skills and personal development opportunities which improve their quality
of life, and help them to become as independent and less reliant upon support as
possible. We also provide a secure environment where young people and adults with
additional needs can safely meet forge friendships, share experiences and build
confidence in meeting and dealing with the community at large, we provide them,
and other people who have additional needs, with access to a healthy recreational
activity which they would otherwise find it very difficult to access.

Conversely, we also introduce the wider community to young people and adults with
additional needs, show casing their capabilities abilities and personalities,
encouraging the community at large to be more understanding of, more welcoming
to, more open to integrating with people with additional needs and to not discriminate
against them.

We offer training, work experience and employment opportunities through two
different and distinct:

Primary Purpose Trading Activities:

1. A café where young people and adults with additional needs are taught to safely
prepare food and
basic customer service skills under the tutelage and supervision of experienced
professionals.

2. A Cycle Hire project where young people and adults are taught the fundamentals
of cycle maintenance and are given access to cycle training and a safe, secure and
supervised traffic free cycle path. This project also teaches out trainees how to
maintain our fleet and to refurbish cycles which are donated to us which are then
either added to our fleet or sold on to the public to raise further funds towards our
running costs.

All trading income is applied back into the project with the aim of providing more
training, work experience and employment opportunities for young people and adults
with additional needs who would otherwise find it very difficult to find such
opportunities on their own.

Both projects give our trainees structured training and work experience in a “real
world” setting. They also instil in our trainees the fundamentals of personal hygiene,
personal presentation and customer service.

They also build the ability and confidence of young people and adults with additional
needs as regards handling money and dealing with people. The aim is to increase
their independence as far as is feasible and to improve the quality of their lives, to
improve their physical and mental wellbeing and to hopefully enable them to have a
happier, more meaningful and more fulfilling life than they may otherwise have had.

The Café also provides a safe and secure meeting space where people with
additional needs and their carers, or children with additional needs and their families
can meet to socialise and share experiences and hopefully build and develop mutual
friendships and informal support networks. It also enables them to access healthy
food and drink at very reasonable prices which is important given that the only
source of income most of the adults with additional needs have is state benefits.

The Cycle Project also enables people from the local community who do not have
any additional needs to access cycle training and the same safe, secure and
supervised traffic free cycle environment. We operate a fleet of standard cycles
which are available for adults and children without any additional needs and we also
have a fleet of specially adapted bicycles, tricycles and quadricycles to facilitate
access to as wide a range of people with additional needs as possible. Some local
SEN schools regularly make use of our fleet and our staff will assist theirs to
structure and supervise cycling activities. Our project thus encourages young people
and adults to exercise and it facilitates them doing that in a safe secure and
supervised environment.

The young people and adults follow structured training and are regularly assessed
against the objectives set. They can use this documentation to assist their
applications to external employers and our staff will support and guide them through
the application process.

Because both of our projects are open to the public, they introduce young people
and adults with additional needs to people who may not otherwise have the
opportunity to interact with them. We hope that by promoting inclusion and facilitating
this interaction we are breaking down barriers between people who have additional
needs and those do not. We believe this will in turn lead to greater understanding of
additional needs, remove stigma and fear and achieve a more integrated and
inclusive, and less discriminatory society. The feedback which we have received
from the local community suggests that this objective is being achieved.

Our project has a robust approach to Safeguarding, we recognise it's importance and
ensure the team as a whole understands their Safeguarding duties. Our Operations
and Community Engagement Manager is our designated safeguarding lead. Further
to this, all employees in support roles have DBS checks. Every member of staff has
completed safeguarding training and understands their responsibilities to be aware
of issues for children, young people and vulnerable adults. If any safeguarding
issues arise we deal with North Somerset Council's Care Connect and Safeguarding
team.

Our Story

Every website has a story, and your visitors want to hear yours. This space is a great opportunity to give a full background on who you are, what your team does, and what your site has to offer. Double click on the text box to start editing your content and make sure to add all the relevant details you want site visitors to know.

If you’re a business, talk about how you started and share your professional journey. Explain your core values, your commitment to customers, and how you stand out from the crowd. Add a photo, gallery, or video for even more engagement.