New Community Café Opens in East Acton

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Aims to give opportunities to neurodiverse teenagers

Father Fergal of Roman Catholic Church of St Aidan of Lindisfarne, Acton East Parish, TCES student Martinez and Thomas Keaney (Founder and CEO of TCES) at the launch of the cafe

A new community café opens has been opened this Tuesday (5 April) in East Acton with the aim of giving neurodiverse teenagers opportunity to gain vital work experience and qualifications

It has been set up by social enterprise The Complete Education Solution Group (TCES) which provides specialist education to students aged 7 to 19, many of whom have been permanently excluded from other schools before reaching TCES

The Hub is at 55 Old  Oak  Common  Lane,  Acton (W3 7DD).

The new community café will serve up fresh opportunities for neurodiverse students aged 16+ based at TCES North West London school to gain work experience and GCSE, BTEC and industry standard qualifications in catering and food technology, hospitality and customer service, food hygiene, health and safety and business studies.

TCES North West London post-16 student Bailey said, ‘My ambition is to become a paramedic. I’ve been through a bit of a rough patch in my life, and I want to help people with their lives. The café will really help me to build my skills in interacting with people and working with the public. It will give me the level of confidence I need to be outside in the real world.’

TCES student Bailey aiming to become a paramedic

TCES North West London Headteacher Ishamar Blake says, ‘At TCES we know the odds are already stacked against the children and young people in our schools when they enter the job market. Office for National Statistics figures show, for example, that just 22% of autistic adults are in any kind of employment.

‘We are determined to play our role in addressing this disadvantage in every way we can. We will never give up on the exceptional students who come to us, often after traumatic experiences of permanent exclusion from other schools.’

The Hub café offers young people the opportunity to build a valuable portfolio of experiences and qualifications working across a range of roles, which they can show to employers. By opening the café to local community groups, churches and as a place to meet for vulnerable and lonely people, students will also be able to build the self-esteem that comes from giving back to society.

‘The Hub will open just to our younger students and staff in the first instance as our post-16 students build their confidence and expertise. By September we aim to be serving the local community with reasonably priced tasty meals and drinks and providing a welcoming space for local events and get-togethers, ’ added Ishamar Blake.

TCES Patron Esther Rantzen, 'What drives TCES is the refusal to give up on those children and young people that others have simply found too difficult. Opening this brilliant café on a busy High Street is not only an opportunity for students to shine, but also for the whole community to see that young people who are neurodiverse can live rich, fulfilling lives if offered the right support and acceptance.’

The Hub is the first of the Enterprise Centres that TCES aims to open in London to develop sustainable work-based learning opportunities for neurodiverse students. Each Centre will be linked to a TCES school but operated separately.

As well as providing an opportunity to gain qualifications, The Hub will support multiple areas of the TCES curriculum including literacy and communication, numeracy, PSHE and the Award-winning TCES LIFE Programme which aims to empower students to know they can make a valuable contribution to the school community and to society.

TCES is an independent, family-owned group of day schools and services for neurodiverse pupils aged 7 to 19. Based in London, it is funded by 31 Local Authorities in London and the Home Counties. 

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April 7, 2022