Isafe Floors Help SEND Students to Thrive

IVC Commercial flooring supports inclusive hospitality training through Whitbread’s Thrive programme

IVC Commercial heterogeneous vinyl flooring has been supplied to support Whitbread’s Thrive programme, helping create realistic hospitality training environments for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

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Meaningful training

Through its Force for Good sustainability strategy, leading hospitality business Whitbread has run a decade-long Thrive programme at two post-16 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) establishments, Derwen college in Oswestry, and Hereward college in Coventry. On site are mini Premier Inn hotels that serve as training centres for students to gain real experience within hospitality and bridge the disability employment gap.

The employer-led initiative equips young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) with the skills, confidence and pathways they need to secure meaningful work. Many will go on to progress into supported internships or permanent roles in Premier Inn hotels.

Safety first

Thrive has now expanded to two further SEND establishments in Lincoln and Wirral Peninsula, with off-site bathroom and bedroom pods built being utilised. IVC has partnered with contractor Falcon Flooring to donate the supply and installation of IVC Commercial flooring within these pods.

Isafe 70 was selected as the most appropriate floor for the task. This R12 slip-resistant range comes in a range of attractive designs, with Oak Herringbone and Odin Polished Steel chosen for both new mini Premier Inn training sites. Equipped with Hypergrip technology and a 0.70mm wear layer for a floor that’s easy to maintain and durable, Isafe 70 helps to ensure the pods are the perfect training environment for SEND students taking their first steps in a pathway to paid employment.

Perfect partners

Jake Parks, national sales manager commercial, IVC, says, “Whitbread’s Thrive programme is a valuable contribution in fostering equality within society. Of course, when we learnt of Thrive and the need for performance flooring solutions for off-site constructed pods at two of its four colleges, we were only too happy to play a part by donating to this worthwhile initiative.”

Each mini Premier Inn has three bedrooms, a laundry room and a reception area, to allow students to gain experience in a safe, simulated space during their course. Each year, cohorts of students start their journey with Premier Inn through a supported internship, and they will be based in a Premier Inn sites close to the college for nine months. Successful completion of the internship can lead to permanent employment for the interns.

Rachel Howarth, Chief People Officer of Whitbread, says: “Thrive is a shining example of how business can lead the way in making employment more inclusive and accessible to all. At Whitbread, we believe there should be no barriers to entry and no limits to ambition — and Thrive proves that when employers step up, real change happens. None of this would be possible without the hard work of our partners, colleagues and local communities, and I want to thank everyone who has helped bring it to life.”

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