Woolworths’ Mini Woolies initiative is expanding its reach across Tāmaki Makarau, with its second school opening at Central Auckland Specialist School, following the programme’s successful launch at Sommerville School in Panmure just a month prior.
Mini Woolies aims to provide students with disabilities practical learning experiences by replicating a real supermarket environment within an educational setting. This innovative approach offers students a comfortable and enjoyable way to enhance their literacy, numeracy, and communication skills in a dynamic space that transforms into a miniature supermarket.
Students engage in activities such as filling baskets with actual groceries, operating cash registers for transactions, crafting shopping lists, and delivering excellent customer service. The overarching goal is to foster confidence, independence, and a sense of community connection among the students. Additionally, the products within Mini Woolies serve as valuable resources for classroom activities.
Central Auckland Specialist School (CASS) caters to students with special educational needs aged between 5 and 21. Established in 2018 through the amalgamation of Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy and Sunnydene Special School, both of which closed in January of the current year, CASS houses the Mini Woolies on its campus. The initiative is supported and supplied by Woolworths Three Kings, a local partner.
Spencer Sonn, Managing Director of Woolworths New Zealand, expressed pride in supporting CASS’s commendable work through the introduction of this innovative learning environment. He emphasized the joint effort to build a bright future for CASS students and articulated Woolworths’ aspiration to make Mini Woolies accessible to students nationwide, enabling more young people to develop practical skills within a simulated grocery setting.
The inception of Mini Woolies in New Zealand draws inspiration from its successful implementation in Australia since 2018. The programme has been warmly received in various local communities, with over 5,600 students with disabilities having participated in Mini Woolies across Australia. The recent milestone of the 50th site opening in November of the preceding year underscores the initiative’s positive impact and growing reach.
