Date centre established:

December 2010

What does your Centre do:

We offer a work experience placement for young adults with learning disabilities. Sip and surf is an internet café, which offers internet and a range of both snacks and drinks to have in or takeaway. We also offer an ebay enterprise where customers bring in their unwanted items to sell.

In September 2012 we are also opening a print shop where students will sell and make customised canvas prints, mugs, plates, clocks and caps to name a few things.

Who are the clients: (eg fulltime learners, day centre clients, drop-in clients)

We offer a work placement to students at Homefield College, but also offer a number of external work places to students, such as those at RNIB

What disabilities do your clients have?:

Many of our learners are on the autisitic spectrum. We also have learners with a number of communication and behavioural difficulities

What technology do you have in your Centre:

6 i-desk computers used by customers in the internet café

A coffee machine

Computers and lap tops

I pad

Print Shop equipment includes – canvas printer, sublimation printer, photo printer, heat press and vinyl cutter plotter.

What assistive technology is used?:

We use a variety of resources to aid our students communication and thus enhancing learning.

On our i-pads we have the proloquo to go app, which is a communication app used for students with communication difficulties

How many staff work in the Centre:

We have 4 full time staff working here supporting the students, as well as 3 staff who used to be students at Homefield College who are café assistants and cleaners

What days/hours per week does your centre provide learning or development?

Monday to Saturday 9 till 4

What service could your Centre offer the network, if any?

We could offer a number printing services, including customised printing.

ICT beginner courses

Are you working in partnership with any other organisation? and if so in what?

We work with homefield college who has a number of other enterprise such as Barrow of Treats, a café in Barrow, and also a horticulture and woodwork enterprise both based in Sileby.

Any other information:

Myself, Daniel McMurray, has recently took over from Heather Newbrooks as the sip and surf manager. Previously I was the manager at Homefield Colleges Horticulture enterprise.

During the next academic we are opening our print shop which will bring a new learning experience to sip and surf for our students and offer a good service to our customers. We will continue to work with students on their work based skills, as well as life and independence skills.